Since he came into Chris’ life, Wyn’s been a therapy pet, a school dog and even a blood donor

Wyn came to me after he'd been found as a stray and handed in at my vet. After no one came to claim him, I took him in. When he was first brought in, he wasn’t chipped or wearing a collar, so I asked him, ‘What's your name?’ Then I told him that that could be shortened to ‘Wyn’, and I got a wag. So, Wyn's name is actually the acronym of that question.

He's a Saluki cross, and like many Salukis, he enjoys chasing games with my other hounds. He's also a typical Sighthound, and when he’s not playing games, he chills out on the sofa.

He loves his cuddles – as far as he’s concerned, people are there to love and fuss him, and he returns that in kind. This quickly led to him doing his Pets As Therapy assessment, and he’s been visiting a local mental health hospital for many years now. He loves his visits, and everyone loves seeing him. The staff have told me he makes a real difference to the patients and their wellbeing.

He’s been visiting a local mental health hospital for many years

Wyn’s also an education dog, so he goes into schools with me to promote animal welfare. After our sessions, the children get to meet him. He’s always really gentle with them, and he's even helped some of them overcome their fear of dogs.

He recently retired as a blood donor with Pet Blood Bank UK, having made 25 donations. This means he helped save the lives of 100 dogs, as each donation gets turned into four blood products. He even continued donating during Covid, even though I wasn't allowed to accompany him.

Wyn is always a fantastic icebreaker. Usually no one speaks to each other on train journeys, but when I’m travelling to events with him, everyone wants to come and say hello. He’s a fantastic companion to me and a wonderful ambassador for dogs in general, particularly Sighthounds.

Carley loves watching how much Gibson helps the children in her care to feel better

I work in a special needs school and regularly do respite work with children who have severe disabilities and autism. Gibson often comes with me because he’s so gentle, and his easy-going nature helps the pupils to feel calmer and more relaxed.

He’ll join us for long walks around the park, and if one of the children his holding the lead he’ll purposely not pull, just so he doesn’t startle them. He knows that he should always stay close and is so perfectly well-behaved every time.

His easy-going nature helps the pupils

Recently, a child in my care became quite distressed and started crying uncontrollably. Gibson looked concerned, grabbed a toy and lay down with this child until they had calmed down. He even allowed them to stroke his paw which he usually doesn’t enjoy, but I think in this case, he knew how much it was helping.

Gibson is my hero, and I couldn’t ask for a better companion.

Now his racing career is over, Rebel is finally getting to enjoy life to the full thanks to Sophie

Rebel is everything to us! As first-time dog owners, we were so nervous about getting a pet, but we knew rescuing a Greyhound was the right choice. Just a few days before we were due to pick him up, he'd been attacked in the rescue centre so came to us full of bites and stitches – a great way to get to know our lovely local vets!

Judging by Rebel's scars from his racing days, it's clear he's had a tough life before retirement. But we are determined to teach him to just enjoy life. He now takes full ownership of the sofa and bed, wakes us up by rooing and teeth chattering in the morning, and can't get enough of his toys and snacks.

He’s the most perfect, loving dog who has completely changed our lives for the better. Of course, he still enjoys running in an enclosed field to impress us!

We are determined to teach him to just enjoy life

Orla loves to spoil her two pups Paloma and Kyuss, who enjoy going on long walks with her – even though they have tiny legs!

Our little troublemakers are a pair of long-haired mini dachshunds, who turned our world upside down when they joined us as pups back in 2017.

There are so many funny things that they do, and even on a down day they make us smile. Paloma’s cutest habit is that every night after dinner, she waits for her dad to lie on the floor so she can rest on him for neck kisses. The truth is that everything she does makes us smile.

They have such short legs!

In 2018, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, and we chose to treat her with chemo as she is so young and has so much fight in her. We needed to give it a shot. Almost 18 months on and she is still beating cancer. Everything she does is special to us – as you can imagine she is so spoiled, even more than she was before she got ill!

Kyuss is a food obsessed mummy’s boy. We know it’s very naughty but his endless tricks to get more treats makes us laugh. We love to take them both out on long walks, which I’m not sure we’d do without them. The longest walk we have done is 10 miles – not bad considering they have such short legs! They love our country walks and always stay close by, not down to good training but because they’re total wimps!

Kyuss and Paloma bring so much joy into our home – or, their home rather, because let’s face it, we’re just here to provide treats and kisses!

Teddy is constantly making his owner Callum laugh with his hilarious antics

Teddy is a real character. I’m sure he thinks he’s a cat, as I’ll often find him attempting to climb the cat tree, which never ends well for him! He sure knows how to have fun – one minute he’ll be playing with his toys and the next he’s doing his famous Greyhound impression. He can also bea little terror, but no matter what he’s doing, he’ll always put a smile on your face.

He sure knows how to have fun

Whether they’re supporting each other through tough times or cuddling up on the sofa after a long day, Tilly and her owner Sam share a very special connection

Tilly is my best friend. She was my companion through both my marriage breakup and my son’s terrible time with his mental health.

We have complete trust between us. She caught her leg on a trampoline spring when she was two, and once we managed to release her, I held her until I handed her over to the vet.

We have complete trust between us

She lies next to me on the sofa of an evening, and she always likes to be touching me and giving me 'the look of love’, as I call it. She knows exactly what I’m saying and is a very quiet, thoughtful and intelligent friend. She loves cheese and slices of ham, and she’s very spoilt. She knows she’s my princess!

We got her a new Whippet puppy friend called Sapphire (as she’s blue) this year, and Tilly has been very patient teaching her the ropes. She’s 13 now and getting visibly older, and I dread the day she will leave us.