Bernie had got increasingly weak over the past few months and, when he finally became incontinent and unable to stand, we made the always difficult decision to call in the vet and have him "put to sleep" to prevent any further suffering.

We adopted Bernie at the age of two from the NCDL after he had been found wandering in the Evesham area, having been abandoned by the racing industry. He was severely traumatised and his reactions indicated that he had obviously been beaten by those who had kept him for racing.

For many years he was extremely nervous and terrified of strangers, and the special care he needed severely restricted our ability to get out and about. But our anger at what the racing industry had done to him provided a major impetus for us to fight for an end to commercial greyhound racing.

Although the mental scars, caused by his illtreatment as a young dog, never totally left him, in later life "Snerbs", as we affectionately called him, became more trusting and a lot less nervous and turned into a really fine old gentleman.

We'll miss you old boy, but we take comfort from the fact that you were one of the lucky ones, able to live to a ripe old age in a loving home, after being snatched from the holocaust of greyhound death and suffering. You never knew how much you helped the others.