The Bond Factor: Why stronger connections are driving technology adoption in veterinary care

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, Lindsey Braun, vice president of research for the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), and Tiffany Tupler, DVM, CBCC-KA, join our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to the first show of 2026! In the episode, the trio takes a closer look at the results of a recent survey conducted by the HABRI to gain a better understanding of current trends surrounding the human-animal bond, how Chewy Health is working to bridge the gaps between clients and veterinary teams, and more.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: From recording the highest-ever human-animal bond score to uncovering what drives client satisfaction. So what stood out to you most in the findings and why are these results important for veterinary teams and the broader pet care landscape?

Lindsey Braun: So just to unpack that, you know, we measured the human animal bond, the strength of it using our HAB score, which is a 14-statement scale that gets at the 4 different dimensions of the bond: attachment, humanization, commitment, and integration. So the highest possible score you can get is a 70, and we saw an average of 60 across these respondents. That's actually the highest average we've ever seen. We've done a number of surveys that include this measure, really indicating that the bond is stronger than ever. Maybe it's really to no huge surprise. We know, even just asking the respondents, 97% of them indicated their pet was like family, 90% reported health benefits resulting from having their pet. But the surprising thing wasn't that the bond is strong. It's actually that there are significant differences in terms of the strength of the bond.

We kind of grouped pet owners into strong, stronger, strongest based on their responses. Actually, if you look at it on the chart, it's not a bell curve, it’s actually folks are really clustered towards the top. But in terms of things like behavior, vet visits, those with the strongest bonds are more likely to visit the vet more often. Willingness to spend on pets is different, and then how they experience challenges. Those with the strongest bonds, they didn't necessarily experience more challenges related to pet care. But the challenges they experienced more deeply and acutely, and then also willingness to uptake technology when it comes to addressing certain you know, challenges through technology, they're more likely to be interested, and also already be utilizing tech tools.

And so this matters to teams. I think, maybe it comes to no surprise, understanding a client's bond can really help be more effective in the care that you deliver, in the recommendations, not only the care recommendations, but what you offer in terms of tech solutions, for example, and understanding the bond can really help you deliver more effective and responsive care.

Christman: I can't get over that it's 60 out of 70. That's huge. I mean, I'm not surprised and I don't know, I go back and forth on that number, because I was like, ‘Wow, that really is, it's higher than I anticipated, which is good. I think yay for us.’ But is there anything in there about our pets being our ‘Velcro’ pets?

Braun: There's about like, you know how much? Yeah, there's nothing about, like Oh, my pets…well, their attachment is one of the dimensions. Yeah, we'll get into a little bit about pet owners wanting to spend a lot more time with [them].

Christman: Let's talk about the emotional toll. Because, my goodness, we're going to get into that in a little bit too, because I know that's important, but knowledge gap in pet health. Dr Tiffany, this is interesting. The survey showed that 82% of pet owners struggle to understand their pet’s health needs. So from a veterinary perspective, how does this knowledge gap impact care, and what role can veterinary teams play in closing that?

Tiffany Tupler, DVM, CBCC-KA: As a shelter veterinarian myself and a community educator, we see this a lot. So this, from our side, doesn't surprise us. When you think about where we are in veterinary medicine, we're very strong at what we do best, which is diagnosing, treating and fixing animals, but the gap with what people know just about basic stuff, nutrition, behavior, like, Why do I have to go to my vet every year for them, it's really difficult.

They don't know where to go for resources, and we have to remember, not everybody is a scientist, so they don't understand, like, how to dissect, you know, what's good, what's bad, information. Sometimes the best speaker or the best writer may be the winner of that. And so as veterinary professionals, this is a huge area where we can impact not just veterinary care, but from a human perspective as well. I mean, this is one health medicine right here, right? So utilizing your veterinary teams, that's number one. So how do we do that? Teach pet parents what are good resources…

Listen to the full episode to hear the rest of this conversation, and more!