Hi I’m Hattie, and I am currently trying to raise £7,035 to pay
for the tuition fees to study an MPhil in Veterinary Science at the University of Cambridge, where I’ll be researching breathing difficulties in flat-faced
dogs to improve their health and welfare. If I raise the money I'll be starting January 2016!
You can find more information on the following sites, my profile picture for all of them is the pug drawing above:
Email: helpforhattie@outlook.com Facebook: Hattie’s BOAS project Twitter: @hattiesBOASwork YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FaXi_eB2Ng
Instagram: hatties_boas_project Snapchat: hattiesboaswork Facebook discussion group: Hattie’s BOAS project – discussion group
About me and why I want to do this.
I graduated a year ago from the University of Reading
with a first class degree in Zoology. I loved my undergraduate degree, in
particular my dissertation, which looked at the evolution of the dog during its
domestication and how they have changed as a result of living alongside us. You
can find out more information about my dissertation on my Facebook page – Hattie's BOAS project.
I am currently in the process of cutting down and polishing my dissertation to submit for publication. More specifically, part of my dissertation focused on how we have bred dogs to look ‘cute’. Characteristics associated with being cute include flatter faces and large eyes, which are features that have been exaggerated in some dogs to the point that they are now causing health problems.
Having really enjoyed doing my dissertation, I knew that this was the area I wanted to follow, so I applied to do the MPhil inveterinary science at the University of Cambridge, proposing a project within their research group looking at the breathing difficulties that have occurred as a result of breeding dogs with flatter faces. Now I have received an offer I need to raise the funds to cover the tuition fees and maintenance, so that I can undertake this research and become expert on conformation related health problems in domestic animals, finding ways to improve their health and welfare. I am hoping to cover the maintenance by applying for grants and saving money myself, so I am hoping that I can raise enough to pay for the tuition fees through crowdfunding.
Why support me doing this project? Help me, help dogs and get involved.
I have always had a passion for animals, particularly
dogs, and this is something that is really important to me. I am determined, creative and compassionate, which are attributes I believe will help to find a way to improve the health and welfare of flat-faced
breeds. Despite the increasing popularity of these breeds, and the scale of the
problem, many people do not recognise these breathing difficulties as a health
problem at all, but simply typical of the breed. Therefore by supporting me
you’ll be not only be supporting advances in research to improve the
welfare of these breeds, but also to raise awareness of the issues and to
educate the public and breeders.
In addition to this I have chosen rewards carefully to enable you, should you be interested, to get involved in the project, from snapchats and Instagram updates, to a discussion group, I will also be offering to those with higher contributions a scientific poster or electronic copy of my dissertation or the thesis from this project once I am finished. To the highest contributors I can present a talk on the project at the end of it, alongside a session testing your dogs for breathing difficulties (this might be a good idea for a group of people who want to put their contributions together). Please get in touch with me if you’d like to mix up the rewards (for example combining two or more) or there is something else you’d like, I’d be happy to try and arrange something! Thank you, and to those who want to get involved I am looking forward to getting to know you!
Where’s the money going?
Before I start I need to secure £19,565. This amount covers the tuition fees which are £7,035, and the maintenance which is estimated at £12,530. I am hoping to cover the tuition fees via crowdfunding, to cover the PayPal fees I have set the total at £7,335, the minimum is set at £3500, as I am able to pay in instalments, and this will enable me to start the year. Should the total come to more than this I will use it to make contributions to rent, after that any money would go directly to the project itself. I am hoping to cover the rest of the money through applying for grants and saving up myself.
A bit more about me.
In addition to my love of science and animals I also love to dance, pretty much all the time. I do artistic roller skating four times a week, and I also do salsa and ballet. I have competed at several skating competitions, and I took part in a dance show performing with the rest of my ballet class.
Rewards.
I strongly believe in making science available and accessible to everyone, so to show my gratitude, I have spent time thinking about the best things I can offer to everyone! If there something else you'd like, however, please feel free to contact me to discuss other options. I have chosen the rewards as you can see listed on the right, for more information on some of the rewards please follow the links below.
Exclusive social media updates: Instagram: HATTIES_BOAS_PROJECT and Facebook: Hattie’s BOAS project -discussion group. Please email me with your names/usernames for these sites, and for Snapchat, so I can approve them, thank you.
Thank you card with original design by illustrator Laurel Pettit.
Dog portrait by Nai-Chieh Liu who is a current member of the group that I shall be joining, researching brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, she does her art in her spare time. Her painting below of a French Bulldog:
