Dr Rachel Casey

After qualification and a few years in practice, Rachel followed her interest in animal behaviour with a post graduate diploma, specialisation in veterinary behaviour, and a PhD. She worked in academia for 14 years, running a referral clinic, teaching, and leading a research group. Rachel is a UK Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, and a European Veterinary Specialist in both Veterinary Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law. She has >100 peer reviewed publications and is an international speaker in veterinary behaviour and welfare.

Rachel moved to Dogs Trust in 2016 and became Director in 2017. She leads a team of behaviourists focussed on rehabilitating dogs in rehoming centres, and regional teams working to prevent welfare issues developing in dogs. This includes Dog School, a national programme of education and training for dog owners, an education team delivering school workshops, and engagement teams working to solve local community issues. She also oversees a research team focussed on dog welfare, which includes Generation Pup: a cohort study investigating early life influences on health and behaviour outcomes. Rachel also leads on human behaviour change programmes to improve dog welfare, and monitoring and evaluation of operational activity for optimal impact. Rachel is an experienced senior manager, with skills including authentic leadership, change management and strategic planning.