This article is a special contribution by UI undergraduate Rylee Newland, a journalism and mass communication major. She wrote this piece for her Spring 2026 Reporting and Writing class. The University of Iowa recently became home to the Human-Animal Interactions for Wellbeing Collaborative in the fall of 2025. This collaborative is one of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies’ newest working groups. The collaborative is co-directed by Adrienne Johnson, an associate professor of instruction in the health, sport and human physiology department, and Katy Schroeder, an associate professor in the College of Education. The Human-Animal Interactions for Wellbeing Collaborative seeks to bridge the gap between academic research and community knowledge surrounding human-animal interactions. The group brings together scholars and advocates from various disciplines, with the ultimate goal of creating a space where discussions around best practices, ethics, and education on animal-assisted interventions can be held.