I write as chairman of Greyhounds in Need following the piece (A Doggone Good Cause, H&H August 20) which highlighted the good work being done by Tania Coates in rescuing podencos in Spain. Greyhounds in Need (GIN) is a charity, founded just over 10 years

I write as chairman of Greyhounds in Need following the piece (A Doggone Good Cause, H&H August 20) which highlighted the good work being done by Tania Coates in rescuing podencos in Spain.

Greyhounds in Need (GIN) is a charity, founded just over 10 years ago, which concentrates on the rescue, treatment and rehoming of Galgos, a Spanish strain of greyhounds, which are used for hunting and harecoursing in rural parts of Spain.

At the end of their first hunting season, typically at the age of three years, these faithful and beautiful dogs are routinely abandoned or killed by the most barbaric means, just to save their owners the cost of feeding them through the off-season.

My own lovely greyhound, Percy, was found caught in a leg-trap and seriously injured. This is by no means the most brutal of the many ways in which their owners dispose of these unfortunate creatures.

In the last 10 years we have, with the assistance of kind volunteers in Spain, rescued and rehomed some 7000 Spanish greyhounds. Contrary to popular myth, greyhounds make wonderfully easy to care for and affectionate pets.

They need little exercise and when not running like the wind, spend the rest of the day as couch potatoes

We have recently embarked on an education project aimed at Spanish primary schoolchildren, in an effort to make a long-term improvement in the welfare of greyhounds and all animals.

With the present strength of the euro, the costs of this vital work have risen sharply.

Any of your readers who would like to help are asked to contact GIN at 33 High Street, Wraysbury, Mddx TW19 5DA or via our website address, www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk

Martin Humphery

Willoughby Road NW3