The first grants from the Canine health research fund were awarded

The research group of Minna Rajamäki tries to find out whether short muzzled dogs and Irish Wolfhounds suffering from recurrent pneumonias have micro aspiration, i.e. unintentional reflux of acidic contents of the stomach into the respiratory tract. Hannes Lohi’s research group studies the connection between metabolism and anxiety disorder in dogs and Merja Rantalas group studies the effectiveness of different forms of treatment for chronic and recurrent outer ear infections in dogs.

The subject of Marja Kaukonen’s doctor’s thesis is the genetic background of hereditary retinopathy. Anna Boström studies the functioning of the lumbar and pelvic muscles in Dachshunds and Border Terriers and the effects of intervertebral disc protrusion/extrusion on muscle structure in Dachshunds.

The Finnish Kennel Club and the veterinary faculty of the University of Helsinki cooperate through the Canine health research fund in order to collect funds to support canine health research. The purpose of the fund is to improve the health research carried out at the University of Helsinki, especially clinical patient research and genetic research. When founded, it was hoped that the first grants would be awarded during the Finnish Kennel Club’s 125th anniversary.

The goal was reached

Approximately 29.000 people visited the Koira2014 event during the weekend.

- We reached our target. We were very delighted to notice that despite Finland’s Independence Day there were a lot of people interested in dogs at the Koira2014 event, comments the CEO of the Finnish Kennel Club Markku Mähönen.

Rewards at the Koira2014 event

On Sunday Finnish Hero Dogs were rewarded at the Koira2014 event. The Finnish Kennel Club rewarded 18 Hero Dogs this year. The dogs have for instance found people who have gotten lost and rescued people from fires and sudden attacks of illness.

Furthermore, 40 breeders received the Vuolasvirta-award on Sunday. The Finnish Kennel Club grants the award as the highest acknowledgement for exemplary breeders.

The President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö has granted Leena Harjapää the First Class Medal of the White Rose of Finland with golden cross on proposal of the board of the Kennel district of the Helsinki region. Harjapää received the medal at the Koira2014 event on Sunday. Leena Harjapää has been active within the Finnish kennel world since 1965 and acted as secretary of the kennel district since 1978.

Additional information:

The Finnish Kennel Club, information officer Päivi Mäntylä, 050 366 4809, paivi.mantyla@kennelliitto.fi
The Finnish Kennel Club , web information officer Kati Vesalainen, 044 752 4815, kati.vesalainen@kennelliitto.fi