Interspecies Relationship Network - Connecting Life Across Species

Resources for Companion Animal Groups

Books and Articles

A diverse group of chickens, including a proud rooster, are perched together in a row on a tree branch outdoors.

A network of dog parents, cat lovers, animal rescuers, bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, sanctuary workers, and other healers wishing to repair and strengthen our communities’ connections with each other and the many species with whom we share the planet.

Compressed savannah shelters neighbouring species forced together. Photography documents unlikely harmony born from human-imposed spatial limits.

Leveraging our love of companion animals & our fascination with widlife to create a more humane world for all animals

Initiatives aimed at supporting shelter workers with resources and volunteer engagement to improve animal welfare.

Animal Shelter Support Programs

A curated collection of articles, books, and multimedia materials that inform and inspire about interspecies relationships and community healing.

Woman with a tattoo holding up a stack of books.

Educational Resource Library

Workshops and courses designed to enhance communication skills between humans and animals for better relationships.

Inter-species Communication Training

Leverage our communities' connection with pets to cultivate respect, empathy, and understanding for all animals, including wildlife, farmed animals, animals in laboratories and animals used for entertainment.

Photographed this beautiful dog named Dolly for a volunteer run initiative called PixelPaws which aims to help dogs find their forever homes through photography. http://pixelpaws.ca/

This dog was available for adoption through LEASH Animal Welfare Society, which is an incredible dog rescue organization serving Greater Vancouver in rescuing/rehoming dogs in need. http://www.leashsavinglives.com/

Companion Animal Shelters & Groups

Mother apparently not available, this one of two was crossing a road in a park.

Wildlife

References to articles and books that have helped shape our work.

Close Encounter with Killer Whales in Arctic Norway II

Interdependence

Resources

Connect with us!

<h3></h3>Those of us who work in companion animal welfare operate closest to the human-animal bond. We possess a unique opportunity to leverage people’s connection with their dogs and cats in a manner that fosters respect, empathy, and understanding for all non-human animals, including wildlife, farmed animals, animals in laboratories and animals used for entertainment.Here are some resources to help with that effort:<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JfW9zmGdu_JPHPoDO3i_NyhvxlMLud17/view?usp=drive_link">Presentation to ACOs on farm animal welfare</a> (Heather Cammisa, 2014) </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FoMecNV3z-jHkW0mRHVx2aZ0Lq1CYcaN/view?usp=drive_link">Sample policies and positions addressing the welfare of all animals for animal shelters</a> (Heather Cammisa, 2017) </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://animalplace.org/food-for-thought/">Plant Based Food Policies for Animal Shelters and other animal groups by Food For Thought Program, Animal Place.&nbsp;</a> </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://afj.org/resource/public-charities-can-lobby-guidelines-for-501c3-public-charities-2/">Can shelters and other 501c3 organizations lobby? (Alliance for Justice, 2018)</a></li></ul>

Resources for Animal Shelters and Other Companion Animals Groups

A few thought pieces that help advocates understand how different systems of human and non-human oppression are constructed and the mindsets that underlie all of these systems.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://edyong.me/an-immense-world">An Immense World by Ed Yong</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://lanternpm.org/book/aphro-ism/">Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism by Aph Ko &amp; Syl Ko</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sunaurataylor.net/books/beasts-of-burden-animal-and-disability-liberation/">Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation by Sunaura Taylor</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://lithub.com/robin-wall-kimmerer-humans-nature/">How the Myth of Human Exceptionalism Cut us Off From Nature by Robin Wall Kimmerer</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/together-earth/2015/03/30/alternative-grammar-a-new-language-of-kinship">Nature Needs a New Pronoun: To Stop the Age of Extinction, Let’s Start by Ditching “It” by Robin Wall Kimmerer</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://burningbooks.com/products/queer-and-trans-voices-achieving-liberation-through-consistent-anti-oppression?srsltid=AfmBOopqRr7KDt_XPXx167CEbboBLCd8z5xB-HXStAt4MVAWCNea2gVP&amp;variant=32290490777651">Queer and Trans Voices: Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression by Julia Feliz Brueck and Zoie (Zane) McNeill</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.akpress.org/undrowned.html">Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://orionmagazine.org/article/what-slime-knows/">What Slime Knows: There is no hierarchy in the web of life</a> by Lacy M. Johnson