How a greyhound threatened with death in China arrived in a Kenilworth home

Sue Cotton with rescue greyhound Harry (left) and her older greyhound Seren (right)

62-year-old Sue Cotton, of Northvale Close, has kept greyhounds since the 1980s, and is a member of various greyhound-related groups on Facebook.

One of these groups showed 13 injured greyhounds being kept in a cage, which was shared on the site by a concerned Chinese woman called Yun Xiao. The greyhounds would have likely been sold for meat.

So Sue sponsored one of the dogs, which she named 'Seren' after her own greyhound.

Sue said: "She put an appeal out on Facebook to try and save these greyhounds. I sent money to China and we got regular updates.

"Greyhounds are my breed - I just couldn't bear it to see greyhounds ready to be chopped up. I just couldn't turn my back.

"I thought: 'if it's a scam, so what?' They've been bred to race - they have no place in a cage."

Once the money came in, Yun was able to buy three of the dogs, including Seren, and sent them to the vets. Their injuries were treated and were given a clean bill of health.

Harry and Seren have got on well since they started living in Sue's home

Sue thought that was the end of the story, but her friend Kerry Elliman, who runs a greyhound rescue centre near Birmingham called Birmingham Greyhound Protection, surprised her with some great news.

Sue said: "Kerry said to me: 'you'll never guess what? I've got him to come over.'"

Kerry was able to fly Seren over from China into Paris, and then drove him back to the centre near Birmingham.

But Sue, who was not intending to rehome the dog, kept him at her house for one night on Monday January 30, 2017, to see how he coped. She has kept him ever since.

Sue had to rename him 'Harry' so as not to confuse him with her older greyhound Seren.

Although she says Harry, who is now four years old, sometimes twitches in the night, he displays the calm traits associated with greyhounds despite his past and is a 'good boy'.

And a year on from Harry's arrival, Sue wanted to share her story to encourage would be dog-owners to consider having a rescue dog rather than buying a puppy.

She added: "I'd like people to do something really nice and save a dog's life. I'd also say don't give up, and don't think you can't help. You can always do something."