“It all started when I met a retired couple in a vet’s,” Hayley Bradley recalls.

“I was there with my St Bernard Olivia, and I looked across and saw this greyhound. He was skeletal: so forlorn, head sunk, just on a different planet. I talked to the couple, Sue and David, and they told me about the racing industry. It’s not much of a life: there are not enough rescues to facilitate the number of dogs that leave the track or don’t even make the track.”

It was at this point that Hayley offered to help, working with rescues and trainers and finding out more about the breed. She travelled to Ireland and saw dog pounds with row after row after row of ex-racing greyhounds that were likely to be put to sleep – a throwaway product of the racing industry.

“It broke my heart,” said Hayley.

“Then in 2002 Hector came along. He was thrown out of a van in Telford, covered in cigarette burns, gravel embedded in his chest and side. He was skin and bone and in a hell of a state – scared of life, scared of everybody. I offered to foster him, and he became an ambassador, with our centre, Hector’s Greyhound Rescue named in his honour.”

The rescue centre near Aberystwyth has saved hundreds of other greyhounds in his name.

Five-year-old Jack, abandoned after his racing career, is there now. He has been looking for a home of his own for more than two years and wants a forever family to come along.

“He comes to his pen to greet everybody looking for a dog, and he’s almost got a begging look on his face as if to say ‘please take me’,” said Hayley.

Jack can be speedy when he puts his mind to it, but Hayley says he is actually a loveable couch potato “who’s very fond of a snooze on the sofa”. He wouldn’t be suited to a home with cats or small furries - but he’d fit in well with older children who could play in the garden with him and his toys.

Hayley recently returned from Ireland where she visited three counties seeing greyhounds discarded from the racing industry.

“Rescues are bursting their banks with greyhounds,” said Hayley.

Six of those dogs are heading to Hector’s, including mum Scarlet, used for breeding, and her son Master.

“They are both very sweet - both need some TLC, some rest and recuperation,” said Hayley.

They’ll be joined by Toby, an ex-coursing dog who had come to the end of his career, another Jack, a failed racer thought to be around just two years old, and Dragomir and Tania, who were handed in to a dog pound. They will be available for adoption in due course.

To meet the dogs or make a donation, visit www.hectorsgreyhoundrescue.org or call 0300 011 011 9.

Hector’s Greyhound Rescue works in Shropshire, Cheshire, North and West Wales. Their annual Dog Show and biggest fundraiser of the year is at Oswestry Showground this Sunday, 25 June. All breeds of dog are welcome - and you can meet some of the greyhounds seeking a new home.

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