The Human-Canine Alliance

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Human-Canine Alliance, Animal Rescue Service, burke county, NC.

The first-ever AI-powered human-canine matchmaking platform is live, it’s in beta, and you can test it right now. 👊🏼🐾

Try the beta app: app.humancaninealliance.com

10/31/2026

BIG NEWS!! 🎉🐾

Our founder, Stacie J. King, has been selected as a SPOTLIGHT PRESENTER at the SEA Change 2026 Showcase in Raleigh on November 11.

Out of every social enterprise in the cohort, this is one of the stories they chose to put on the main stage.

Why it matters: the room that day is full of people who fund, build and scale social impact in North Carolina and beyond. The pitch is simple, and it is the same one we make to you every week.

Our goal is to create purposeful connections. Because people need purpose, and dogs need someone who sees their purpose.

This is not a pet adoption story. It is a public health story, and this is my chance to tell it to a room that can help take it further.

You can vote for us here or save the date and plan to attend the live event on Nov 11! https://seachng.org/nc-crowd-favorite

10/30/2026

1 in 5 adopted dogs are returned, nationally. That's not a people problem, and it's not a dog problem. It's a matching problem.

This is why I built The Human-Canine Alliance. We ask about lifestyle, energy, home and wellness goals, and we build individualized training pathways into the adoption plan.

On November 11, I'll share my story as a Spotlight Presenter at the 2026 Showcase in Raleigh and explain that to the people who fund and scale social impact in North Carolina.

What I am bringing with me: 23 matched adoptions, 0 returns, and multiple NC shelters moving to matchmaking as their primary adoption path.

This is not a pet adoption story. It is a public health story, and this is my chance to tell it to a room that can help take it further.

You can vote for me here or save the date and plan to attend the live event on Nov 11! https://seachng.org/nc-crowd-favorite

10/28/2026

Been meaning to take a closer look at what makes life with your dog work so well? 🐾

Consider this your gentle last call. The Match Me My Dog Sidekick tier is $6 instead of $9 through October 29. After the offer, it returns to $9.

Get a five-part compatibility breakdown for your dog and you. It works for households with 1 to 10 dogs, with one owner profile used for each dog. One launch discount per purchase.

Take a look before the offer ends: app.humancaninealliance.com/match-me-my-dog

10/26/2026

"We haven't had a single one of those animals returned." 🐾

That's Kaitlin Settlemyre, Director of Burke County Animal Services in Morganton, North Carolina, in our behind-the scenes episode illustrating how they have implemented matchmaking into their adoption process.

Before: a kennel walk where kids cried, dogs barked, and people left without a dog.
After: a matchmaking station, a dedicated kennel tech, and a process built around the person instead of the photo.

In this episode:
-Why Burke County closed its kennels to the public, and what happened next
-How matchmaking fit into a workflow that already had no spare minutes
-The "AI" language problem and why they say matchmaking instead
-RESULTS! 21 matches, 0 returns

If you work in animal welfare, or you just want to see what the future of adoption looks like, this one is worth your twenty minutes.

Watch it on YouTube or listen: https://humancaninealliance.com/podcasts

10/20/2026

When loneliness is the diagnosis, what can a doctor prescribe?

In March 2026, WHO/Europe () designated the UK’s National Academy for Social Prescribing as its official Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing Policy and Development. WHO notes that about 1 in 5 primary care visits involve non-clinical needs, including loneliness and isolation.

The UK has more than 3,300 link workers and over 1 million social-prescribing referrals a year. The National Academy supports partners in more than 36 countries.

Connection matters. So does the right match.

A rescue dog can be real support, not an impulse. We ask about your lifestyle, not your diagnosis, and build personalized training into the adoption plan.

20 matched adoptions and counting. Zero returns so far. 🐾💙

Learn more: humancaninealliance.com

10/15/2026

How high would you and your dog score in compatibility? 🐾

Not a guess. A score.

Match Me My Dog measures it. From home, compare your dog's natural pace, preferences, and strengths with your real-life rhythms and goals. You get a personalized KBI (King Blue Index) Score, a five-part breakdown of how your lives align, and practical insights for daily life with your dog.

All from home. All about your dog.

Launch offer: the Sidekick tier is $6 (regularly $9) through October 29. One discount per purchase.

Works for households with 1 to 10 dogs, one owner profile per dog.

Using data to improve human-canine relationships.

Try Match Me My Dog: app.humancaninealliance.com/match-me-my-dog

Know a dog parent who should see this? Tag them! 💙

10/13/2026

What could a companion animal add to life satisfaction? A UK study put a number on it.

Gmeiner & Gschwandtner’s 2025 study in Social Indicators Research, using UK Household Longitudinal Study data, estimated a positive effect of pet companionship of 3 to 4 points on a 1-to-7 life satisfaction scale. The researchers valued that impact at up to £70,000 a year, roughly $90,000, comparable to regularly meeting friends and relatives.

That figure is a life-satisfaction valuation, not money pet owners receive. And the effect did not appear in a straightforward correlation. It emerged in the researchers’ analysis designed to account for reverse causality.

The study looked at pet companionship broadly. It did not test whether every person benefits automatically, or whether any dog is the right fit. For rescue-dog adoption, compatibility matters. That’s why we consider lifestyle, energy, needs and home environment, not just first impressions.

Learn more at humancaninealliance.com

10/12/2026

20 matched adoptions and counting! 🐾💚

First public results: 20 early beta successes, and zero returns so far. Industry wide, roughly 1 in 5 adopted dogs are returned or rehomed.

We match on lifestyle, energy, needs and home environment, with training built into the adoption plan. Thank you, Burke County Animal Services, for being the first to trust this new approach to adoption.

Forty lives changed!! 👀 🐾 ❤️

Learn more at humancaninealliance.com

10/11/2026

Can a dog ease loneliness more effectively than a human visitor?

A first-of-its-kind randomized trial says yes, at least in the short term.

Researchers studied 60 adults hospitalized for treatment of mental illness. Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three options:

🐾 A therapy dog and handler
💬 A human visitor without the dog
🏥 Usual care

The visits lasted 20 minutes a day for three days.

Loneliness decreased significantly more for the people who spent time with the therapy dog than for those who received a human-only visit or usual care.

Not anecdotal. Not just a feel-good story. Real data behind the idea of “dogs as medicine.”

The study does not suggest dogs replace mental health care. It shows that the presence of a dog may offer something uniquely powerful: a safe, immediate connection that helps people feel less alone.

That is the opportunity we see at The Human-Canine Alliance. When we match the right person with the right dog, companionship can support wellness, belonging, and two lives at once. 🐾💙

Learn more at humancaninealliance.com

10/10/2026

“You start to only focus on the things you don't like about your dog, instead of remembering all the things that you love about your dog.” 🐾

Press play for this powerful moment from our throwback conversation with Kassidy King: dog trainer, rescue advocate, and leader of the Pawsitive Change.

Kassidy reminds us that when we focus only on flaws, we can lose sight of the relationship itself. Connection comes before correction. Understanding comes before control.

🎧 Full episode: “Throwback Interview: Relationship-Based Dog Training with Kassidy King”, listen here: https://humancaninealliance.com/podcasts

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Burke County, NC
28655

Website

https://humancaninealliance.com/app-demo

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