Signe Agner Arnö, DVM
University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
Signe, in a patterned woollen sweater, is in Tasiilaq with a brown and white dog (and a puppy) performing a health check. Signe was in Tasiilaq to learn more about how they keep and feed their dogs, and she offered her help, as a vet, while she was there. In this case Signe health checked the dog pack while interviewing the owner.
What’s the work that you do?
I am looking into developing sustainable feeding options for Greenland sled dogs, based on the owners’ needs and wishes and the dogs’ actual metabolic demands. In cooperation with local stakeholders we aim to help develop guidelines and an actual food product, specifically for the sled dogs, to help maintain this important part of the Greenlandic culture in a time where climate change is challenging the tradition, all the while ensuring the dogs’ health.
What keeps you going?
After being a “normal vet” for 11 years, I wanted to contribute on a larger scale and broaden my view again. This PhD project gives me the opportunity to work with a form of “one health” and communication, two areas I am very passionate about. It is very interdisciplinary and hands on, which is both fun and challenging. The fact that in the end we are going to have actual products that can be used by the owners and stakeholders in Greenland straight away, is very satisfying.
What’s your message to the world?
1) We humans have a responsibility to aim to do better, by our nature and our fellow animals. On a small or large scale, everything counts and it’s not as hard as you may think.
2) If you have a dream or an idea: Don’t be afraid to try!
Organisation: University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
Nationality:
Denmark
Disciplines: