Ford World Rally Championship driver Gus Greensmith zoomed into Dogs Trust Manchester recently to meet some of the dogs in need of new homes.
Dog-lover Gus took along a one-off helmet he designed in the yellow and black of Dogs Trust and carrying the charity’s logo, which he recently wore for Rally Portugal to raise awareness of the plight of rescue dogs, and which will now be auctioned to raise money for Dogs Trust.
Gus, who is 25 and lives in Manchester, says: “Ever since I was born we have always had at least two dogs in the family, and we do everything we can to give them the best quality of life. Unfortunately, some dogs find themselves without a loving family which I find heartbreaking, so I want to do all I can to help.
“Coming to Dogs Trust Manchester and meeting some of the dogs and seeing how happy they are, has been fantastic. They are all truly loved by the team.”
Gus began his rally driving career in 2014 having competed for three years in karting at World Championship level. He is currently third in the rallying World Championship standings.
Gus has sponsored dogs at Dogs Trust for many years and is now hoping to raise thousands by auctioning off the specially designed helmet, which also includes the names of all his family dogs – 13 in total.
Gus says: “Dogs offer everything that is good and pure in life; love, energy, playfulness and loyalty. As humans I believe we can learn more from dogs than dogs can from humans and the dogs I’ve met today who have been through a lot of change but are still loving and trusting, prove that.
“If I can use my sport to show my appreciation of the amazing work that Dogs Trust does, then that gives what I do even more meaning and adds to my enjoyment of racing.”
Dawn Bishop, Manager at Dogs Trust Manchester in Denton, said: “Gus’s love of dogs absolutely shines from him and we really appreciate his support, not just coming to visit us but for the many years he has sponsored our dogs. The fact that he is now going to auction the helmet to raise awareness and funds for us is fantastic and hopefully we’ll welcome him back soon so that he can see how his fund raising has helped our beautiful dogs.”
If you would like to find out more about dogs waiting for their forever homes at Dogs Trust Manchester, please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk
