Listen up! Vet wins iPod in RCVS animal noises quiz

Liverpool-based veterinary surgeon Anna Rountree is the lucky winner of an iPod Nano in our animal noises quiz, which took place at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress in Birmingham (8-10 April).

The quiz involved veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and other members of the practice team identifying three animals from sound only, and Anna’s was the first correct entry to be pulled out of the hat.

The correct answers were a purring cat, a Chihuahua dog (the breed had to be specified) and a guinea pig. However, of 370 entrants, only 104 (28%) were correct.

Some of the more outlandish answers included, for the cat noise: elephant, lion, whale and dolphin; and, for the guinea pig noise: ferret, meerkat, dove, chicken and frog. However, the majority of those getting it wrong were stumped by the requirement to specify the breed of dog, with Jack Russell Terrier or some ‘yappy little thing ‘ proving a favourite.

Anna was delighted with her prize, and commented: “I thought the competition was good fun and a real novelty. It certainly drew me to the stand and was not what I would have expected from the RCVS - it proves they can be approachable! I was very excited to have won and I still can't believe I have.”

The noises competition linked to the College’s theme for the event, ‘Falling on deaf ears?’, which examined how the organisation takes account of responses to its consultations, debunking the myth that those who take the trouble to reply are not listened to.

The topic was addressed by President Professor Sandy Trees in a presentation on the Saturday of Congress.

Visitors to the stand were also given RCVS-branded earphones to reinforce the listening message.