A dog’s life (From York Press)

A dog’s life

11:00am Monday 24th October 2011 in Letters By Reader's letter

I READ Mr Fillingham’s letter about the sad fate of retired greyhounds (Letters, October 18) and while I deplore this, it is only what I expect from us some of us human beings – the cruellest and most destructive species on the planet.

I cannot help but wonder if there are places where greyhounds can go once they have finished being of use to their heartless owners. This made me think of the time, years ago, when I worked for ICI.

They promoted their Dulux brand of paint by using the Dulux dog, and while this animal was attractively fluffy, and became well known to everyone, it did not make an ideal pet.

It needed exercise and lots of grooming, and had poor eyesight so was not the pet that owners had hoped for.

I worked for their public relations department and understand that many “Dulux” dogs were abandoned once their initial appeal had waned.

There was at least one place where these dogs were taken in and looked after, and ICI made generous contributions to their upkeep.

Heather Causnett, Escrick Park Gardens, Escrick, York.