Retired greyhounds are struggling to find new homes when their racing days are over, according to a charity.

Over the past year, the Retired Greyhound Trust said it had only been able to find a home for 17 dogs in the county.

However, none of those were in Oxford and the charity said it still had more than 70 dogs desperate for a home.

Jenny Hebborn of the charity’s Oxfordshire branch said: “Oxford is a bad area in which to find homes.

“We have no idea why greyhounds seem to be less popular as pets in this region, because they make loving companions and can live easily with children and most other pets.

“We have quite a few greyhounds staying in kennels ready to move on to new homes, but sadly too few people are coming forward to take them.”

She said with Christmas approaching there was usually a surge in interest.

But she added: “We don’t let any of our dogs go out over the Christmas period.

“We are happy to carry out assessments of people’s homes prior to Christmas, but we wait until the new year before letting them go.

“If anyone sees a dog they like, we can hold on to it until then.”

Potential owners wanting to adopt receive a home check. All homes require gardens with at least a 5ft fence.

People who work full-time are not ideal. Mrs Hebborn added: “These are dogs that have been living in kennels with other dogs.

“To take them out of that and leave them in a house alone wouldn’t be fair.

Anyone wanting to adopt a dog is asked to pay a minimum donation of £100.

Mrs Hebborn said: “We pay out a lot of money in vets’ bills to have them treated, and provide a lead, collar and a muzzle. We need to recoup some of that money from donations.”

For information call 01865 374792 or go to retiredgreyhounds.co.uk