{"id":5484,"date":"2020-06-05T06:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/?p=5484"},"modified":"2022-02-15T16:28:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T16:28:35","slug":"battersea-dogs-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/battersea-dogs-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amazing Battersea Dogs Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Battersea Dogs Home can be a great place to take kids that love pets. But it can also be very emotional to see all the dogs and cats waiting to find a new home, desperately trying to grab your attention. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"Battersea Cats and Dogs Home\" class=\"wp-image-5520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-1170x775.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-780x516.jpg 780w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-585x388.jpg 585w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7-263x175.jpg 263w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-4-of-7.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Battersea Dogs and Cats Home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/south-west-london\/\">South West London<\/a> is a child-friendly-area with plenty of family activities like visiting the Battersea Children&#8217;s Zoo, going <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/parks\/battersea-cycle-route-families\/\">cycling <\/a>in <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/family-battersea-park\/\">Battersea Park<\/a> and visiting Kew and its <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/kew-gardens-playground\/\">Children&#8217;s Garden<\/a>. If your <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/farms-zoos-london\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\">kids love animals<\/a><\/strong> as much as ours do, stopping by <strong>Battersea Dogs Home<\/strong> for a visit is very tempting, but it&#8217;s important to keep a few things in mind: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>There is a small entrance fee<\/li><li>You can walk along the pens <\/li><li>The animals are well cared for<\/li><li>It can get really loud with dogs barking trying to get attention.<\/li><li>There are signs with a description of each dog and cat with a bit about their background<\/li><li>There is not much room for interaction with the dogs or cats as you need to stay outside of the pens (unless you actually intend to adopt)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All in all, we enjoy visiting Battersea because the staff is so great and the animals are so well cared for, but it can also be quite sad to see all the dogs and cats in need of a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"changing-with-the-times\">Changing with the times<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home.jpg\" alt=\"vintage photo from above showing battersea digs dogs home\" class=\"wp-image-6385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home.jpg 800w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home-585x437.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Founded in 1860 by Mrs Mary Tealby, the shelter was initially called <em>The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-1024x678.jpg\" alt=\"showing battersea behind barbed wire and wall\" class=\"wp-image-5521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-1170x775.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-780x516.jpg 780w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-585x388.jpg 585w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7-263x175.jpg 263w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_cats_dogs_home-3-of-7.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>In 2002 the name of the animal shelter was changed to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"984\" height=\"616\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_branding_new.png\" alt=\"ads for battersea dogs home\" class=\"wp-image-6387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_branding_new.png 984w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_branding_new-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_branding_new-768x481.png 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_branding_new-585x366.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 984px) 100vw, 984px\" \/><figcaption>Finally in 2018, the shelter rebranded again now simply calling itself&#8221;Battersea&#8221;, removing &#8220;Dogs and Cats Home&#8221; from its name. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"battersea-dogs-home-s-royal-patronage\">Battersea Dogs Home&#8217;s Royal Patronage <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1883 the shelter began taking in cats and in 1885 <strong>Queen Victoria<\/strong> became Patron of the Home which has remained under Royal Patronage ever since.  Famously fond of her royal corgis, <strong>Queen Elizabeth<\/strong> became Patron in 1956 and visited both in 1991 and 2015 staying closely connected to Battersea through her love of dogs. <strong>Prince Michael of Kent <\/strong>is the current President and also the proud owner of a Battersea dog, a black Labrador.  In 2017 <strong>The Dutchess of Cornwall <\/strong>became the new Royal Patron, a big animal-lover and supporter of rescue dogs for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We were thrilled to welcome The Duchess of Cornwall to our Old Windsor centre today as she was announced as our new Royal Patron. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hcRs18pjOc\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/hcRs18pjOc<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Battersea (@Battersea_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Battersea_\/status\/826778560715227138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February 1, 2017<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The animal shelter receives no public funding and instead relies on private donations for its survival. Happily, generous donations over the years have allowed this shelter to not only survive but to thrive and grow which has been a crucial part of their success in meeting the ever-increasing need for their services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The shelter has been the focus of a great deal of media attention over the years. The BBC filmed several documentary series about the shelter and ITV&#8217;s series <em>Paul O&#8217;Grady: For the Love of Dogs<\/em> has been filming at Battersea since 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"who-let-the-dogs-out\">Who let the dogs out?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most popular media events arose around a resident dog named <a aria-label=\"Red the Lurcher (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/news\/nature\/482873\/Dog-breaks-out-of-kennel-and-frees-friends-at-Battersea-Dogs-and-Cats-Home\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Red the Lurcher<\/a>. It appeared that the dog was very intelligent and actually learned how to escape his cage at night! This in itself is quite remarkable, but Red went a bit further, breaking several of his canine friends out of their cages as well \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"744\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher-1024x744.png\" alt=\"cctv footage of dogs in a cage\" class=\"wp-image-6384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher-1024x744.png 1024w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher-768x558.png 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher-585x425.png 585w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_dogs_home_lurcher.png 1159w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>CCTV footage from Battersea Dogs Home showed that the goal for this canine escape artist was an illicit midnight snack. Red the Lurcher and his friends were caught repeatedly on camera performing this astounding feat. Check this <a aria-label=\"YouTube video (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rXpjX4l0hRg?t=126\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"rank-math-link\">YouTube video<\/a> to see the revealing footage. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"lockdown-companionship\">Lockdown Companionship <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of March 2020 with the onset of COVID-19 and the lockdown, Google search volume for <strong>&#8220;buy a dog&#8221;<\/strong> started to increase rapidly with twice as many searching for how to get a dog compared to the previous period. Here you can see the trend plotted up until the beginning of June 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/ssl.gstatic.com\/trends_nrtr\/2213_RC01\/embed_loader.js\"><\/script>\n  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    trends.embed.renderExploreWidget(\"TIMESERIES\", {\"comparisonItem\":[{\"keyword\":\"buy a dog\",\"geo\":\"GB\",\"time\":\"today 12-m\"}],\"category\":0,\"property\":\"\"}, {\"exploreQuery\":\"geo=GB&q=buy%20a%20dog&date=today 12-m\",\"guestPath\":\"https:\/\/trends.google.com:443\/trends\/embed\/\"});\n  <\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Battersea Dogs Home confirmed in a statement that <strong>adoptions <\/strong>were up by 25% compared to the same period in 2019. While enjoying the company of a pet can be a great stress-relief for loneliness during the <strong>lockdown<\/strong>, many experts warned against adopting an animal as a short-term measure, not thinking about the consequences when going back to work later again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs.jpg\" alt=\"Battersea Dogs and Cats Home\" class=\"wp-image-5522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/battersea_cats_dogs-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The shelter is open to the public all year, seven days a week. Children usually love seeing all the dogs and cats that are available for rehousing and reading their stories.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Battersea Dogs Home <strong>website<\/strong> is also a great place for kids to learn about the individual stories of the dogs and cats in their care and the experiences they had. Whether you&#8217;re planning to adopt or not, browsing through the big list of dogs and cats available for adoption makes you reflect on how big of a responsibility it really is to care for an animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-default\"><blockquote><p>Georgie loves his food and is motivated to do tricks. Georgie is at a great age to learn skill and training and is a smart kid. A sweet boy who is currently rocking the scruffy teenager style we can&#8217;t help but love, Georgie will be a great companion. Get in touch to meet this lovely little guy!<\/p><cite>Georgie&#8217;s profile on Battersea.org.uk<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Battersea_dogs_cats.png\" alt=\"screenshot of website to adopt cats\" class=\"wp-image-5523\"\/><figcaption>Planning to adopt a cat or a dog? The Battersea website is really user friendly, and a great matchmaking tool to help you find the right dog or cat. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background\"><strong>Battersea Dogs Home does great work and is a powerful champion for the pets of London. If you would like to show your support, you can make a donation here: <a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/donate.battersea.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"rank-math-link\">https:\/\/donate.battersea.org.uk\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking your dog on your next visit to London? Check our overview of friendly <a href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/london-dog-cafes\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27471\">London dog cafes<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color: #efefef;\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Key Information Battersea Dogs &amp; Cats Home<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<ul>\n<li>Paid entry<\/li>\n<li><a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/indoor-things-kids-london\/\">Indoors<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Type: <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/farms-zoos-london\/\">Animal Attraction<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Borough: Wandsworth<\/li>\n<li>Area: <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/south-west-london\/\" data-rich-text-format-boundary=\"true\">South West London<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Tube: Battersea Park<\/li>\n<li>Nearby: <a class=\"rank-math-link\" href=\"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/family-battersea-park\/\" data-rich-text-format-boundary=\"true\">Battersea Park<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.battersea.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Official website<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<div class=\"map-responsive\">\n<figure><iframe style=\"border: 0;\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d9938.93321994752!2d-0.14621744639351825!3d51.48140946236858!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x48760503d02b551f%3A0xbd2664f7d41c86a0!2sBattersea%20Dogs%20and%20Cats%20Home!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1609258014941!5m2!1sen!2suk\" width=\"350\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" aria-hidden=\"false\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Battersea Dogs Home can be a great place to take kids that love pets. But it can also be very emotional to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[56],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londonducklings.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}