I spend a lot of time in a dog basket
Canine-obsessed Paul O’Grady tells RHONA MERCER why he’s thrilled to be back with his show about Battersea Dogs and Cats home...
ANIMAL lovers rejoice! Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs is back and we’re thrilled to tell you this series is a corker.
Paul, 66, heads back to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home post lockdown and checks in on all its residents to see how they’re getting on.
“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the show started!”, Paul explains.
“I was originally supposed to do six hours and thought it would just be one of those shows that they pad out the schedule with!”
Here, Paul tells why he spends most of the show lying on the floor, and how Spice Girl
Geri Halliwell makes a guest appearance to rescue a poorly shih tzu...
What impact has lockdown had on Battersea?
All the dogs went out on foster care in lockdown, except the really sick ones who stayed at Battersea.
And what seems to have happened during lockdown is people got dogs that are totally unsuitable for them and of course the dog has grown up and they haven’t been able to train it, so now they can’t handle it and they dump it.
So there are lots of abandoned dogs com
ing in.
How tempted were you to adopt Daisy the
shih tzu?
The thing was, Daisy had been so ill, she had to have a liver shunt fitted which is a really complicated operation to do on a such a small dog, but she’s now fully recovered.
I’ve just had two epileptic dogs that passed away, so I didn’t really feel able to take another dog with an illness.
But then a Spice Girl came to the rescue!
Geri Halliwell took her! Daisy was a sweet little dog, she really was. But off she went to Geri which was a lovely out
come for her.
You also meet two chihuahua’s who have a tricky time?
They were petrified,
Marley and Maisie, they were terrified of everything.
It took quite a long time to reassure them but I got there eventually.
I just sort of sat in the kennels pretending to ignore them, to see how they would react.
I spend a lot of time on the floor. I say to people, ‘Have you got any shots of me stood up?’ I’m either sat in a dog basket with a dog on top of me or I’m laying on the floor.
It keeps you supple though!
Paul O’Grady for the Love of Dogs is on Wednesday, 8pm, ITV