Greyhound rescue party fund-raiser

Makants Greyhounds Rescue NW, based in Tyldesley, was founded in December 2013 by Siobhan Hoppley along with two trustees.

Siobhan was horrified by the number of dogs who are simply put to sleep or discarded once they are no longer quick enough to race and got together with some close friends to help.

From humble beginnings the charity has expanded rapidly and now has more than 30 volunteers who help with fund-raising, administration, home checks and fostering greyhounds.

Siobhan said: “We are lucky also to have a small army of volunteers who ensure that each dog in kennels has a daily walk, which is no mean feat when there are up to 12 dogs eagerly waiting for their walk each day.

“To date, the rescue centre is proud to report that we have enabled 130 dogs to find their forever homes, and that many people now know what wonderful pets greyhounds make due to their gentle, trusting nature.”

The rescue have a strict policy that all dogs are fully assessed, neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped prior to re-homing, this is of course where the bulk of their fund-raising goes.

To boost their funds the charity is holding its Christmas fair tomorrow at Bar M in Tyldesley from noon and are hoping local people will pop along.

There are many stalls and activities for all the family with hot food also available.

There will be the chance to meet some of the current kennel greyhounds who are waiting for their forever homes, plus some of those lucky hounds already homed.

As the Mort Lane charity’s reputation has grown, it has taken in dogs from all over the country, some of whom have been neglected or injured.

November proved to be a real bumper month as it homed no fewer than seven hounds.

One Makants resident now settling in to a new lifestyle is D’jango.

His foster carers Sue and Adrian are new signed up members of the ever growing “failed fosterers club.” In other words, the arrangement was only meant to be temporary but they were so smitten with him that he is now at their home permanently.

D’jango has settled well into family life, and will live with canine companions Davin, Jess, Millie and Jake.