When Denise McGranaghan met a fawn greyhound called McLeod she fell in love with his beautiful big eyes and soulful expression.

But she was stunned to learn he had spent four years in a cat and dog home without a single offer of somewhere to live. At the age of seven McLeod was an ex-racing dog on the scrapheap. She and her husband Martin fell in love and took the big dog back to their place to meet the six cats.

McLeod proved to be a perfect pet, loving and gentle. He inspired Denise to help other greyhounds and lurchers, find homes after she realised they were being dismissed as family dogs.

Ten years on what started with Denise and a few friends handing out leaflets promoting greyhounds as pets has become Scotland’s only independent greyhound and lurcher charity the Greyhound Awareness League. They have rehomed and rescued nearly 3,000 dogs who would otherwise have been destroyed because they were no longer required. Many come direct from trainers who want to give their dogs a second chance at life, some come from cat and dog homes, the Scottish SPCA and Dogs Trust. Others are collected, often in the dead of night, from sympathetic vets who call GAL when a healthy, young dog, has been dropped off to be destroyed because its racing life is over. For Denise, 48, it is a never-ending task and it all started with a chance meeting with McLeod.

She said: “My husband Martin and I were sponsoring a lurcher called Christopher at the National Canine Defence League – now the Dogs Trust – in Dumfries when I met McLeod. Our eyes locked and it was literally love at first sight, but I had six cats at home. Staff told me McLeod was great with cats and he came home with us that day. That was in 1996 and I couldn’t understand why such a big beautiful dog had spent four years in a rescue centre with no offer of a home.

“I began to research greyhounds and was shocked to discover the myths and misconceptions, and the huge numbers which were killed each year. In 1998 I started GAL to raise awareness of these wonderful dogs and try and change people’s opinions.”

Within a few months Denise was being approached by other rescue organisations and trainers asking her to rehome greyhounds for them. She pulled together a small band of friends, set up a committee and began the serious work of finding the dogs homes. The group started small, often meeting in local pubs to toss around ideas to raise the profile of the dogs and find homes. By 2001 GAL had applied for and was given charitable status. The official letter was a bittersweet moment for Denise.

She said: “The day before the letter arrived McLeod passed away, he had been the inspiration for our work and it was a moment of great sadness as well as hope for the future. He remains my inpiration today.”

GAL receives no government funding and relies on public and charitable donations. In 2008 it has a huge network of supporters and volunteers who work tirelessly to promote greyhounds and lurchers as pets and raise funds to care for those who arrive at their door. It is a revolving door which never stops. Remarkably all this work is done from the homes of those involved in the committee. GAL does not have offices or kennels. In 2008 they hope this will change. Their aim is to raise money to buy or build Scotland’s first greyhound and lurcher sanctuary to allow them to carry on their work and help even more dogs win the race for life.

Currently GAL has 45 dogs waiting to be taken into their foster system. They are boarded at private kennels who give reduced rates to GAL to keep the dogs. Each one, when it goes to a home will have its kennel place quickly taken by another, on a bigger waiting list. Demand for spaces is far greater than GAL can hope to meet.

The homing co-ordinators face daily heartbreaking decisions as they struggle to find accommodation for the hundreds of dogs they are offered. The GAL Kennel Fund was established in 2005 with a three-year plan to raise the £60,000 required for GAL to get a mortgage for the new centre. They are already two-third of the way there and hope this year will see their dream finally come true. It will be a triumph for a small Scottish charity started only a decade ago by one determined woman.

Denise said: “Having our own kennels will be such a massive step forward for us in continuing our work. There are tough decisions to be made almost daily about which dogs we take in because there are many, many more waiting than we can house, it’s stressful and often frustrating but knowing we are helping is what makes it worthwhile.”

One of the biggest efforts of GAL remains raising awareness among the public about greyhounds and lurchers. Volunteers meet at monthly walks in Glasgow and Edinburgh to take their dogs and some of the homeless ones out to meet the public. There are awareness days at the Bothwell Cat and Dog Home, which gave GAL its first two greyhounds to rehome a decade ago and provides them with a meeting room for committee get-togethers. And can collections are held regularly with the dogs brought along.

The reaction of people when they see one of the dogs is extraordinary. Denise said: “Nothing raises the profile of greyhounds and lurchers than having them out where the public can meet them. Many people have never stroked a greyhound or looked in its eyes, they are constantly surprised by how placid and calm they are. We still hear people say ‘aren’t they vicious’ or ‘they need lots of exercise don’t they’, both not true, so it’s vital we have our dogs out there to dispel the myths firsthand.”

One of the main reasons for GAL’s success has also been their refusal to be political.
In recent years there have been shocking tales of greyhounds killed or mutilated and dumped. Public reaction to the ‘killing fields’ in England sparked a number of reviews, including one by Downing Street of the greyhound racing industry. GAL remains silent on these issues despite the many varied views of its members.

Denise said: “Our priority is rescuing and rehoming the dogs. We work with many trainers to persuade them to give us their dogs when they retire, or are unsuccessful. We are not political because our main focus has to be the dogs and we need people on both sides to work with us. Many trainers want their dogs rehomed at the end of their career and care deeply for them. We are there to help them with that.”
For more information on GAL go to www.gal.org.uk

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