Greyhounds need homes
Gazette & Herald
27th December 2007
www.gazetteandherald.co.uk
By Lucy Buckland
A LYNEHAM Greyhound charity is appealing for dog lovers to take in abandoned greyhounds in the New Year. Head of the Greyhound and Lurcher Welfare Rescue (GLWR), Dave Garland, 73, of Bradenstoke, has devoted his life to rescuing abused and abandoned greyhounds.

He is worried he will have to start turning greyhounds away because of lack of resources. The charity only survives by donations and events around the county. It will be in Emery Gate in Chippenham on January 26.

Mr Garland, who decided to set up the charity after Glastonbury Racetrack closed in 1996, delivered ten puppies in November from an abandoned greyhound named Connie. Thanks to campaigning online Mr Garland has found all ten pups, homes in time for New Year celebrations. The greyhound charity paid for vet's bills and made sure the four black and six black and white puppies were delivered safely.

He said: "Over 30,000 greyhounds are murdered every year by greedy trainers and breeders. It is when they are not making enough money they are just abandoned or abused. I am called to get hundreds of greyhounds a year and re-home them. Often they have their ears cut off or have been abused in some way. It's absolutely disgraceful. We, and other greyhound rescue centres, can save only a tiny fraction of these dogs. Greyhounds are the perfect pets. They only need 20 minutes walk a day and sleep 18 out of 24 hours a day. The dogs in our care are totally dependent on us for all their needs. Each dog in kennels costs us £7.00 per day, or £49.00 per week. We add to this the costs of neutering, inoculations, flea and worm treatments, health checks and dental work."

GLWR re-home greyhounds all over the UK and prospective owners get the chance to visit their dog before they take them home. The charity, which re-home hundreds of greyhounds a year, has kennels in Goatacre, near Calne, but fear many more abused greyhounds need their help.

Greyhound and Lurcher Welfare Rescue
Bungalow Park
Bradenstoke
Chippenham SN15 4EP
Tel: +44(0)1249 890178 or mobile 07931 834283
www.glwr.org.uk.
E-mail: info@glwr.org.uk.
Greyhound and Lurcher Welfare and Rescue was set up following the closure of the Glastonbury Racetrack. We were concerned that greyhounds and lurchers which were seen by trainers as no longer "useful" might be put to sleep, and we wanted to offer a real alternative to this. We collect the unwanted dogs from the trainers and care for them until new "forever" homes can be found for them. At the moment, we concentrate on the Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset areas, as this tends to be the catchment area for the Glastonbury Racetrack dogs. As many of our dogs come from the racing industry, we are saddened and angered that many thousands of unwanted racing greyhounds are destroyed each year when they have finished racing. Most of these dogs are only around 3 or 4 years old, and would have most of their lives still in front of them. We, and other greyhound rescues, can save only a tiny fraction of these dogs, and we at GLWR do not therefore support the greyhound racing industry.