Sponsor a dog
These special dogs require ongoing medical treatment for various physical and mental injuries - and they all need extra care and attention! You can sponsor a dog for a suggested donation of just £20 a year. You'll receive a certificate featuring your chosen dog, an annual update on his or her progress and a little something special at Christmas.
You can now sponsor any or all of these dogs using your credit or debit card via our online shop!
Featured dog - Benji
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Benji is a 5 year old ex-racing greyhound with a traumatic past – his first ‘owner’ has now been banned for life from owning dogs due to his history of cruelty, neglect and abuse. Benji was kept with a large number of greyhounds outside in a field, all underfed and never handled. He has multiple scars from this time in his life. When Benji was given to a home by this first owner, he was terrified of everything – and within 24 hours, he escaped and lived outdoors for over 13 months, including over two very harsh winters. It took extraordinary efforts on the part of GRWE volunteers to bring him into our care.
Now living with GRWE fosterers, Benji has started to make slow but tremendous progress – from hiding behind the sofa to lying on top of it, and no longer bolting when his fosterers even look at him. He has the same walk every day so that he feels secure in his routine. He has slowly learned not to be as scared of cars, as he had been hit by a car while he was living outdoors.
Even these seemingly tiny steps are not yet fully embedded in him and he remains an extremely frightened and timid dog, unable to accept human comfort or touch. Any small change in his routine can make him physically ill for days and disturb him emotionally for weeks. Rehoming Benjji anywhere other than his fosterers would be very traumatic for him and may cause him to revert to his previous behaviour. In order to give Benji the time, space and love that he needs to be him, GRWE, through the Sponsor a Dog scheme, will cover Benji’s care costs for the rest of his life.
Poppy
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Poppy is a beautiful greyhound cross, who came to us from Southern Ireland in September 2007. We cannot be certain of Poppy’s age or history, but we think that she was about 4 years old when she first came into GRWE care, and had possibly lived with travellers - as whenever she sees a horse she wants to walk alongside it and she loves caravans and children.
When Poppy came over from Ireland she was very frightened of people and was quite difficult to handle. In kennels she was extremely withdrawn and nervous, but with kindness and patience she started to learn to trust people. She found her forever home in 2007, and found so much confidence in her new life that she has even started to help out at some of GRWE’s awareness days.
Sadly, Poppy has had a range of medical issues. She was diagnosed with fractures in her front leg, which required surgery by a specialist orthopaedic consultant, who pinned her wrist to allow bone grafts to heal properly.
In 2010 Poppy was diagnosed with heart problems and put on medication – no easy task as Poppy refuses to take tablets, but as her Mum writes, ‘by fair means and trickery we succeeded and she came back to her usual happy scatty self.’ Two years later Poppy fractured a bone under the plate in her leg and had to have complete rest in order to recover.
More recently Poppy underwent an operation to remove a large mass, later discovered to be the size of a grapefruit and over 1 kilogram in size. Poppy’s vet was even more stunned, though, at how well Poppy has recovered from her operation. She is now more full of energy than ever! This lovely girl truly is a fighter and your sponsorship money will ensure she has the very best of veterinary care, love and attention for the rest of her life.
Harvey
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Harvey is a beautiful, big brindle boy who was born in 2001. Harvey came to GRWE following a phone call to the local dog warden in Bedford. A kind lady had noticed a very thin young dog going through the bins in the neighbourhood and had tried to catch it, but the dog was so nervous he would run away as soon as anyone even tried to approach him. The dog warden eventually caught Harvey and was shocked by the terrible condition he was in. Harvey was completely emaciated and collapsed after just a few minutes of being walked towards the dog warden’s van. His fur was covered in a mixture of black tar and diesel oil. His ears were burnt, his back was covered in bald patches and he had no hair on is tail at all. Due to malnutrition Harvey had also developed Ricketts, a disease associated with a lack of vitamins and minerals. Who knows what sort of terrible cruelty and neglect this young dog had endured?
Thankfully, GRWE were able to take Harvey into their care and within a few months of being well fed and having his burns treated he was well enough to be able to go to a wonderful new home. Some of the hair on Harvey’s body has never grown back because his skin was so badly burned from the hot tar, but he recovered from having Ricketts and with the help of the sponsor scheme has, despite his past, blossomed into a very big and happy boy.
Chester
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Chester is a very handsome black & white boy, who we believe was born around 2002. Poor Chester was found by a passer-by, lying by the side of a main road in Chester, having been hit by a car. He had severe lacerations to his body, one hind leg in particular, which at the time also appeared to be broken. Chester was rushed to the vets and, thankfully, after a thorough examination it was found that his leg wasn’t broken, just very badly bruised and lacerated. It was at this point that GRWE became involved and took Chester into care. Chester was extremely unhappy in kennels and it soon became apparent that he was, in fact, completely deaf. Chester was going to need a very special home with the skills and understanding necessary to give a deaf and traumatised dog a safe and secure life.
Chester has now found his forever home, a home that helps him with all the difficulties a dog without hearing may experience in life. Chester still suffers from separation anxiety if left alone, but with the support of the sponsor scheme he is able to lead a happy and fulfilled life.
Heather
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Heather is a beautiful white and black greyhound, who we think is now 10 or 11 years old. She came to GRWE in 2004 after being found, collapsed in a field and bleeding profusely, with her ears cut off. Presumably this was so that her identity tattoos could not be used to trace her owner, who abandoned her because she wasn’t fast enough on the tracks. Miraculously, Heather survived this terrible ordeal.
Heather took many months to recover and was slowly nursed back to health in her caring forever home. She has made incredible progress and has become a happy and confident girl with the sunniest of natures - she is even a registered Pets as Therapy (PAT) dog. Heather gets more tired as she gets a bit older, so she doesn’t attend quite as many events as she used to, but she can still be found visiting schools, youth groups and GRWE events, raising awareness of the terrible plight of those racing dogs discarded just because they can’t run fast enough.
Unsurprisingly Heather tends to have a few issues with her ears. When sand or seeds get into them it causes her considerable discomfort, yet she is too frightened for anyone to touch her ears to clean them, so she has to be sedated and carried to the vets. Despite this, Heather’s Mum describes her as ‘a total star and steady as a rock’.
Your support for Heather will guarantee her a life with love and support – thank you.
Sid
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Sid was born in January 2004. Although he was bred for racing, he was just 5 months old his trainer took him to a vet to be put to sleep as he had a fractured hip and was no longer any good to the racing industry. Thankfully, GRWE were contacted by the vet and Sid was taken into our care. We arranged for him to be taken to a veterinary hospital where he underwent a hip replacement. Unfortunately, this surgery failed and so he had a second operation a month later. He was still only 6 months old. Sid is now in his forever home where he lives happily with other greyhounds. Despite his past he is a really sweet and happy-go-lucky boy. Sid makes everyone his friend and he greets all dogs and people with a big grin and a madly wagging tail. GRWE are committed to look after Sid and his injured hip for the rest of his life. He will never be abandoned for having an injury that costs money to fix. Due to Sid’s injury it is likely that he will suffer from arthritis later in life but, thanks to the sponsorship scheme, he is now guaranteed a safe and secure future for the rest of his life.
Freddie
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Freddie came into GRWE’s care at the end of summer 2008 after suffering a stroke and his trainer decided the best thing for him would be to hand him over to GRWE. Freddie went straight into foster care where he received lots of love and therapy to improve his mobility.
In early 2009 Freddie was ready to be rehomed and he went to a lovely family where he settled in well. His owner and her two young sons loved Freddie very much and everyone was happy.
Unfortunately, Freddie had an accident in May which left him with a badly broken leg. Poor Freddie underwent several operations to try to save his leg but whilst recovering he suffered another massive blow – in October Freddie’s beloved owner died suddenly.
Being a GRWE dog means that Freddie has our support for life and,
as Freddie’s owner had no other family members able to look after him, Freddie came back into our care. Sadly, Freddie’s leg continued to cause him problems and on veterinary advice his leg was amputated so he would no longer be in pain.
Freddie is an adorable, cheeky greyhound who, at only two years old, has been through so much in his short life. However, with the help of the sponsor dog scheme, Freddie will receive all the medical help and attention he needs and his future is now safe.