Recovery-Oriented Dog Intervention (RODI): An Autoethnography on How a Dog Made Us Change Our Perception of Recovery and Flatten Our Ontologies

Authors

Knut Tore Sælør, University of South-Eastern NorwayFollow
Rose-Marie Bank, University of South-Eastern NorwayFollow

Abstract

Allegedly named after a dog show judge, our late dog Rodi was never a Recovery-Oriented Dog Intervention (RODI). Through collaborative-duo-autoethnography, we explore how our mundane co-existence with Rodi has influenced our perspectives on health struggles, recovery, ontology, and what really matters when life becomes difficult, and push comes to shove. We have shared texts describing our memories of how Rodi entered and influenced our lives. Through our collaborative writing we have discovered similarities and differences. Drawing inspiration from philosophy, posthumanism, and new materialism, we argue that our four-legged companion not only changed our everyday lives, but also our perspectives on methodology and research. Taking on a flat or non-dualistic ontology, companion species, whether animals, or organic beings like flowers, plants, and biota, can all be part of what constitutes a family assemblage.

Keywords

recovery, family assemblage, autoethnography, health, ontology, companion species

Author Bio(s)

Knut Tore Sælør: I’m a registered nurse with a background from the field of mental health. I hold a Ph.D. in psychology, currently an associate professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway, Institute of Health-, Social- and Welfare Studies, and leader of Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. I try to find time to involve myself in collaborative research projects and have a keen interest in autoethnography and collaborative research methods. Please direct correspondence to knut.tore.salor@usn.no

Rose-Marie Bank: I am a registered nurse with a master's degree in clinical mental health work and further education in collaborative research within mental health work. Currently, I work as a peer researcher at the Institute of Health, Social, and Welfare studies, and as a university lecturer at the Institute of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of South-Eastern Norway. My professional interests are recovery and collaborative research. Please direct correspondence to rose-marie.bank@usn.no

Publication Date

7-27-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7596

Recommended APA Citation

Sælør, K. T., & Bank, R.-M. (2025). Recovery-oriented dog intervention (RODI): An autoethnography on how a dog made us change our perception of recovery and flatten our ontologies. The Qualitative Report, 30(7), 3920-3937. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7596

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4858-8830