Dr Paula Boyden, Veterinary Director of the UK’s largest dog welfare charity Dogs Trust, is to receive the 2023 WSAVA One Health Award in recognition of her work to highlight the role of veterinary teams in spotting signs of animal and domestic abuse. Dr Boyden is also Chair of the Links Group, a UK-based charity, which campaigns to raise awareness of the link between the abuse of people and animals through support, training and inter-agency working. In this role, she has lectured widely using a wide range of educational resources developed by the Links Group for veterinary teams.

A prestigious global Award, the WSAVA One Health Award is presented by the WSAVA’s One Health Committee (OHC) to an individual or organization which has promoted an aspect of One Health relevant to companion animals. The link between One Health and domestic violence has been a key focus of the One Health Committee and it will address the topic at a workshop on September 26 in Lisbon, Portugal, the day before this year’s WSAVA World Congress. Dr Boyden will participate in the workshop, together with Dr Melinda Merck, a former co-chair of the WSAVA’s Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee, and a global expert on veterinary forensics and animal crime scene investigation.

Dr Boyden graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 1992 and spent 11 years in general practice. She joined Dogs Trust in 2010 and was appointed Veterinary Director in 2011. In addition to her veterinary responsibilities, she is involved with the charity’s outreach work, including the Freedom project, which provides temporary fostering for dogs belonging to people fleeing domestic abuse, and public affairs. In her role as Chair of the Links Group, she is involved in undergraduate training on Non-Accidental Injury (NAI) within the UK veterinary schools.

Commenting, Dr Boyden said: “I am both humbled and hugely honored to be nominated and judged worthy of this Award. I am lucky to be part of an amazing Links Group team, which delivers this important training to the veterinary profession. My sincere thanks to the WSAVA Executive Board for recognizing this work. I’d also like to thank MSD Animal Health, whose support enables us to carry out this training.”

Dr Michael Lappin, Chair of the WSAVA One Health Committee, said: “Dr Merck and I are long-term admirers of the critical work being done by Dr Boyden in the area of domestic abuse and, as a result, we were delighted to nominate her for this prestigious Award. She was then the unanimous choice of the One Health Committee.

“Dr Boyden’s contribution to raising awareness of domestic violence as a One Health issue is recognized all around the world and she gives excellent guidance to support the veterinary healthcare team to be proactive in this space. We are looking forward to showcasing her work during our workshop just before WSAVA 2023. We are also honored that she will give an Awards Winner lecture during the One Health stream at Congress.”

The work of the WSAVA One Health Committee is generously supported by the Purina Institute, MSD Animal Health and Zoetis.

The WSAVA represents more than 200,000 veterinarians worldwide through its 114 member associations and works to enhance standards of clinical care for companion animals. Its core activities include the development of WSAVA Global Guidelines in key areas of veterinary practice, including pain management, nutrition and vaccination, together with lobbying on important issues affecting companion animal care worldwide. WSAVA World Congress brings together globally respected experts to offer cutting edge thinking on all aspects of companion animal veterinary care.

Fonte:  WSAVA
https://wsava.org/