Pete Wicks goes behind the scenes at our centres

Pete Wicks, loveable telly personality and author, teams up with our rehoming centres on the frontline of dog rescue – as seen in the hit show Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake. 

So, what’s the show about?

Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake throws Pete into the emotional world of rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming pooches across the nation. 

Filmed entirely at our rehoming centres, Pete lends a helping hand to the heroes working tirelessly each day for dogs in need. We see the highs and lows of life at our centres, and the precious pups at the heart of it all.  

Go on, take a peek behind the yellow curtain. You’ll laugh, you may even ugly-cry, but you’ll definitely have your heart warmed.  

Stream all episodes of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake now on U.

What’s in store for Series Four?

Series Four sees Pete tackle some of the most challenging and high-profile stories yet. From helping pups rescued from a house of 250 dogs, to supporting a pooch who lived in shocking conditions in an unregulated rescue centre. 

Pete witnesses first-hand the strength of dogs who’ve had the toughest starts in life. But alongside these emotional and heartbreaking cases are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

Go on a journey with Pete as he supports vulnerable dogs through life-changing operations. Feel every emotion as he follows rescue dogs learning to trust again. And that’s just the tip of the tail.

A new little helper on the scene…

This series, Pete has an extra trick up his sleeve as he’s joined by his own rescue dog, aka soft-eared sidekick, Rodney. Pete recently rescued Rodney from our care, and now the pooch will be lending a helping paw throughout the series.

Catch Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake Mondays at 9pm from 28th September. All episodes will also be available to stream for free on U.

Why Pete's the man for the job

You may know Pete as the cheeky-chappy reality star, or the Sunday Times bestselling author. But dogs have always been a huge part of Pete’s life. He’s grown up with them, cared for his own, and now he’s desperate to repay their loyalty.

But Pete’s no stranger to the fight for dog welfare. In 2017, he teamed up with Humane Society to save 170 dogs from a meat farm in South Korea. He’s now helping hounds closer to home, mucking in with our dog-driven centre staff. The people who devote their lives to helping furballs in need.  

The show has captured the ups and downs of daily life backstage at our centres. As viewers, we've shed tears for heartwarming rehomes and held our breath during touch-and-go vet operations.  

We've seen the heartbreaking impact of the cost-of-living crisis, with owners struggling to afford their dogs’ care. We watched Pete and our teams support dogs with behavioural challenges. And we met Mel, a pregnant poodle who was seized at the border having been illegally smuggled into the UK.  

“That really sticks out as a turning point in the filming for me,” says Pete, “because it’s only really when you’re there on the frontline that you see the pain and suffering that these dogs have been through.” It was down to our centre staff, with Pete’s help, to support Mel and her puppies through their birth.  

Each series,we've seen tales of hope, heartbreak and everything in between. Pete hit it off with Theo, a gentle Mastiff with a heart condition. And Ricky, a lively Pointer at our Leeds centre, who needed help with problems coming back when called.  

Sweet Lurcher Elliot landed in our care after his owner was made homeless. We watched our vet teams discover a worrying lump on him that needed further investigation.  

Stream all episodes right now on U. 

A mission that never ends for our committed teams 

For Dog's Sake shows the mental and physical trauma that many dogs carry when arriving at our centres. And the heartbreaking decisions some owners have to make when they can’t cope with their dog’s care. Pete lends a hand to help those poor pooches on the journey to their second chance.

“I constantly learn different things when it comes to this show,” says Pete. “I'm by no means an expert, but I'm a dog person and am keen to learn as much as I can”, he adds.

From litters of Chihuahuas who’ve never set foot outside, to a nervous group of ex-racer Greyhounds. Pete and the team have one mission: to find each dog their happy home with a new forever family. 

We even meet some Malinois pups who had a shot at becoming service dogs for the Manchester Police Force.   

“We've not done that before on For Dogs’ Sake, and we didn't know if we would get an opportunity to”, says Pete, “but it's a really nice way of highlighting how important service and working dogs are.”

Stream Series Three of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake on U.

In 2025, Pete returned to our screens for a one-off Christmas special. 

But there is just one problem. You heard it here first – Pete doesn’t like Christmas. So, it was up to our faithful centre staff to turn him into a believer.

Expect laughter, tears, heartwarming reunions with dogs from previous series, and even a wholesome visit to a homeless shelter.

Stream all episodes right now on U.

There’s even a special visit to the white tails and eyebrows of our Oakfield Old Dogs Home, so you don’t want to miss it.

Behind the scenes: the numbers

It takes the perfect recipe to create the mutt magic of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake. And an army behind the scenes to pull it all off. Here's a sample of some statistics from what went into the filming of Series Two, Three, and the Christmas special: 

• 24 weeks, 120 days, and 960 working hours
• 9 different rehoming centres visited (Basildon, Leeds, Darlington, Canterbury, Kenilworth, Shrewsbury, Cardiff, Shoreham, Harefield)
• 43 centre visits from Pete
• 126 dogs filmed
• 71 staff members filmed (and many more behind the scenes)
• 39 terabytes of footage.  

And that’s just the tip of the Greyhound’s tail. So many committed Dogs Trust teams mucked in together to make it happen. And the driving force behind it all? To make life better for those loveable bundles of fur we call dogs.   

Stream all episodes of Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake now on U.