ABI was founded in 2004 by Dr. Gary Fortier and Dr. Janis Hammer. Over the last decade, these award-winning college faculty have designed and created college majors in Animal Behavior, Training, & Enrichment, Animal-Assisted Therapy & Activities, and Zoo Science. These programs have become extremely popular with students and obviously fill a strong need in higher education.

However, it became clear that these traditional college courses, requiring full-time attendance and travel to campus, were not available to many students, particularly non-traditional students that were restricted to evening classes or distance education. Drs. Fortier and Hammer founded the Animal Behavior Institute in order to offer behavioral courses and training online. Web based, interactive courses allow adult students to obtain professional quality instruction without travel, anywhere at any time. The courses and programs offered through the Animal Behavior Institute provide individualized instruction, certification, and continuing education credits for animal professionals and all those that wish to develop a better understanding of animals, their care and behavior, and the human-animal bond.