Paul O’grady: For the Love of Dogs
Paul O’grady on making some unexpected friends on his return to Battersea…
Paul O’grady is on a roll, describing all the waifs and strays looking for forever homes as his show Paul O’grady: For the Love of
Dogs returns to ITV this week. ‘There’s a lovely old Staffie, Jenny the nervous Rottweiler, the rabbits…’ Wait, sorry – rabbits!?
‘I know, rabbits at Battersea! What next? Dolphins? Spiders?’ laughs Paul, 65, who, explains all…
Tell us more about the rabbits, which are a first for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home…
They had been left at a bus stop
– a woman brought them in. I was speechless! I wonder what people thought, waiting at that bus stop, ‘What’s this, Alice in Wonderland?!’
Anyway, the RSPCA came and took
[ them away as Battersea doesn’t have
] the facilities needed to house rabbits , and, as they did, the mother, Nutmeg, gave birth to another litter! There were rabbits everywhere!
How does it feel to return for a ninth series of this show?
I couldn’t wait to get back. Filming is a bit different as it has to be socially distanced, but it’s wonderful. I had so many messages during lockdown with people asking, ‘When are the dogs back?’, including emails from Canada and America where it airs, too. I remember waiting for my suitcase in Canada years ago when an official came over. I thought he was going to haul me off but instead he asked for a selfie!
The magic of the show never fades…
It really is a Cinderella tale. You get a dog that comes in, often abused or badly treated, and the staff make them well and they go off to a lovely home. It has a happy ending. So you cry at the beginning and then at the end, too!
Who do you help this week?
The [18-month-old] Rottweiler, Jenny, whose owner couldn’t take care of her. I won her trust with patience. I just sat there, with a few bits of chicken up my sleeve and talked gently to her. I didn’t think she’d sit on my knee the way she did! The staff couldn’t believe it. It’s really flattering that if a dog won’t eat, they say, ‘Oh, Paul will get it to eat.’ I don’t know how – I just chat to them. Getting a nervous dog to come round is just wonderful.
This series holds such a special place in your heart, doesn’t it?
This show has become so much more than just filming to me – I really do
[three-monthold get]stuck in. There’s a spaniel cross in the first episode that I carry to the lab even though he’s covered in mites. People say, ‘How can you do that?’ But I can’t resist – it really doesn’t bother me. He just needed love and attention.
This week, you also meet two Maltese terrier puppies who staff suspect have come from a puppy farm in Romania. Do you think that could be a result of lockdown?
I think people wanted a dog because they were in lockdown; it felt the perfect time. And, of course, then the puppy farms had a field day. I don’t think Battersea had that many brought in because there’s such a call for them, but I think the number of animals being sold online during lockdown is a worry. When people go back to busier lives we might see the consequences of animals bought without enough thought.
Any other current challenges for the canine world?
Dog theft is rife. It feels like there’s an attitude of, ‘It’s only a dog,’ but that dog is like a family member. The law has got to tighten up on this. I’d love to be a magistrate. I’d make Judge Rinder look tame!