Honoring the Bond

Our Services

The mission of Honoring the Bond is to recognize and honor the human-animal bond by providing support to companion animal owners.   Honoring the Bond services are available, at no cost, to clients of The OSU Veterinary Medical Center.  

 Our primary role is to provide emotional support and information to companion animal owners that are experiencing the illness, injury, loss or death of their companion animal.  Through specialized training we also provide veterinary teams and students with the communication skills needed to promote quality veterinary care and veterinary career success.  The Honoring the Bond Program also serves as a field training/internship site for graduate social work students.

Companion Animal Listening Line (CALL) pet loss helpline:               

(614) 293-1823

 Monday - Friday, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Saturday and Sunday, 10 am - 4 pm

 The OSU Companion Animal Listening Line (CALL) is a help line that is answered by student volunteers (Veterinary and/or Social Work students).   The role is to offer support to owners that are experiencing difficult situations involving their companion animal.    (Hotline coverage is dependent on volunteer availability.)

Joelle Nielsen, MSW, LSW, Honoring the Bond Program Coordinator

(614) 247-8607 or e-mail at joelle [dot] nielsen [at] cvm [dot] osu [dot] edu

 A full-time, licensed social worker, employed by the Ohio State Veterinary Medical Center

• Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
• Client consultations are available by phone, e-mail or in person during regular office hours

Printable Fact Sheets

Media Spotlight

Joelle Nielsen, Honoring the Bond program coordinator, was interviewed by OnCampus, Ohio State's faculty and staff newspaper. Out of about 20 job nomiations, the publication listed Nielsen's as one of the most unique careers at the university. Read the article.