THE love of greyhounds through volunteering at Hector’s Greyhound Rescue in Oswestry has led to wedding bells for one couple.

Darren Jones and Julie Horton both attended a charity dog show put on by the rescue over the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, with Julie as an adopter and Darren a volunteer at Hector’s.

But fast forward two years to Saturday, September 14 when Darren and Julie, who are both 63, will become man and wife after falling in love over their love of dogs.

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And, the most important question of all, what role will Peggy and Herbie, their beloved greyhounds play?

“They’re going to be the ring bearers, of course,” said Julie.

“Peggy is my dog and Herbie is Darren’s but they’re already each other’s too and in two weeks it’s going to be official.

“Darren was volunteering at the show and had two dogs – Herbie and a bigger greyhound called Cash which I was interested in.

“We had a chat and then I went around again and came back and we had another chat which ended up lasting about three hours.”

Darren added: “I did the old ‘I don’t normally do this’ with her and asked if she wanted to for on a dog walk a few days later.”

Julie continued: “We went to Aberdyfi as we both soon realised that we had a shared love of going to the coast with the dogs.

“We go to Barmouth a lot and that’s where Darren proposed to me by getting down on one knee.”

He interjected: “I made sure I was by a pole though so I could get back up again.”

Julie, from Oswestry but was living in Llanfechain at the time, has now moved to Llanymynech to be with Darren but will be getting married at the church close to Lake Vyrnwy before celebrating at the nearby hotel.

And they added that fellow greyhound lovers from Hector’s including founder Hayley Bradley, who admitted she was delighted for Julie and Darren.

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“We are overjoyed to see two of our own find such happiness together,” said Hayley.

“Julie and Darren’s story is a testament to the incredible connections that can form through the love of rescue animals.

“They’ve been a wonderful part of our team, and we couldn’t be happier for them as they begin this next chapter of their lives.”