Since 1860, Battersea has been offering its love and expert care to dogs and cats who need them by rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals at their three centres. It believes that all dogs and cats should have an opportunity to live where they are treated with compassion, care and respect.
To support this vision, Battersea works tirelessly to use its voice, knowledge, and resources to support these animals in the UK and around the world.
Battersea has three centres in the UK where they aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of their help, and at Canine Cottages, we share this inclusive ethos. In our dog-friendly holiday cottages across the UK, all canine companions are welcome to enjoy a well-deserved holiday.
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Help Battersea dogs feel at home
Your bookings do more than just secure your next UK adventure – they create a lifeline for Battersea dogs in need. Every booking helps to support Battersea dogs who are spending time in foster placements and the heroes who care for them, ensuring our canine friends can be loved and cared for in a home environment while they wait for their forever home.
With a £2 donation from your reservation going directly towards Battersea’s welcome packs, your booking ensures a smooth transition into a peaceful foster home for many dogs. Together, we can give these good boys and girls the fresh start they deserve*.
Fostering with Battersea
The team at Battersea work incredibly hard to ensure every dog is well cared for and is always interested in chatting to potential dog foster carers. If you are thinking of supporting this amazing charity and fostering your own canine companion, Battersea has put together a fostering guide.
Battersea’s Fostering Coordinator, Emily Wallace, has kindly answered some fostering FAQs, including how to foster a dog, what it's like to foster and how long an animal is likely to stay with you.
And if you’re looking for ways to keep your pet or foster dog mentally sharp and stimulated, Battersea has helped us put together this guide to brain training with your dog. It’s full of handy advice that will help prevent boredom and boost their confidence.
Foster showcase: Armstrong and Joe
Brother duo, Armstrong and Joe, were born at Battersea after their mother, a heavily pregnant Chihuahua, arrived as a stray. In order to grow into confident adult dogs, it’s important for young pups to be well socialised. To get them off to the best start, the skilled staff at Battersea decided that these pups would benefit from living with an experienced foster carer, where they could get used to the sights, sounds and smells of a real home environment.
As young puppies away from mum for the first time, these boys needed a patient and dedicated foster carer to help them learn the basics from scratch, including managing some of the challenges of looking after pups, like toilet accidents, teething and bedtime routines.
Armstrong and Joe had some stomach issues when they first went into foster care, which Battersea’s dedicated fostering and clinic team were on hand to support with.
Their foster carer, Dena, said: “Battersea made sure I had the right food for them and checked in with me every day. Luckily, the pups recovered from this in a matter of days with their help! Battersea have always been super supportive every time I have fostered; they answer queries when I have them and ensure I have everything I need.”
Both Armstrong and Joe found their new homes after a couple of weeks in foster care.
Foster showcase: Kevin
Six-year-old affectionate greyhound Kevin arrived at Battersea from another rescue centre, likely never knowing the comforts of a domestic setting. While some dogs come to Battersea fully house-trained and used to life in a home, others like Kevin need a little bit of training, so Battersea decided to get him into a foster home where he could start to learn how to live in a home environment.
While in foster care, Kevin came on leaps and bounds and started to show his loving and goofy personality. Shy dogs sometimes need a bit more time to show their true colours, and it’s thanks to fosterers that dogs like Kevin gain much-needed confidence.
Housemates Hashem, Ellie, and Rebecca, who fostered Kevin, said: “It was wonderful to see him grow so much in confidence, and we did find it very hard saying goodbye – although knowing he was going to a loving new home made us all really happy.”
24 hours at Battersea
We were lucky enough to spend an entire day with Battersea and learned a lot about the hard work that goes on at the charity’s London centre. If you're curious to know what it's like for our canine pals in Battersea's care, click the button below to read about their journey from rescue to adoption.
Top offers for pet owners
Like the folk at Battersea, we put pets front and centre in everything we do. Our Canine Critics competition launched in 2018, recruiting the UK's most talented hounds to be the paws on the ground and review our cottages. We changed things up a bit for 2025 and now everyone can get involved, so what are you waiting for?
We also run Canine Rewards, a loyalty programme for pet owners featuring Bronze, Silver and Gold levels and offering exclusive deals, fun competitions, and free gifts for Gold members. It’s quick and easy to sign up, and your four-legged friend will thank you!
Dog-friendly holidays to love
We’re proud of our Canine Comfort collection and how it supports Battersea. We’ve compiled a quality range of dog-friendly holiday properties around the UK, each with fabulous extras for your four-legged friends. Browse our selection and see which one catches your eye.
*Canine Cottages are funding welcome packs for Battersea dogs on foster. For each booking made with Canine Cottages, Canine Cottages will give £2 + VAT to Battersea Dogs Home Limited, which donates its profits to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (registered charity no. 206394). If the amount raised exceeds these costs, any additional monies will be treated as unrestricted income.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing,
please ensure you check carefully before making any decisions based on the contents within this article.