For the Love of Dogs

For the Love of Dogs with Alison Hammond (previously Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs) is a multi-award winning British reality documentary television series set at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, presented by Paul O'Grady until his death in 2023, and by Alison Hammond from 2024. Under O'Grady it won numerous awards. The show is made by MultiStory Media and premiered on ITV1 on 3 September 2012.

O'Grady era
O'Grady commented that he had wanted to do such a show for years and that he took to it with an "enthusiasm that surprised everyone except me". Although scheduled to initially film at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home for six days, he stayed as a volunteer for six months. At the end of the first series, O'Grady was invited to become an ambassador for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Following O'Grady's death, the episode titled A Royal Special, which originally aired in December 2022, was repeated on ITV on 29 March 2023.

In October 2023, Battersea announced that they would be naming a new veterinary hospital after O'Grady, and a "tribute fund" set up in his honour would go towards "life-saving and transformative medical procedures" for dogs and cats which need specialist care and treatment.

Format
Throughout the series, members of the staff talk about the dogs in their care, including head vet Shaun Opperman and head of canine welfare training Ali Taylor. Each episode showcases a few of the dogs who come to Battersea as strays or because their owners can't look after them anymore, and follows each dog's progress through the home.

Awards
For the Love of Dogs has won a number of awards. The show has won two consecutive National Television Awards for 'Most Popular Factual Entertainment Programme' in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, it was nominated for a third National Television Award, this time under the category 'Most Popular Factual Programme', but lost out to Gogglebox. It won again in 2019 after beating Gogglebox for the first time in five years, and then in 2023.

The show was also nominated for a BAFTA for 'Best Features Programme' in 2013.