SNOOZING in the sun at the Three Counties Show, life a year ago must seem only a bad dream for Mya the white saluki.

Back then, she was being beaten and abused in a gipsy camp in Cumbria, probably for not being a fast enough or good enough hunter.

Fortunately, the RSPCA intervened and a court case followed. Mya was taken into care and today she is one more success story for Evesham Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue.

The organisation has been looking after long dogs since 1989 and now takes in animals from all over the country.

"I should think we have 50-60 dogs in foster homes all over the UK," said Pete Chamberlain, one of the helpers.

"Lurchers and greyhounds are not the types of dog that do well in kennels, so we try to put all our rescues out to foster homes. That way you can more easily find out their characters and what sort of homes they would suit in the future.

"Mya was a very sad case, but she has made an excellent recovery."

Lurchers, which are usually cross-breds containing greyhound or whippet blood, are often used for poaching hares or rabbits. Sometimes even deer if the dogs are large enough. But if they don't perform as hunters, they can be abandoned and left to fend for themselves.

"We have dogs passed to us from a variety of sources, dog wardens, the police, councils, local vets," Pete said. "We never turn a dog away and never put one down, unless it is as a last resort through injury or illness.

"We have seen some very bad cases make good recoveries, but it does take constant fundraising."

The Rescue's summer dog show and family fun day is at Danemere Pet Hotel, Tibberton, near Droitwich, tomorrow.