Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Hector’s times, our quarterly newsletter keeping you up to date with what’s been happening at Hector’s and what exciting things we have coming up for you to be part of. As the Covid-19 crisis continues to affect the way we interact and fundraise at Hector’s we continue to find new and exciting ways for us to raise the much-needed funds required to continue our work of rescuing and rehoming Greyhounds and sighthounds.
What’s been happening at Hector’s
- Hector’s have been inundated with rehoming requests, which has been absolutely amazing, all these new Greyhound staff, sorry I mean owners ha ha! We’ve said many a fond farewell over the past few weeks
- Sadly, due to covid we have had to postpone our dog show for this year. We will however be holding an online dog show on Facebook, keep your eyes peeled for the advert.
Kennel news
Shades…. Where do we start with Shades, what a madam! Shades had a lovely blanket donated to her from one our Hector’s volunteers, the little madam only went and scrunched it up and kicked it onto the floor! Shades will be a permanent resident at Hector’s due to her knowing her own mind (and not being afraid to make it known) she will never be rehomed. Shades is very happy in her world at Hector’s.
Connah (now Vinnie) update. Poor pooch Connah who came into Hectors with a very badly damaged leg is now living the high life in his new home. He has settled in so well and giving his new humans the run around, stealing radish and generally being a spoilt dog. We love it!
How to keep cool when its HOT HOT HOT!
- Keep curtains and blinds closed during the hottest part of the day. If they are spoilt, buy them a fan
- Don’t walk your hound during the day, keep walks to a minimum and either early morning or late evening.
- Ensure plenty of cool water is available
- Buy a cool mat, they contain a cooling gel which is activated when pressure is placed onto it, however, do not leave your hound unattended with the cool mats as the contents can be poisonous if swallowed.
- Invest in some doggy ice cream (as part of a balanced diet of course) .
- Let sleeping dogs lie, don’t bother your hound too much as they may be agitated in the heat, you don’t want to be having a grumpy pooch on your hands.
- Don’t forget to be like Devlin (who has had the all clear from cancer!!! What fab news) enjoy yourself and stay cool!!
Thank You!
We would like to thank everyone who has supported our online shop, it has been a huge hit for all things longdog. Don’t forget to keep checking in, the items available are updated on a regular basis and we would hate you to miss out! Check out www.hectorsgreyhoundrescue.org/shop
Huge thanks to everyone who took part in Hector’s online auction. We had some fabulous items donated from some amazing people. We were all overwhelmed by the support.
Huge thanks to Suzanne, those of you who are on the Let’s talk Hectors Facebook group will be aware that Suzanne has been making Greyhound items to sell to raise money for Hector’s. Words cannot describe how much we appreciate the hard work and support that Suzanne has given us.
The Plight of the Greyhound
Hector’s Board of Trustees would like to make all supporters aware that Hector’s were deeply disappointed with S4C’s coverage of our greyhounds on Y Fets. We felt footage of our beautiful dogs further exploited our hounds -using them to keep viewers on the edge of their seats- without even acknowledging their plight, or following up their recovery (unlike some of the other animals featured in the show) in that episode. We would like to reassure everyone who witnessed our dogs undergo major surgery, that both hounds recovered well and went on to find loving homes. A complaint has been submitted to the veterinary practice and to S4C telling them how we feel as their coverage does not align with our ethos at Hector’s.
Up to ten thousand greyhounds are rejected by the greyhound industry every year for being deemed unfit for racing, whether that be they are too old, too timid, injured, to slow or lacking in prey drive. As a consequence of this greyhounds are abandoned, destroyed or shipped overseas where they are used for breeding -in awful conditions- with very little consideration of their welfare. Greyhounds that are rescued by shelters are the lucky ones -as the S4C film crew would have discovered when they spent the day with us back in March- so why didn’t they take the opportunity to highlight this when they featured us?
Outside of the rescue greyhound community -through no fault of their own- these amazing dogs are rarely viewed as loving family pets. We at Hector’s work towards promoting the image and wellbeing of these dogs in the manner in which they deserve. Ask any of our followers on Let’s Talk and all of our wonderful supporters, greyhounds make for the BEST family dog! We are bias and we are not ashamed of it!
Please when your discussing dogs with family, friends and work colleagues don’t forget to tell them about the misconceptions around these hounds and reinforce them as the noble, loving, goofy and charismatic 40mph misunderstood couch potatoes that they are.
What’s coming up at Hector’s
- Sabrina’s walk – Sefton Park. Join fellow sighthound lovers for a fun walk around the park
- Hector’s supporter Kerry Owen is undertaking a huge challenge this August and is planning on cycling 100 miles in one day!!!! To sponsor Kerry the just giving details are https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kerry-owen-573 let’s help Kerry to smash her target.
- Tracey is climbing up Cader Idris in September, keep your eyes peeled for her donation details.
Volunteering opportunities
Are you a people person who is organised and likes to get involved? Hector’s are looking for people to join our current band of merry volunteers. Can you spare a few hours a month to raise some funds for our rescue? It can include collecting at supermarkets/pet shops and markets.
If that isn’t for you maybe you can hold a cake sale, do a sponsored bike ride or sell some crafts. We are open to all ideas.
If you would like to get involved, please contact Fred Brown through our contact form.