We love animals—they can be furry, fun, expressive…and moody, just like us!

If you’ve ever wondered what your pet was thinking, you’ve probably compared your pet’s feelings to human emotions. The authors of the upcoming ALOUD program “Not Uniquely Human: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health” show us just how  much we can in fact learn from such comparisons.

On July 10th, ALOUD convenes author Laurel Braitman (Animal Madness), Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers (Zoobiquity) for a conversation on the vast commonalities between human and animal mental and physical health. From an anxiety ridden dog who jumped out of a window to performance anxiety among thoroughbred horses, the authors will share poignant and entertaining examples from their personal experiences and outside research that illuminates the parallels between us and the animal world.

Laurel Braitman, author and science historian, delves into the uncanny similarities between the species in her new book Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves. Braitman’s anthropological background prompted her to closely observe the compulsive behavior of her new Bernese Mountain Dog, and to then realize that something was indeed very wrong. This discovery took Braitman down a path of realization that nonhuman animals can suffer from the same mental illnesses that humans do:

“Every animal with a mind has the capacity to lose hold of it from time to time. Sometimes the trigger is abuse or mistreatment, but not always. I’ve come across depressed and anxious gorillas, compulsive horses, rats, donkeys, and seals, obsessive parrots, self-harming dolphins, and dogs with dementia, many of whom share their exhibits, homes, or habitats with other creatures who don’t suffer from the same problems. …There is plenty of abnormal behavior in the animal world, captive, domestic, and wild, and plenty of evidence of recovery; you simply need to know where and how to find it.”

Using evidence from veterinary sciences, medical and mental health professionals, Darwin’s historical accounts, zoo keepers, animal handlers, pet owners and more, Animal Madness proves that animals of all species may suffer from similar mental disorders, and that if we use our understanding of mental and emotional issues in humans, we might be able to better help animals suffering from similar conditions.

Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers, authors of Zoobiquity, also champion the similarities between humans and animals by focusing on some surprising physical health problems that can arise across species. Cardiologist Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz began looking within the animal kingdom for examples of health issues she saw in her human patients, and was shocked to find many parallels that could be used as beneficial comparisons in diagnosing humans: bears struggling with obesity, monkeys developing heart failure, and chimpanzees fainting when stressed or dehydrated. Each case the authors encountered reinforced their belief that human and animal doctors should be working together in order to find, share and improve upon solutions to pan-species health problems.