Greyhound Rescue Wales took delivery of a very special van at the end of 2018.

Thanks to Support Adoption for Pets, Greyhound Rescue Wales were awarded a grant to purchase a new custom fitted van to transport the rescued greyhounds safely and securely.

The van has now been finished and now the fun can begin.

Abbie Conway, Manager of the Hillcrest Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Garnant said excitedly, “The van is brilliant. It’s made a massive difference to the day to day running of the centre.

"We can collect dogs and transport them to the vets knowing that the dogs are safe and secure in their crates. But the really exciting thing is now we can take the dogs to locations such as the local parks and Ammanford town centre so they can learn to be around people and other dogs.”

“When these dogs come from racing kennels, they will have had no interaction with other types of dogs, and very limited experience of meeting people.

"Now we have the van we can take them out for short visits and begin gently introducing them to the big, wide, world which can seem very noisy and scary at first.

"It’s wonderful to do this on a regular basis and thanks to our van we can let more dogs have this valuable learning experience.”

Abbie was delighted that with the van they could take trips a little further afield.

"We visited all the Greyhound Rescue Wales charity shops in south Wales in January."

Support Adoption For Pets is an independent charity established by Pets at Home in 2006.

Since then it has helped over 1,000 rehoming centres and animal welfare organisations across the UK.

In addition to its fundraising work, it also runs dedicated adoption centres in over 440 Pets at Home stores.

Laura Messenger, Grants Coordinator at Support Adoption For Pets, said: “It is a real privilege to help an organisation that works so hard to care for and rehome dogs in need.

"They are doing a superb job, and the effort the rescue puts in is an inspiration.”

Sandra Wynne, Head of Rescue and Rehoming for Greyhound Rescue Wales added: “We would encourage any animal rescue charity to find out if you are eligible to apply for a Support Adoption for Pets award and to go for it. The arrival of our special van has been life-changing for us, dogs and humans alike."

Look out for the Greyhound Rescue Wales van and give them a cheery wave as they go by.

If you would like to find out more about adopting a greyhound from Greyhound Rescue Wales in 2019 then please visit greyhoundrescuewales.co.uk.

If you would like to find out more about Support Adoption for Pets please visit supportadoptionforpets.co.uk.