Janette Young lectures in health policy, politics and promotion at the University of South Australia. Her research interests hub around the human-animal intersection, salutogenesis or what creates health and wellbeing, social justice and public policy. She has a background as a social worker in ageing, and project and policy work across a diverse range of human interest areas. It was working as a social work student many years ago that she learned that seeking to holistically meet the needs of some people has to encompass caring about the animals these people care about.

Neil Carr is head of the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago and the editor of Annals of Leisure Research. His research focuses on understanding behaviour within tourism and leisure experiences, with a particular emphasis on children and families, sex and animals. He has authored and edited several books, including Dogs in the Leisure Experience (2014) and Domestic Animals and Leisure (2015).