Meet The Welfare Team…
Sue Millson – Charity Chair
Sue lives in Kent and has kept Vizslas for over 40 years. Her passion for gundogs dates back to early childhood, when her father always included her in the care and training of his pack of working spaniels and retrievers. Sue has been involved in showing her dogs since 1984, and has been fortunate enough to breed two UK Show Champions, an Australian champion, and a Canadian & American champion, as well as judging the breed at championship level in the UK. Sue’s current pack of four Vizslas enjoy working on local shoots, where they are often used for picking up during the shooting season.
Sue served on the Hungarian Vizsla Committee for many years, and was Chair for a short period. She has been a Welfare Officer for the breed since 1998. She is also the KC Breed Health Co-ordinator, as well as the breed archivist and the Puppy Line Co-ordinator for the Vizsla Club. She is also the author of a puppy training book which can be found in many breeders’ puppy packs. She still runs KC Puppy Foundation classes, and trains groups for their Bronze, Silver, and Gold KC awards.
Professionally, Sue enjoyed a successful medical career in both the NHS and the private sector, qualifying as a nurse in 1973, moving on to the operating theatre to specialise in orthopaedics and trauma, and finally becoming an NHS unit theatre manager where she remained until her retirement in 2011.
Noanie Heffron – Trustee & Welfare Officer
Noanie lives in the West of Scotland and has been involved with the charity since 2017, after first adopting Welfare boy Rufus, then nine months Failed Foster old man Vaz, then a few years later the wonderfully rude old boot Lady Koa (both oldies now sadly departed). The latest addition to her pack is the gleefully rambunctious Puppy, a young Vizsla/Malinois cross, in early 2025.
Noanie has a keen interest in dog training and behaviour, she regularly fosters Vizslas (and other dogs) with behavioural issues, and she has helped many owners of behaviourally difficult Vizslas achieve a more trusting and harmonious relationship with their dogs.
Noanie has a variety of other paid and voluntary roles: outdoor events organiser, music charity administrator, Equality and Diversity advisor to Scottish Athletics, and she also runs a small home boarding service for dog owners in her local area.
Sue Aldous – Trustee & Welfare Officer
Sue lives in Dorset with her Welfare boy Rezzie. Having mainly kept German Shepherds, eight years ago her love affair with Vizslas started when she rescued seven year old Bonnie from kennels in Spain. Within a week of arriving in Dorset poor Bonnie was diagnosed with several nasty cancers, but after removal of tumours, and despite a very poor prognosis, with Sue’s expert care she went on to live until she was 12! Shortly after Bonnie’s death, and despite telling herself ‘No more dogs!’ Sue then agreed to foster a troubled young Vizsla boy for the Charity. Six years later Rezzie is still with her, has gone from strength to strength, and is a fine example of what can be done for even the most difficult dogs when they have the right training and a stable sensible home.
Sue’s professional background is in fraud investigation, police, and dealing with the public. She is also very active in other animal charities, being both a licensed badger vaccinator and a hedgehog welfare coordinator.
Welfare Officers
Karen Foster
Karen lives near Blackburn with her four cats. Over the past 30 years she has been owned by a total of six Vizslas, the most recent of which was the adorable (and adorably feisty!) 13 year old Welfare girl Bella, now sadly departed.
Karen’s employment history was shared between the Civil Service and local government organisations; her final position before retirement being the Registrar of births, marriages and deaths for Lancashire. She’d probably agree she’s far busier now keeping track of adoptions, fosters, and volunteers for us here at Vizsla Welfare though!!!
Elaine Twistle
Elaine lives in Skipton, North Yorkshire, and joined the Welfare team towards the end of 2023. She retired from the police force in early 2024, having served for 30 years. She currently shares her home with six dogs, including her also-recently-retired police dog Oliver, and also fosters emergency Vizslas-in-need for us too.
Elaine has volunteered for many dog charities over the years and has worked in both Sri Lanka and Greece securing a brighter future for neglected street dogs.
Yvonne Taylor
Yvonne lives in North Devon with her potter husband and her two adopted Vizslas. She has been involved with Vizslas for over 20 years. Holiday-minding a friend’s girl led to her owning her own pair: a girl who lived to 16.5 and a boy who passed away unexpectedly at 13, when suddenly they became a no-dog family. But not for long! They first adopted 15 mth old Welfare boy Max, then a year later 3 yr old Welfare girl Vesper. Within weeks they went from elderly, sedate, and almost calm Vizslas to having young, lively, and very boisterous ones – but they wouldn’t have it any other way!
Yvonne previously taught dissertation in three London art colleges; Central Saint Martins, Camberwell, and Chelsea. She says there are many parallels with her work as a Welfare Officer, which she finds even more rewarding.
Kirsten Lorrain-Smith
Kirsten lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and grown-up kids and is a fairly recent addition to the Welfare team, joining in Spring 2025. She has enjoyed a varied career as a nurse and a nutritionist. Having a family dog was always in the plan and Kirsten spent a great deal of time researching the right breed for them. They never regretted welcoming Dexter, a wire-haired Vizsla, into their home 13 years ago, and then Scout, his niece, five years later.
Dexter had a long and happy life, and as his health sadly deteriorated over the past year, Kirsten then decided to adopt eight year old Ozzy to help with the transition when Dexter sadly passed away. Although three wires was at times challenging, she says it really was a fantastic decision, and spurred her desire to help the Welfare charity match more dogs with more adopters by volunteering as a welfare officer. With her particular interest in and knowledge of wire-haired Vizslas she is a real asset to the team.
Sarah Semmens
Sarah lives in Derbyshire with her family and 7 year old Leeloo, their first Vizsla. Leeloo is a wonderful character who has cemented Sarah’s love of the breed. She may be their first Vizsla, but she definitely won’t be their last!
Sarah previously worked for a busy family law firm, before adopting her two children. She is now primarily a carer for her children. Much like Leeloo, Sarah is very much at home in the mud and muck of the Derbyshire countryside, and particularly enjoys walking and running in the beautiful Peak District.
Sarah enjoys writing, often about her exploits with Leeloo, who has a large social media fan club! She also regularly organises fundraising events for several charities, including Vizsla Welfare.
Lucy Seamons
Lucy was lucky enough to grow up with HPR breeds (German Shorthaired Pointers and Bracco Italianos) and got her first Vizsla pretty much as soon as she moved into her own home! Many years later she’s now had four Vizslas, one boy and three girls, and has enjoyed gundog training, agility days and ringcraft with them, as well as lots of adventure days out and hiking holidays exploring Wales, the Lake District and the Peak District. Lucy’s current girl is one year old Bramble, and together they’ve travelled extensively in their camper van.
Lucy has worked as a professional dog walker and pet sitter for many years, and more recently has also volunteered at animal shelters in Portugal. As of December 2025, we’re delighted to welcome her to the Welfare team!
Fay Robinson
Fay’s info will be added shortly…
Yvonne Penny
Yvonne’s info will be added shortly…
Fundraising Team
Suzanne Drake
Suzanne joined us in early 2024. She lives in East Sussex with her dogs JD (a Bichon Frise who thinks he’s a Vizsla!) and Byron, a Welfare boy adopted in early 2025. Suzanne has had dogs all her life and found her dream breed (Vizslas of course) 20 years ago. She now runs Acer’s Pack Vizsla home boarding (named after her much adored and now sadly departed Vizsla boy Acer) and has a keen interest in optimising the full potential of all the dogs who board with her, whether that be loose lead work, basic Gundog training, steadiness, or simply helping to build their confidence.
Before settling back in the countryside for a quiet (haha!) life with Vizslas, Suzanne’s previous career was in London, where her role in international conference and event management took her all around the world.
Barb Short
Barb is a key part of our fundraising team and a self-confessed online auction junkie
Admin Assistants
John Duncan
John helps with the charity’s day-to-day administrative tasks, mainly checking and reassigning the microchips of dogs that are rehomed by us. It is such an important duty; by law all dogs are required to be microchipped, and up-to-date microchip details can help reunite owners with their dogs in the horrible situation that they are lost and then found.