The Dog House star opens up on adopting ‘really misunderstood’ breed

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Helen Prestage has worked for Woodgreen Pets Charity in Cambridgeshire for more than a decade and she is part of the rehoming side of life at the trust. She often appears on the beloved Channel 4 programme The Dog House and has spoken exclusively with Express.co.uk about rehoming a “misunderstood” breed.

Woodgreen Pets Charity has given Channel 4 access to the rehoming facility for several years and the show captures the start and finish of the rehoming process.

The programme often brings viewers to tears as they are introduced to people wanting to give the trust’s adorable dogs a new loving home.

The programme shows the highs and lows of being part of the trust as the staff have to try and rehome hundreds of canines each year which are brought into the charity.

Some dogs are strays, others need rehoming as their original owners cannot look after them for one reason or another.

Woodgreen Pets Charity has given Channel 4 access to the rehoming facility for several years and the show captures the rehoming process for dogs.

The programme often brings viewers to tears as they are introduced to people wanting to give the trust’s adorable pooches a new loving home.

The programme shows the highs and lows of being part of the trust as the staff have to try and rehome hundreds of canines each year which are brought into the charity.

Some dogs are strays while others need rehoming as their original owners cannot look after them for one reason or another.

Helen and her colleagues work together to create plans for every pooch in their care and when the dog is ready, they help find them a loving forever home.

Helen spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about the rehoming process and why sighthounds are so “misunderstood”.

She explained: “The official statement is we don’t have favourites, we love all dogs.

“But we do have favourites which we could take home if we could or dogs which are on our minds a bit more.”

“I’m a bit of a sucker for a sighthound,” Helen added as she discussed her adoration for lurchers and greyhounds.

“They are really misunderstood still as people think they need a lot of exercise but they are the most easy-going, chilled dogs.”

She also offered advice for people contemplating rescuing a dog or buying a puppy.

Helen expanded: “All dogs require an amount of work and I think it is important to consider your lifestyle and what you can offer a dog as much as what sort of dog you want.

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“Part of that matching process we do is look at the dog’s needs as well as the people’s and we try and match them to each other.

“It’s a lifelong commitment, if you are getting a dog at two or three you could have that dog until it’s 14 or 15.

“Things are expensive, food is expensive and insurance is expensive.

“You never know how expensive it is until you need it and it can be quite a tricky thing to negotiate if you don’t have that money there.”

Helen also highlighted how dogs need owners to give them valuable time each day. 

“It varies from the individual dog but they will always need a walk a day, some time, some attention, and I think part of what we try to get across is that dogs are amazing companions and they give you so much and ask for very little in return,” she stressed.  

“But if they don’t get what they need, that is when problems can arise and that’s when the breakdown of a relationship happens. 

“That’s often when people come to us needing our help or want their dog rehomed.”

The Dog House episodes are available to watch on All4.  

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