VPMA-SPVS Congress Charity Fund-raiser Raises Over £1300 For Medical Detection Dogs And The Links Group

VPMA Past-President Pauline Graham with Sue Surbey and her Diabetic Medical Detection Dog Casper Following their successful joint congress, VPMA and SPVS senior vice-presidents Pauline Graham and Gudrun Ravetz recently presented cheques to their chosen congress charities. Medical Detection Dogs and The Links Group were the beneficiaries of a fund-raiser at the recent Veterinary Business & Management Congress where guests at the congress banquet and dinner donated a whopping £1310. Chairman of the Links Group Freda Scott-Park Chairman of The Links Group, Freda Scott-Park, was delighted to receive the cheque from SPVS commenting ‘We’re so grateful for this donation which will go directly towards helping to raise awareness of the links between the abuse of children, vulnerable adults and animals. This year we are rolling out our programme of training in collaboration with Medics against Violence for veterinary practices to teach them how to recognise signs of domestic and animal abuse and more importantly still, what to do if they are presented with such a scenario. SPVS is a key supporter of our work, helping us to gain direct access to practice staff where this vital education needs to take place.’ The VPMA’s chosen charity was Medical Detection Dogs. Past president Pauline Graham was keen to get involved with this growing charity ‘Medical alert dogs are already out there helping in the management of diabetes and other debilitating diseases, as well as participating in research into the early detection of cancers. I was fortunate to learn more about the charity’s work recently from Sue and have met Casper on a couple of occasions. Casper’s ability to detect changes in Sue’s blood sugar levels was literally life-saving for her and allowed her to resume her normal activities, which would just not have been possible before. I felt that practice managers would very much want to support and promote this great cause. So I’m over the moon to be able to present this donation on behalf of the VPMA and thank everyone for their generosity.’

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