Leading animal charities announce winners in student vet awards
02 September 2014
Cats Protection and Dogs Trust have announced the winners in their third annual veterinary student Extra Mural Studies (EMS) Awards.
The awards, organised jointly by the two charities, are part of a scheme enabling third, fourth and fifth year veterinary students to gets hands-on work experience at one of the welfare organisations.
Following the placements, students are asked to submit reports on their findings to be in the running for the awards.
For the Cats Protection award, joint winners Lene Dahlerud, 24, and Lydia Cheyne, 22, both final year students from the University of Nottingham, each took home a prize of £500. Lene won recognition for her report titled 'Feline Immunodeficiency Virus' while Lydia's winning paper was 'Co-habitation of cats in the shelter environment.'
Cats Protection runners-up were Anna Frykfors von Hekkel, of the Royal Veterinary College, for her report 'FIV and FeLV testing in rescue and rehoming organisations – why, which cat, when?' and Gloria Feltham, of Bristol University, for her report 'The challenges of providing an adequate socialisation programme for kittens while managing the risk of infectious disease, to ensure lifelong healthy and well-adapted adult pet cats.'
The winner of the Dogs Trust award was Poppy Gant, 22, from the University of Liverpool who focused on ‘The Human Animal Bond and potential impact on future clinical care’. Runner-ups for the Dogs Trust awards were Holly Rowe, 23, from the University of Bristol, who concentrated her piece on the kennel behaviour of dogs at Dogs Trust Shrewsbury where she conducted a placement during her final year and Katie Meacher from the University of Edinburgh. 22-year-old Katie was acknowledged for her report after shadowing a member of the Training and Behaviour team at Dogs Trust Kenilworth, where both she and Poppy undertook placements.
Cats Protection’s Director of Veterinary Services, Maggie Roberts, said: “The scheme is a great way to support veterinary students and give them experience of feline welfare issues while they are training. We had some very impressive entries and it was difficult for us to select winners. However, the ones we have chosen show a deep commitment to feline care and we wish them all the best in their future careers.”
Dogs Trust Veterinary Director Paula Boyden says: “We were amazed at the calibre of reports the students submitted this year. Poppy, Katie and Holly stood out for their in-depth research into their chosen topics and were amazing assets to Dogs Trust’s Kenilworth and Shrewsbury rehoming centres where they carried out their placements.”
Cats Protection joint winner Lydia Cheyne, 22, of Nottingham, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my EMS placement with the Cats Protection, and learned some invaluable lessons that I will most definitely take forward with me when I start in practice. I am honored to have won this award.”
Fellow Cats Protection winner Lene, 24, of Derby, said: “Cats Protection does such an important job in promoting cat welfare, including education of the public as well as the professionals. I was thoroughly impressed by all the hard work done by both staff and volunteers, and as a vet student I will particularly value the knowledge shared with me on the aspects of epidemiology, feline behaviour and feline medicine.
Fellow winner, but this time for her canine research, Poppy Gant said: “I’m delighted to have been rewarded for undertaking a research project I enjoyed so much. The team at Dogs Trust Kenilworth were so helpful and accommodating and I learned so much from them, I hope my paper has some insights which may continue to benefit the dogs they help.”
For more information about Cats Protection please visit
www.cats.org.uk
For more information about Dogs Trust please visit
www.dogstrust.org.uk
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About Cats Protection
1. Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and helps over 218,000 cats and kittens each year through a national network of 257 volunteer-run branches and 30 adoption centres.
2. Cats Protection’s registered charity number is 203644 (England and Wales) and SC037711 (Scotland). The charity’s vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.
3. Founded as the Cats Protection League in 1927, the charity adopted the name Cats Protection in 1998. We ask that you use the name Cats Protection when referring to the charity in all published material.
About Dogs Trust
1. Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year through its network of 18 Rehoming Centres across the UK and one in Ireland. Two new centres are due to open in Basildon, Essex and Denton, Manchester later this year.
2. Dogs Trust is working towards the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.