You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog!

 

A couple out walking made the truly horrific discovery of a number of greyhounds which had been shot and dumped in a shallow grave on top of a hill. Further details are simply too gruesome to publish.

 

It highlighted an issue which until then had remained a taboo amongst the sport’s fraternity but it resulted in more and more people asking the question: “what happens to greyhounds when they retire?”

 

Think about it. How often have you seen a pet greyhound stretched in front of the fireplace at a friend or relative’s house, or how many do you so walked as a loving pet through the local park? The answer is probably very few, if any at all.

 

But one charity is fighting back and a Guilsfield couple is leading local efforts to take care of retired greyhounds, which are usually ‘finished’ after just two-and-a-half years.

 

“At least 10,000 greyhounds ‘retire’ from racing in Britain every year at an average age of just 2½ years old,” said Lindsay Jackson who, with her husband Andy, are local trustees for the charity Greyhound Rescue Wales.

 

“So where do all these dogs end up? The lucky ones are those that are handed in by an owner/trainer who has decided that the dog is no longer good enough for racing - maybe due to injury, age or just it keeps losing. These dogs are neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, wormed and cared for until they find their 'forever home'.

 

“The not so lucky ones are not so well treated and may be advertised in free ad papers, abandoned with their ears cut off (as all racing greyhounds have tattoos in one or both ears which will identify previous owners), turned out in a strange place or at worst shot.”

 

The Jacksons exchanged the city life of Birmingham for rural Montgomeryshire two years ago to retire but their new passion has been far from relaxing.

 

“Greyhound Rescue Wales was set up in 1993 in Swansea to find homes for greyhounds that were retired from racing on the track there. Its work was so successful that GRW expanded to include lurchers and other areas of Wales. We became involved when we escaped to the country and had plenty of room in our new house. We adopted our two greys - Bryn was first (racing name Big Money) who was soon followed by Gigi (racing name Glorious Gift).”

 

The couple started raising money for the charity (pictured in Welshpool) and became trustees this year, raising more valuable funds along the way and giving up more of their time to re-home dogs. They can be often seen in Guilsfield with their own little ‘pack’ walking through the village.

 

“We now short-term foster dogs - those that have come straight off the track and have not known life in a house before - some dogs do not understand windows at first and run into them thinking they can get outside!

 

“Greyhounds can only be bred for racing by licenced breeders and are not aggressive as they cannot race if they show such tendencies. The charity believes that greyhounds and lurchers make great pets and encourages anyone considering getting a pet dog to choose one or the other.”

 

The couple raised £577 at recent collections in Welshpool as well as Guilsfield and Berriew shows this year.

“We are extremely grateful for this generosity and can assure all those who donated that every penny raised goes to support the dogs that are in kennels waiting for their 'forever' home’,” said Lindsay.

 

For more information, visit www.greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk or contact the Jacksons at 01938 590708.