Since 1993, Human-Animal Bond in Colorado – HABIC’s volunteer teams have partnered with health and mental health professionals in the community to improve lives.
A center in the Colorado State University School of Social Work, HABIC trains human-animal teams who have made a difference in nursing homes, schools, respite care facilities, rehab clinics, mental health facilities, hospitals, youth correctional facilities, treatment centers for eating disorders, Veterans Affairs facilities, and more — from Denver to Fort Collins, and Estes Park to Greeley
Celebrating the 30-year milestone, HABIC Director Helen Holmquist-Johnson (MSW ’01, Ph.D. ’09) spoke to the essential role its human-animal volunteer teams play in the development and bright future of HABIC at CSU and in Colorado communities.
“The contributions of our volunteers have built this community of passionate and altruistic people who care about making a difference in the community through the power of the human-animal bond,” Holmquist-Johnson said.
“Our organization is indebted to hundreds of volunteers over three decades, each of whom makes a difference with individuals and groups every single week,” said Holmquist-Johnson.
The 30th anniversary was celebrated at a volunteer appreciation event in May. Watch the commemorative video to learn more about the history of HABIC.
Establishing the HABIC center in CSU’s School of Social Work
In 1993, founding director Georgia Granger began building HABIC in CSU’s School of Social Work, where her husband Ben Granger was serving as director and faculty. In 2003, Ben continued his career as co-director of HABIC.
HABIC successfully launched its volunteer-based community outreach program in 1994. HABIC-trained teams provided animal-assisted activities in healthcare settings, including the very first program at Spring Creek Health Care Center in Fort Collins.
HABIC expanded in 1995 to provide animal-assisted therapy in schools within the Thompson School District in Loveland. In each school, a volunteer team partners with a school professional to work with students on goals such as self-confidence, motivation, and empathy.
Before Ben Granger passed away in 2015, HABIC grew to encompass more than 150 volunteer human-animal teams serving hundreds of people weekly at more than 40 schools and nonprofits in Colorado.
Ben Granger was honored for his role as co-director of Human-Animal Bond in Colorado with the placement of a plaque, bench, and bronze statue of his favorite Golden Retriever, Casey, on the CSU campus outside of the School of Social Work.
HABIC receives a gift supporting research and education
In 2017, a gift of more than $1.6 million from the Avenir Foundation was donated with the purpose of growing the research and educational arms of HABIC.
The donation funded a full-time director of the center, responsible for fundraising and community outreach, as well as further enhanced staffing by funding a faculty position, a post-doctoral fellow and a graduate research associate dedicated to the program.
For much-needed research in the field, HABIC was able to fund interdisciplinary teams to develop early stage research projects focused on the therapeutic impacts of the human-animal bond.
The donation also provided support to begin the development of university courses focused on human-animal interventions.
Extending the reach of HABIC’s mission
Holmquist-Johnson joined HABIC as director in 2018. She first became involved with HABIC as a student in 1997, and completed her master’s thesis on the program, in addition to volunteering with three HABIC-certified dogs of her own in school and healthcare settings.
Under Holmquist-Johnson, HABIC began a search for a postdoctoral fellow to focus on building the science related to human-animal interaction, to better understand impacts on human health and mental health.
HABIC also launched the Social Aspects of Human-Animal Interactions graduate certificate program through CSU’s School of Social Work, allowing students to study techniques specific to animal-assisted therapy and interventions.
HABIC was able to furnish an office suite for the first time since its founding. Key staff members were added to the center with Animal Trainer and Volunteer Coordinator Kate Miller, and HABIC Office Coordinator Tricia Howley.
In the fall of 2022, Postdoctoral Research Fellow Kerri Rodriguez joined the HABIC team. Rodriguez’s research focuses on quantifying outcomes from the interactions and relationships that we have with dogs.
Miller and Rodriguez recently collaborated on a study about the short-term effects of a dog training intervention for military veterans with PTSD, earning a Distinction in Research award from CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences. HABIC is now collaborating with CSU partners to offer this dog training intervention to veterans at the university on a regular basis.
HABIC volunteers love sharing a powerful relationship
Throughout HABIC’s recent growth, not to mention a global pandemic, HABIC-trained human-animal teams continued to provide benefits of the human-animal bond in Colorado communities.
When Covid-19 restrictions prevented them from serving as they had in the past, HABIC volunteers wrote letters to residents of long-term care facilities and provided support for healthcare workers.
Today, returning to regular visits has reignited HABIC volunteers’ shared passion for making a difference with their animals.
“Whether it is a stressed college student, high school students learning what therapy dogs can do, elementary students learning new behaviors, medical care workers that need to separate from their work for a moment, or elders that just want a warm head to touch and connect with, all are important roles and ones that our dogs can fulfill so easily and lovingly,” said HABIC’s 2023 Volunteer of the Year Theresa Boyle.
Boyle’s dog Summer, a Golden Retriever, loves to comfort others and encourages people to pet her when she’s working as a therapy dog. “Whenever I see how much others enjoy petting her, I know we are giving love to the community and that brings me such joy.”
“They know the feeling of putting the HABIC bandana on our animal and sharing the human-animal bond to make someone’s day brighter,” Holmquist-Johnson said.
“I’m sincerely grateful to our volunteers, as well as to our supportive leadership at CSU and to the Avenir Foundation,” said Holmquist-Johnson. “The positive impact of our collective efforts for individuals, families, and communities through Animal-Assisted Interventions over the past 30 years simply cannot be overstated.”
About Human-Animal Bond in Colorado
Founded in 1993, Human-Animal Bond in Colorado (HABIC) is a center in the School of Social Work, part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences. HABIC’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people of all ages through the therapeutic benefits of companion animals, with particular focus in the areas of community outreach, teaching, and research.
HABIC volunteer teams make a difference in Colorado communities by providing animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapies. Please visit us at HABIC.org to learn more about volunteering with your animal.