Making a rescued dog’s journey a little less bumpy in Devon

A bumpy lane in Devon is causing some real problems for dog rescue charity Forever Hounds Trust, which has recently set up a new Homing and Welfare Centre near Cullompton.
The only access to the new Centre is via 438 metres of what could be the bumpiest lane in Devon! There are so many potholes, dips and ruts that it is proving a real challenge to get vehicles up and down there and every visitor – both hound and human – gets shaken about.

Plans are afoot to remedy the situation, but the charity, which rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes greyhounds and lurchers, needs to raise almost £6,500 to cover the costs. Staff at the Centre have put together a light-hearted video to encourage donations. The video follows them as they attempt to deliver two cups of tea and a plate of jelly to the Centre, a mission that has to be aborted when the tea spills and the jelly ends up in the footwell of the van!

Forever Hounds Trust have been rescuing greyhounds and lurchers for 25 years. In November 2020 they opened the first Forever Hounds Trust Centre for Homing and Welfare near Cullompton, Devon. The Centre cares for sick, injured and homeless greyhounds and lurchers until they are ready for their forever home.

Centre Manager, Caron Lane, says: “Dogs come to us from all over the UK, and after being transported to us they then have to go over our lumpy, bumpy road without understanding what is going on. Some of the dogs that come to us are sick and injured, and others are returning to the Centre after visiting the vets for treatment or operations and it’s far from ideal for them to then be jostled about for the last 438 metres.

“It’s not a particularly exciting project to be raising money for, but it is an essential one. It’s not just our dogs who will be much more comfortable once we can get the lane fixed. All our staff and volunteers are shaken about every time they come and go, and some of our visitors have been unable to get their vehicles down the lane at all! It will be a real relief when it’s smoothed out.”

You can donate to the project by visiting www.foreverhoundstrust.org