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‘How Is Fido?’: What the Family’s Companion Animal Can Tell You about Risk Assessment and Effective Interventions — If Only You Would Ask!

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Part of the book series: The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series ((PMAES))

Abstract

Early in my social work career, I was a child protective services worker in the San Francisco Bay Area. Caseloads were high and cooperation low. I worried about the decisions I had to make. If I underestimated risk, a child could be harmed, even killed; if I overestimated risk, a child could be needlessly traumatised by an unnecessary removal from the home. Yet, realistically, how much could I, or anybody, see in the single home visit on which such life-altering decisions are based? How could I build a collaborative relationship while gathering potentially incriminating evidence?

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© 2014 Lynn Loar

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Loar, L. (2014). ‘How Is Fido?’: What the Family’s Companion Animal Can Tell You about Risk Assessment and Effective Interventions — If Only You Would Ask!. In: Ryan, T. (eds) Animals in Social Work. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137372291_9

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