A greyhound rescue charity held an open day, to raise vital funds and awareness, as the numbers of dogs given up for adoption continues to increase.

Hector’s Greyhound Rescue opened a rescue centre, caring for rescued retired racing greyhounds, abandoned hunting dogs, and whippets, in Llanrhystud four years ago.

To raise awareness of the work they do, the rescue centre held a Platinum Jubilee kennel open day on Saturday, 4 June.

The event managed to raise a massive £1,077 to support medical care for Simon, a two-year-old greyhound with Retinal Atrophy.

The event, which took place at Alltgoch Farm, included a dog show, open to all breeds, with patron and actress Josie Sedgwick-Davies judging, as well as a “plant stall, cake stall, doggy stalls, tombola, hot food, and more.”

Chief executive of Hector’s, Hayley Bradley, said the day was a success: “It was a very successful day, considering there were so many events for the Jubilee and people having street and garden parties, we had an absolutely lovely amount of support. The funds raised are going towards Simon, as he’s got Retinal Atrophy.”

Initially the funds from the event were due to be donated to a pregnant greyhound, but after she “sailed through” the birth of her ten puppies “fantastically”, the team decided to ring-fence the money for Simon.

“We’ve had him for four weeks. He’s been to Leominster eye hospital, it’s not looking good. He’s got Retinal Atrophy, he’s totally blind in one eye and at a very advanced stage in his right eye.

“So we’ve ring-fenced the money for him. It’s not for the initial consultation, but for the hidden expenditure that comes along the way with eye infections and specialist treatments.”

Since the start of Covid-19, and with the recent economic strains, Hayley said the team have experienced an increase in demand for their services.

“With Covid-19, people were at home a lot and they wanted to take on the dog. But now, with the financial depression, we are finding people are handing their dogs over because they are struggling to meet the dog’s needs and pay for them.

“It’s been a tough few years, from Covid-19, and one extreme to the other, then the aftermath of Covid-19 and how people are handling dogs with going back to work. And now we have the addition of this depression, people can no longer look after their dogs.

“They’re mature dogs, they may have been a family member for many years and they’re handing them over to us.”

While the shelter’s main focus is on greyhounds and whippets, they also sometimes take in other dogs: “Sometimes we sneak a few funny looking greyhounds in, just a few months back we had a saint bernard sneak through our doors.

“Regardless I am a big animal lover, I can’t just watch any animal needing help.”

Aside from rescuing the dogs, the shelter also have a registered Pets as Therapy dog, that visits hospices and care homes, as well as providing educational talks for students on proper pet care.

“There’s not much in Aberystwyth regarding animal welfare, so we’re trying to give a little back.”

Hayley added: “If anybody is interested in helping out you can find us on our website or Facebook pages. We are always desperate for volunteers to walk the dogs around our fields, or maybe get involved in fundraising or helping out at our events.

“Without the public there would be no Hector’s, we don’t get government funding. We are solely relying on the public to help us to what we do.”

You can find out more about the charity, as well as contact details, here https://www.hectorsgreyhoundrescue.org/.