I have had a passion
for anthrozoology before I even knew what to call the subject. I just said I
liked looking into the human-animal bond until finally finding the specific
name for it. This passion led me to study other-than human directed cruelty and
bereavement support for those experiencing the death of species we keep as
domesticated companions. This initial studying opened my eyes to the world of
memorials, the history, stories, controversy and reasons for their creations
and I just began to read more about it.
With my bereavement
support, I began taking on clients but also presenting to professionals in the
field many topics about loss and grief. However, it was mostly how we can help
our clients, be more inclusive and be mindful about how our words and actions
may affect the grief rituals of our
clients. I loved it, and I still feel it is a very worthwhile investment for
those in the industry, but I felt like my specific area of interest wasn’t of
value to people. Nobody asked for a talk on memorials, they wanted a talk on
how to help clients, and I get that. It is the more desirable set of knowledge
to have when dealing with grieving clients.
I began to think very few people cared for or they’d just to humour me when I began talking about this topic and it was disheartening because I saw it as valuable and interesting. That was until TheDoGenius institute held their student conference.
I was asked if I wanted to present something bereavement support related and I knew exactly what it was I wanted to present!
“Modern day memorials” a look into a few of the many memorials, reasons behind them and how we keep their memory and meaning alive to this day. The feedback after the presentation was positive, encouraging with both tutors and students wishing to find out more! It was lovely to both know people were interested in my research and also that I had a safe area to be open about death, a topic many deem as taboo.
After the DGI student conference I got a message from Dr Tyler…
The AIP Student Conference:
I had known about the Anthrozoology as International Practice student conference from attending last year, but I never expected to be so young in my academic career and asked to submit for the chance to present a talk! Nerves set in but I knew that I could fall back on the DGI for support and help every step of the way.
The help from the DGI meant I was able to write a successful academic abstract, presenters biography and other requirements that were necessary for presenting at the event. Without this support I wouldn’t have made it to present at the conference and would have not been able to talk about memorialisation of other-than human species to an international audience (46 countries were represented in 2024!).
The feedback again was great and the questions and discussions afterwards have further shown that there is international interest and has solidified in my mind that people do care about this research!
I hope to enrol on the MA in Anthrozoology at Exeter University in the future studying the field as a whole while also studying at a higher academic level the area I have loved looking into for the past few years.
If it wasn’t for all the help and support from Dr Teresa Tyler, Irene Perrett MA and the students and tutors of The DoGenius Institute I’d not have had the courage to do this and would likely have abandoned my work into memorials long ago.
