Our mission, to make a difference to all dogs, regardless of their pedigree, breed or background is what drives our vision in the fields of science, support and dog health. We award grants of different sizes to organisations whose charitable activities closely align with these three priorities:
1) Science and Research
We help to fund innovative research projects into inherited diseases in dogs and other dog health problems while also providing a number of bursaries to the British Veterinary Nursing Association. This has included a ten-year partnership with the Animal Health Trust and significant investment in the Kennel Club Genetics Centre and Cancer Centre. We also fund equipment at animal teaching hospitals and award grants to research teams undertaking innovative work in university settings. From improving lymphoma diagnosis to understanding sudden death syndrome, the science we support is both rigorous and relevant. It aims to tackle some of the most pressing issues in canine medicine and create better outcomes for both dogs and those who care for them.
2) Support and Training
In partnership with Dogs for Good, Support Dogs, Medical Detection Dogs and other small charities, we have sponsored more than 30 dogs to become specially trained companions to adults and children coping with a range of medical problems or disabilities. In this context, the difference we make extends not just to dogs, but to people; people whose lives are turned around by the skill and sensory intelligence of a four-legged friend.
3) Welfare and Rescue
There are somewhere between six and ten million dogs in the UK. Whether pedigree, pure-bred, cross-breed or mongrel, the Trust makes no distinction when it comes to protecting the health and welfare of every one of them. Alongside supporting dog rescue and rehoming charities that improve a dog’s life chances, we also help organisations to invest in their facilities and respond efficiently to the specific or urgent challenges of stray, abused or neglected dogs. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit many smaller dogs’ charities hard and forced them to consider whether they can continue to deliver essential services and life-changing projects. The Kennel Club Emergency Fund was set up to address precisely this issue and has already distributed funds to more than twenty organisations, making it possible for them to protect dogs’ welfare even in the most testing of times.