Project Description
The Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT) is a public administrative establishment in France. One of their current research and education programs is focused on the impact of neonatal experiences on a dog’s long-term health and abilities later in life.
The project was based on research into human pregnancies in the 1980s, which developed the concept of fetal programming. The research identified how events taking place during the fetus’s development—like the type of diet, level of maturity at birth, and illnesses during gestation—can cause physiological variations that persist throughout the individual’s postnatal development.
Several veterinary surgeons and specialists lead ENVT’s program. The study focuses on 100 golden retriever puppies and the relationship between their maternal and neonatal microbiota and metabolism.
The study’s results will be used to determine whether the microbiota of a newborn dog shapes health until adulthood.
The puppies will be cared for by the hospital for two months, then adopted by ENVT’s veterinary students and monitored until they are 18 months old. Following this period, some dogs will be trained as assistant dogs. The dogs’ development will be studied in a natural environment with regular social experiences during this period.
How does your donation help?
We’re raising €100k annually for ENVT over a five-year commitment.
Your financial support will cover ENVT’s cost of the animals’ handling, sampling analyses and the development of digital tools to track the health of each dog; while also helping subsidise clinical research to advance knowledge and better serve future animals, promote the education of veterinarians, veterinary students, and provide greater access to guide dogs for young children and the elderly. See below for more details.
Our five-year commitment looks like this:
— Year 1: €115,000 — Covers scope of analysis, animal care, two PhD salaries and lab cost
— Year 2: €145,000 — Covers scope of analysis, animal care, two PhD salaries, transport and lab cost
— Year 3: €135,000 — Covers animal care, two PhD salaries, vet assistant salary and partial lab cost
— Year 4: €55,000 — Covers animal care, vet assistant salary and partial lab cost
— Year 5: €50,000 — Covers animal care, vet assistant salary and partial lab cost
Advice for Larger Donations
If you are considering making a significant donation to Compassiviste Foundation, or any of our charitable initiatives, we can advise you through the process. Contact hello@compassivistefoundation.org to speak to a member of the team.
Looking For Other Ways To Support?
You can also donate to other Compassiviste Foundation appeals. We currently have projects running in France, Jordan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Tanzania, and Israel and Palestine.
