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Photography project puts working dogs in the spotlight
Laura Wiggins hopes her work will encourage support for charities

The bond between working dogs and their handlers has been explored in a new photography project by Laura Wiggins, a student at the University of Northampton.


Magic, a diabetes alert dog from Medical Detection Dogs alerting his owner to changes in her blood sugar levels.


Laura graduated in July, after completing her final year project, Dedicated Dogs. She hopes to raise awareness of the positive impact working dogs have on their owners’ lives and encourage people to support working dog charities.

“Dogs deserve recognition for their lifelong commitment to people and my project was a great opportunity to do this,” Laura explained. “I’m hoping it raises awareness of the passion, dedication, and intelligence of working dogs and their relationship with us humans.

“Inspiring a single person to donate any spare change, sponsor a working dog or volunteer their time for a working dog charity themselves, for instance, will ultimately be the best accomplishment for all the hard work, perseverance and effort that I have and will continue to commit to this series.”


Nursing home residents interacting with Max the therapy dog, from Pets as Therapy.

Kirby an urban search and rescue dog alerting he had found his handler, who had been acting as a casualty on a training session.

Cathy, a guide dog on a shopping trip with her owner waiting patiently for her next command.

PC Olly, a police dog for Northamptonshire Police, perfecting his heel work with his handler.
 
Images © Laura Wiggins

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.