I was flattered to be asked to follow in Paul’s footsteps...
MARION MCMULLEN FINDS OUT WHY ALISON HAMMOND IS FULL OF PUPPY LOVE
ALISON HAMMOND is carrying on Paul O’grady’s legacy as the new host of For the Love of Dogs.
She’s taken to the ITV show like a duck to water, rolling up her sleeves at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and even bottle-feeding an abandoned three-day-old pup as she dishes out the dog treats and sets tails wagging.
Alison has been getting friendly with everything from lurchers and French bulldogs to Bichon Frise dogs and puppies and says she is loving lending a helping hand to man’s best friend.
Here, the This Morning host, 49, talks to us about taking over from much-loved
TV presenter and comedian Paul, who sadly died last March, aged
67.
What appealed to you about hosting For the Love of Dogs?
I used to watch For the
Love of Dogs when Paul O’grady did it.
He was incredible and I absolutely fell in love with all the stories and always wanted to know what was going to happen to the dogs.
I didn’t have a dog growing up because my family was a Caribbean family and they just didn’t want to have a dog around the house, but I always loved dogs and used to go and play with them at my mates’ houses.
So, when I got this opportunity, I was so flattered to be asked to follow in Paul’s footsteps and I really wanted to help the charity, get stuck into knowing the dogs and let people know about all the amazing work that goes on at Battersea.
Any mishaps during filming?
There’s been a lot of unsolicited snogging of me during my time at Battersea.
There’ve been a couple of wees to clean up, and some poos, but I don’t mind. I’m in there sorting it out.
What has the experience been like?
Every time I know I’m going to Battersea it’s like I’m having a therapy day… it’s just lovely meeting the dogs and hearing their stories. Sometimes it’s hard and they face life-changing surgeries, but seeing how they thrive afterwards and how much love and attention the staff put into these dogs is just incredible. It’s just a lovely place to be.
I didn’t realise how wonderful that place is, and if I ever did get a dog in the future when I’m older, it would be from Battersea.
I wouldn’t go anywhere else, because they’re all gorgeous.
Which of the dogs or their stories has touched you the most?
They all touch your heart in some way.
Nelly is the most beautiful spaniel you’ve ever seen. When I met her, I did notice something was wrong with her eye. Something was wrong with the left side of the nose, the left eye and the left side of her mouth as well. She had to have her eye removed but she’s thriving now! She’s just like, ‘No problem!’ She’s just the nicest dog.
How you are going to stop yourself from taking all the gorgeous dogs home?
I’ve already come up with my strategy. I mean, I started off saying, “I’m going to get a dog,” but as time went on, I realised how much actually goes into having a dog and a how, to be a responsible owner is to recognise your own circumstances and see that maybe this isn’t the time to have a dog. However, you know, there’s always the future.
I like the ones who are not perfect because I’m not perfect myself.
I have an affinity for the dogs where there’s something wrong with them or they might be a bit chubby or they’ve got one eye or one leg.
I don’t know what it is. I just feel so sorry for them. And I just want to take care of them.
Can you see yourself as a future dog owner?
I think I’ll probably go into fostering the dogs, although I’ll probably be a rubbish fosterer and end up keeping them. But that’s what I’m going to look towards. When I’ve got time off, I’ll foster dogs from Battersea.
Is it a dog’s life?
The staff are just so dedicated. The amount of hard work there that goes into getting these dogs to a stage so that they can find their forever home, I was quite impressed with that.
I was impressed with the cattery – each cat is in a hotel-style room with toys, blankets, a bed, something to climb on.
I was so impressed with how it’s run and how clean it is.
The volunteers that come and give their time. It’s just incredible.
They sit in the kennel and read to the dogs, and the dogs love it. They absolutely love it.
They’re played classical music and the dogs calm down. It’s amazing.
When they go for their groom and their little bath, it’s lovely. It’s like a spa for them
What sort of issues are being faced by Battersea at the moment. Why do they need people’s support?
I think money is the big thing really.
I tell you another thing that really surprised me, the amount of people that leave money in their wills to Battersea, because there’s no government help or anything like that, it is just literally donations and people raising money.
So, they need money more than anything, all of this costs a lot of money.
The medication the dogs need, the operations, all the staff, but, on the plus side there are so many donations and people are so generous.
We’ve only just seen how much Paul O’grady donated to the charity (the animal lover reportedly left £500,000 in his will to Battersea).
There’s a lot of people who do that who are just incredible.
I like the ones who are not perfect because I’m not perfect myself Alison Hammond
For the Love of Dogs with Alison Hammond is on ITV1, Tuesday, 8pm