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FAQs

All the answers to your questions about our work, or about our involvement with The Dog House.

If you have a question we haven’t answered about our work, our involvement with The Dog House, or something else, you can contact our Supporter Relations team.

We’re a charity dedicated to helping pets and their people. As well as being a safe haven for homeless and vulnerable pets for almost 100 years – including those in need of urgent, life-saving care – we provide expert pet advice and hands-on support to pet owners and our local communities. Last year, Woodgreen directly supported more than 8,000 pets thanks to the generosity of our supporters and partners.

Woodgreen and The Dog House

The Dog House is filmed at Woodgreen Pets Charity’s 43-acre centre in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire.

The Dog House is commissioned by Channel 4 and produced by Five Mile Films, a Bristol-based independent television company.

We are delighted that there will soon be five series of The Dog House available to watch on Channel 4. A sixth series has also been filmed – so watch this space for more updates.

No! The participants don’t know ahead of time which dog they will be matched with, and their first meeting is an authentic “blind date”.

Only a small part of the rehoming journey is shown on screen, and there’s much more happening behind the scenes. Whilst the “blind date” in the meeting pen is unique to contributors of The Dog House, they go through the same process and checks as everyone who rehomes a pet from Woodgreen. Finding the right match for each dog is always our top priority.

Adopting a pet from Woodgreen

The Dog House offers a fascinating insight into the extent of the work involved in the rehoming process, but what you see on TV is only a snapshot of each dog’s story. Every dog at Woodgreen arrives with their own story and each one is unique. Some may need urgent medical treatment or behavioural training, while others might just need love and care until we find them a forever home.

If you’re looking to rehome a dog, cat or small animal from Woodgreen, the first step is to visit our website to see which pets are looking for homes. Their rehoming profiles give detailed information about them – their personality, behaviour and medical needs, as well as the type of lifestyle and home environment that will suit their individual needs.

If you find a pet you’re interested in, please click the ‘Get started’ link at the bottom of their profile to fill in a registration form. If our team thinks you could be a match, someone will be in touch with you to discuss next steps. We’re really sorry, but we are unable to reply to everyone who contacts us about rehoming a pet.

Visits to Woodgreen’s Godmanchester centre are by appointment only for people using our services, such as rehoming a pet or attending one of our workshops or training classes. Anyone is welcome to visit the charity shop without an appointment.

Woodgreen’s dog kennels are not open to the public. We take our responsibility for the wellbeing of these dogs very seriously, and strive to make each dog in our care feel safe and relaxed while they undergo any treatment or training, until we can match them with a loving new home. Since closing our kennels to the public in 2014, the dogs are generally much happier during their time with us.

Woodgreen and fundraising

We’re very happy to confirm that we do have face-to-face charity fundraisers out and about, and you can check our latest update of where our fundraisers are scheduled to be working.

All our fundraisers wear Woodgreen branded clothing and carry official ID badges that display the fundraiser’s name, photograph and badge number. If you are unsure whether the person is a Woodgreen fundraiser, please call us on 0300 303 9876 and select option 3.

We are always grateful for donations of items that you no longer need. We are able to accept unopened food, toys, beds and blankets in a reusable condition (if used), knitted blankets (recommended size of 75cm x 75cm), knitted cat toys (we spray Feliway on them to keep our cats calm), towels, newspaper and shredded paper – these can be donated at our Godmanchester centre during opening hours.

We’re sorry, but we are unable to take medicine (even if it’s unopened), duvets or pillows.

To help us plan ahead and ensure we have everything we need for the pets in our care, the best way to support us is through an online donation.

If you have any questions or feedback on any of our fundraising activities, please call us on 0300 303 9876 (option 3), or contact us online. Please have the postcode of the area you are enquiring about to hand, as this will be useful for our team when investigating.

Other frequently asked questions

Pet ownership isn’t always easy. If you’re struggling with your pet and need help, we are always here to listen to your problems and talk you through some of your options in the hope of resolving them. Whether you need free advice, behavioural or financial support, or if you feel you need to give up your pet, we can support you through the next steps.

You can contact our Pet Support team via the website. You can also call us on 0300 303 9333 between 8am and 5pm, seven days a week.

Fostering pets is a hugely rewarding experience, and we’re so grateful that you’re interested in getting involved! It’s a great way to give pets some extra love and respite in your own home, without the responsibility of owning a pet full time – it’s also completely free as we will provide absolutely everything you need. To foster a pet with Woodgreen, you need to be aged 18 or over and live within 40 minutes of our centre in Cambridgeshire.

For more information about fostering, and to apply to be a Woodgreen fosterer, please visit our website.

At Woodgreen we give homeless and vulnerable pets the greatest chance of a positive future – a second chance at life. We put all the care, training and love into making that a reality. But when we have done all we can to help a pet overcome a serious medical condition, severe behavioural problem, or both, a decision has to be made about putting them to sleep.

This involves our team of experts assessing each pet for quality of life and, for those with behavioural problems, the risk to other pets and people. We have a duty to consider the welfare of every pet in our care. In extreme cases, euthanasia will be considered – and is a decision that is never taken lightly.

For more information, you can read our policies.

Please get in touch with our Communications team by emailing press@woodgreen.org.uk or calling 0300 303 9333 ext. 1237. For our latest press releases, please visit the Media Centre.

We receive a large number of enquiries every week and whilst we appreciate your interest, it may take a little longer for us to respond to everyone. If you’ve contacted us about rehoming a pet, we are only able to respond if we think you’re a match.

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