Unsung Heroes 2025 & 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 orgs to help celebrate & spread awareness of the wonderful work they're doing, often with minimal resources, for both dog & human welfare.

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

Guest speakers:

Dr Claire Guest OBE, Medical Detection Dogs

Claire is a globally recognised leader in the field of canine bio-detection. In 2008, she co-founded Medical Detection Dogs (MDD), a pioneering charity that trains both cancer & bio detection dogs & medical alert assistance dogs to assist individuals with complex medical conditions. Claire directed one of the first studies in the world to train dogs to identify bladder cancer by odour, publishing a proof of principle in the BMJ in 2004. Since then, she has authored & co-authored a substantial body of peer-reviewed research, becoming a prominent figure in the field of canine olfaction research. For the last decade MDD have been collaborating with quantum physicist, Dr Andreas Mershin, to develop a pioneering electronic nose designed to detect prostate cancer, modelled on the extraordinary scent-detection ability of dogs.

Michelle Southern OBE, Street Paws 

Founder & Chief Executive of Street Paws, a UK charity standing up for people & pets facing homelessness. Since launching the charity in 2016, Michelle has led a national movement to make pet-inclusive homelessness support the norm, not the exception. Through partnership with local authorities, hostels & vet partners, she champions the rights of homeless pet owners to ensure compassion & inclusion are built into every homelessness policy. Her leadership continues to drive Street Paws’ vision of a future where homelessness never separates people from their pets, in 2024 her contribution was recognised with the award of an OBE for services to homeless people & their animals. 

Debbie Wilson & Ouidad Elma, IAWPC

Debbie is lead IAWPC campaigner & Ouidad is Moroccan/French actress/PETA Ambassador. The IAWPC is an international coalition of 80+ animal welfare orgs incl. RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Soi Dog & PETA. The IAWPC launched a campaign against the massacre of the free roaming dogs in Morocco in Oct 2024. The massacre of the dogs had hugely exacerbated due to Morocco co-hosting the 2030 FIFA Football Tournament. IAWPC are attending APDAWG to give an update on their campaign, which incl. their advocacy work with FIFA on this important issue. 

Patrick Williams, The Cinnamon Trust

Patrick joined The Cinnamon Trust in 2015, working closely alongside founder, Mrs. Averil Jarvis MBE. Through this collaboration, Patrick gained invaluable insights into Mrs. Jarvis’ vision & guiding philosophies that underpin the heart of their mission. Bringing with him a rich tapestry of experience from both the charity & commercial sectors, Patrick has a diverse background that incl. roles at an arts charity & disability charity, as well as with renowned companies British Airways, The Post Office & Vodafone. Patrick is a true animal lover & takes immense pride in his two German Shepherd dogs, Sable & Riley.

Hille Fieten, Diplomate of European College of Vet Internal Medicine

Director of the Expertise Centre Genetics of Companion Animals & European Specialist Internal Medicine. Hille is associate professor clinical genetics at the Faculty of Vet Medicine at Utrecht Uni & works part-time in the clinic as specialist in internal medicine, with a subspecialty in Hepatology. She leads the Expertise Centre of Genetics where she & her team study hereditary diseases & harmful breed characteristics in companion animals, as well as a compassionate internal medicine vet instrumental in using evidence to create legislation to restrict the breeding & keeping of dogs with extreme conformation in the Netherlands. 

Lee Ivory, UK ISAR Deputy National Coordinator

Over the past 3 decades, UK ISAR has established itself as the premier international search & rescue team, serving as the official UK Government response funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

UK ISAR is renowned for its expertise, dedication & unwavering commitment to saving lives in the most challenging situations, incl. onset disasters. The team can deploy within a 6-10 hour timeframe from a designated national point of departure, a capability honed over more than 31 years. UK ISAR incl. personnel from 14 of the UK’s Fire & Rescue Services, with support from volunteers in orgs outside of UK Fire & Rescue Services, incl. USAR Medical Teams, Structural Engineers & Vets.

Estella Newbold-Brown & Sarah Lucy Cooper, 'Pets on Divorce' Working Group

Estella is a Partner & Head of the Family Law Department at Amphlett Lissimore. With nearly 20 years of experience, she's been a passionate advocate for pet-nups & fair resolution of pet-related disputes. Alongside Sarah Lucy Cooper, she co-founded the Working Group on Pets on Divorce & Separation, an initiative aimed at reforming the law to ensure pets are treated not as mere property but with a focus on their welfare through a more balanced, welfare-based framework.

Sarah Lucy is a Schnoodle owner & co-founder of the Working Group on Pets on Divorce & Separation, formed with intention of changing the laws across the UK so pets are no longer treated by the courts as mere chattels, equivalent to pots, on relationship breakdown. An international family law barrister specialising in cross border divorce cases in particular with Spain & Latin America, Sarah Lucy is also Fellow of International Academy of Family Lawyers. As a result of her international work Sarah Lucy realised that many other countries had already changed their laws in respect of pets on divorce & separation.

This meeting will be followed by drinks, food & networking at a nearby hotel bar. Thanks to Agria Pet Insurance for all their generous support.