Pete Wicks increases footfall at dog centre

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31 Ocak 2025 Okuma süresi: 1dk, 25sn

Pete Wicks increases footfall at dog centre

5 hours ago

Shivani Chaudhari

BBC News, Essex

Pete Wicks, pictured here with Twist, visited numerous Dogs Trust sites as part of the four-episode series

UKTV/Olly Courtney Pete Wicks, wearing a black gilet, white long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers, crouches down to stroke a chocolate-brown Labrador who gazes up at him with its tongue lolling out — Pete Wicks, pictured here with Twist, visited numerous Dogs Trust sites as part of the four-episode series

A dog rehoming centre said footfall and interest in the charity had increased after it took centre stage in a TV show.

Pete Wicks, a personality from The Only Way is Essex and other reality programmes, fronted the documentary which was filmed at the Dogs Trust in Basildon.

Lisa Cooper, manager at the trust, said more people were coming into the centre and contacting it with concerns about their own pets.

She said the reaction was “brilliant”.

Wicks learnt about the rehoming process in the documentary, as well as getting involved with weighing newborn puppies.

“The effort that the staff go through to find these dogs a new home – and Pete shining a light on that for us has been amazing – and I think it’s helped people recognise what we do here,” said Ms Cooper.

The four-episode dog-umentary was aired on the free-to-air channel U&W, and U, from 7 January.

Pete Wicks, who said dogs were “central” to his life, helped staff at Dogs Trust Basildon with weighing newborn puppies

UKTV/Sam Taylor A man, reality star Pete Wicks, holds a newborn puppy aloft while wearing protective plastic gloves. He has long hair and a beard and is looking thoughtfully at the dog, which is white with a black head and ears. — Pete Wicks, who said dogs were “central” to his life, helped staff at Dogs Trust Basildon with weighing newborn puppies

The trust has been in Basildon for 11 years. Last year it said it rehomed 500 dogs and now has 70 dogs in its care.

Wicks previously said: “I hope the viewers get a real insight to the life and stories of these wonderful dogs, and the heroes and volunteers who care for them day in day out.”

The Dog’s Trust ambassador visited the charity’s sites at Harefield in west London, Leeds, and Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

Wicks adopted his first rescue dog when he was 19.