Unsung Heroes 2023 & Philippa Robinson Dog Welfare Award

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Every year the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) hosts a unique event to provide a platform for campaigners & lesser-known organisations to help celebrate & spread awareness of the wonderful work they're doing for dog & often human welfare. 

We're now both honoured & delighted to welcome canine-loving journalist Lucrezia Millarini who will co-host the evening with APDAWG secretariat & vet Dr Marc Abraham OBE.

Newsreader Lucrezia, who has her own Lhasa Apso called Milo is ambassador for several canine charities incl. Support Dogs, plus has appeared on Dancing on Ice & Celeb Mastermind, will also give attendees invaluable & unmissable media tips on getting campaigns noticed by mainstream news channels, delivering the perfect media interview, approaching celebs for support, talk about her love of dogs & so much more!

We can't wait to welcome dog-loving guests & our esteemed Unsung Heroes to Parliament next Tues to help celebrate & spread awareness of the wonderful work being done, often with minimal resources, to improve canine, as well as often human welfare.

For those attending, please arrive at Cromwell Green Entrance (see no.8 on map below) no later than around 5pm to ensue you get through security & up to Committee Room 10 with plenty of time. Tell security you're there for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dog Welfare's Unsung Heroes Event. Bring photo ID just in case (it's unlikely you'll be asked). Full map here.

On the evening we also present APDAWG's Philippa Robinson Dog Welfare Award to someone who's gone over & above to campaign for & promote dog welfare.

Guest speakers (no particular order): 

Jade Statt (StreetVet)

StreetVet is an award-winning national charity offering free accessible vet care & services to pets belonging to those experiencing homelessness. A chance meeting with a homeless gentleman & his dog inspired co-founder Jade a vet who qualified from Glasgow Vet School in 2002 to take vet care out onto the streets to the people & pets that need it most. What started in 2016 as 2 vets, Jade Statt & co-founder Sam Joseph plus a backpack full of vet supplies, is now a charity fuelled by hundreds of vet & vet nurse volunteers who swap practice for pavement in 18 locations across UK from Glasgow to Cornwall & growing. StreetVet recognises & champions the importance of the human-animal bond & in discovering that less than 10% of UK hostels are pet friendly, launched the StreetVet Accredited Hostel Scheme in 2020 to make it as easy as possible for hostels to say yes to pets & prioritise keeping owners & their beloved pets together. Nobody should have to face the impossible choice between a roof over their heads or giving up their best friend.

Clare Rusbridge (Professor in Veterinary Neurology)

Clare Rusbridge is Professor in Vet Neurology at Uni of Surrey & Senior Neurologist at Wear Referrals. She became Batchelor of Vet Medicine in Surgery from Glasgow Uni in 1991 & Diplomate of the European College of Vet Neurology after a residency in Vet Neurology & Neurosurgery at Royal Veterinary College. She became a RCVS Specialist in Vet Neurology in 1997 & was awarded a PhD from Utrecht Uni in 2007. She has spent over 25 years researching Chiari malformation, syringomyelia & maladaptive pain. As a result of this work, she received the JA Wight Memorial award in 2011, was made Fellow of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (meritorious contribution to knowledge) in 2016, received an RCVS Impact award in 2022 & awarded the Pet Plan Charitable Trust Scientific Award for 2023. Clare has authored or co-authored over 160 scientific articles & book chapters, plus co-edited a medical textbook on human syringomyelia & is a popular invited speaker in 5 continents. Her professional interests include epilepsy, neuropathic pain, inherited diseases & rehabilitation. 

Neil McAuliffe (The Working Dogs Foundation)

The Working Dogs Foundation supports those in the field of working dogs to give a point of reference, to offer advice, training & support. Supporting the use of working dogs in support roles, in the fight against contraband, in providing medical assistance, in military & police services, dogs for conservation & in the many areas a dog can be utilized using its natural attributes to benefit mankind. The Working Dogs Foundation provides assistance to individuals & organisations alike.

Eve Welton (The Underdogs Training)

Eve Welton is founder of The Underdogs Training, which specialises in training & advocating for blind dogs. Eve’s own dog lost her vision back at the beginning of pandemic & ever since this Eve has been helping other dog guardians understand their dog’s needs & help them get back to the joy that they once had. Alongside 1-to-1 coaching Eve has set up a free online group to help support blind dog owners & share experiences to help all blind dogs get back on track & live a fulfilling happy life.

Linda Joyce-Jones (Rosa's Mobile Vets)

Linda lives in beautiful Anglesey in Wales. She's mother to 2 rescue cats but has been a feline foster mum to many more through the years! She is known for her determination, which comes, Linda thinks, from her Irish/Welsh roots. In 2015 an ‘educational show’ featuring lions & tigers toured Cymru after being refused a licence to tour England. In early 2017 Linda's petition calling for a ban of the use of wild animals in Welsh circuses went live on the Welsh Parliament website. To Linda's utter amazement the Wild Animals in Circuses (Wales) Bill became legislation in Sept 2021. In June along with Jack Sargeant MS Linda co-hosted the first event of it's kind in the Welsh Senedd to gather info regarding the corporate stakeholder vet corporates & their impact. A month later the Welsh Parliament announced an inquiry. During a cost-of-living crisis which coincided with the biggest animal welfare crisis the vet & rescue sectors have ever seen, Linda founded & is Co- Director of Rosa's Milfeddygon Symudol- Mobile Vets Ynys Môn, a not-for-profit community interest group which takes its name from Linda's beloved feline family member Rosa; the ultimate attempt to turn a tragedy into a positive for the hundreds of Rosa's & their families.

Elizabeth Ormerod (The Society for Companion Animal Studies)

Dr Ormerod is a retired vet with a deep interest in human-animal interactions & especially in how knowledge of the bond, animal welfare, animal behaviour & vet medicine can be applied to help the most vulnerable people & animals. She pioneered bond-centred vet practice & vet community outreach, introducing Animal-Assisted Services to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, sheltered housing & prisons. She is Chair of The Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), is a Trustee of Our Special Friends & past Vice President IAHAIO. Elizabeth co-founded Canine Partners, the UK assistance dog progamme, is a Churchill Fellow, is the recipient of the international William F McCulloch award for excellence in human-animal interactions & was CEVA UK Vet of the Year 2021.

Emily Wilson (Head of Programmes FOUR PAWS UK)

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need & protects them. Their vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy & understanding. With a decade of animal welfare & environmental protection experience, Emily currently heads up the campaigns team at FOUR PAWS UK, working across a number of wild, farmed & companion animal welfare issues. One of their biggest campaign priorities is working to end the illegal puppy trade across Europe & promote better regulation of online classified ad sites which currently see many international breeders exploiting the system & selling and/or importing puppies illegally.

Åshild Roaldset & Eva Hustoft (The Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals)

Åshild Roaldset qualified from Bristol Vet in 2001. After several years in clinical practice, she started working at Norwegian Vet School, first as a manager for the continued profession education unit & thereafter as practice manager for the small animal & equine hospitals. Åshild also holds a master’s degree in public health & has studied economy and leadership. She has worked as CEO of the Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals since 2018.

Eva Breuer Hustoft is a registered vet nurse from Norwegian Vet School in 2010. After some years in clinical practice, she completed a 5-year master’s program in Nature Management at Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 2016. Eva has worked as a scientific adviser for the Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals since 2015.