Dogs Trust is pleased to announce that Stephanie Brien, a fifth year veterinary student at Cambridge University has won the prestigious Dogs Trust Veterinary Scholarship for 2007, the announcement was made at the 2007 Petplan Veterinary Awards.

The Dogs Trust Veterinary Scholarship has been running since 2006 and the previous winner has produced some excellent results from her project.

Stephanie was enthusiastic to use the skills that she had learnt in her MSc and Leadership programme, to design and execute her own research project.  Stephanie’s study is designed to establish breed-specific creatinine reference ranges for dogs.  This would enable more accurate detection of renal failure which is crucial in order to enhance quality of life and improve the prognostic outcome through facilitating rapid initiation of therapy.

Clarissa Baldwin, Dogs Trust Chief Executive comments:

“We were delighted with Stephanie’s proposal and wish her the very best of luck with her research.  We were inundated with such a high standard of entries this year that our final decision was not an easy one.

Dogs Trust is proud to be involved with such a scholarship, designed to help veterinary students continue their clinical research, to provide even better care for dogs.”

Stephanie was thrilled to win the scholarship, she commented:

“This means so much to me.  The funding will not only allow me to improve the quality of life for many dogs, it will also provide me with a fantastic opportunity to build on my research background by gaining experience of study design, clinical pathology and statistical analysis.”

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and has 17 rehoming centres nationwide, each year the charity cares for over 15,000 stray and abandoned dogs.

For anyone interested in finding out further information on the charity, please visit the website www.dogstrust.org.uk or call 020 7837 0006.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Judges for the Dogs Trust Veterinary Scholarship for 2007, were Chris Laurence, Dogs Trust Veterinary Director, Ted Chandler, Dogs Trust Trustee and Ruth Fermor, winner of Dogs Trust Veterinary Scholarship for 2006.

Journalists, photographers and film crews are welcome to interview Stephanie Brien and Clarissa Baldwin.

For more information, please contact Dogs Trust Press Office:

Claire Waters- Duke Press Officer, Dogs Trust
020 7833 7616 email: claire.watersduke@dogstrust.org.uk

Dogs Trust is working towards the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.