THE owner of an Oswestry-based dogs home is making an urgent appeal for funds as she fears the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could force it to close in a matter of weeks.

Hector’s Greyhound Rescue needs to raise £10,000 and currently has enough funds to continue operating for just eight more weeks, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For 22 years, Hector’s has been a lifeline for many dogs which have found themselves abandoned, without a home or in a desperate situation.

Founder of the charity, Hayley Bradley, described the Covid-19 situation as ‘crippling’ for the charity, and explained how it has led to a huge decrease in fundraising.

“The past 18 months have been very hard,” she said. “There was no government funding for animal shelters like ourselves.

“We couldn’t go out and publicly bring any money in at shops or through events, so we then had to utilise Facebook to help with public appeals.

“Using one platform to raise awareness was very difficult. It has been crippling.

“Touch wood, to this date, we have never turned a dog away – we’re a non-destruction rescue centre.

“We’ve got through to this point by the skin of our teeth, but it has massively taken its toll.”

The charity, which aims to help around 200 dogs per year, operates with monthly costs of between £6,000 and £10,000.

This money covers running costs, as well as veterinary bills for dogs who require their help.

Hayley fears the pandemic could see an end to the services which have been offered by the charity for more than two decades, and insists the impact would be devastating for the animals who need their support.

She said: “We take the desperate dogs, so the impact would be that these dogs would ultimately no longer exist.

“The dogs we take in have nowhere to go. They have often found themselves abandoned or discarded from the race track.

“They can sometimes be from homes in which a couple have separated.

“During the pandemic, we took in three dogs whose owners had died of Covid-19. We are a lifeline for a lot of these dogs.

“If anyone can spare even a pound to help a dog live, that dog would be eternally grateful.”

As well as an impact on fundraising, the pandemic has also seen a decrease in the number of volunteers at Hector’s, which is now operating with a team of around 12 volunteers.

Hayley added: “Covid hasn’t just affected the dogs, but emotionally it has affected volunteers as well.

“We’ve lost a lot of volunteers and it has been a dark and gloomy time for a lot of people.

“We’ve been down in terms of volunteers, funds and there’s no sign of it getting any better.

“We have another four weeks at least before we get back to some sort of normal, so it’s not good.

“I’ve found myself in a dire situation now – I have been rescuing desperate dogs from desperate situations for 22 years now, and this has been the one time that we have been really scared that we might finish.”

If you would like to support Hector’s, visit Hector's Greyhound Rescue on Facebook, or their website at https://www.hectorsgreyhoundrescue.org/

Alternatively, you can sponsor a dog at Hector’s via their website.