Battersea dogs form guard of honour at Paul O’Grady’s funeral

Dogs from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home have formed a guard of honour for Paul O'Grady at his funeral in tribute to the much loved TV star's adoration of animals.

O'Grady died unexpectedly at the age of 67 last month and people are taking the opportunity to pay their respects to him one final time as his coffin is taken to a private funeral service.

His funeral will be a private ceremony held at St Rumwold's Church, Bonnington, and people have been lining the streets of nearby village Aldington, where O'Grady had lived for years, to pay respects to his coffin as it passes through.

Among the mourners are dogs that O'Grady helped support in his role as an ambassador for the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

The entertainment star did plenty of work to help animals in need of a home, keeping plenty as pets for himself and making shows which heavily featured his dear dogs.

And fans of his have been left in tears watching the final episodes of Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs, and viewers have been touched by the heartfelt tributes made to the star in a TV special For the Love of Paul O'Grady.

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Following his tragic death, donations to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home increased significantly as people wanted to honour him by doing right by the animals he loved so much during his life.

The charity has said that four of their dogs have been chosen to form a guard of honour for O'Grady in recognition of all he had done for them over the years.

He spent years as an ambassador for them, highlighting the work they do to find animals a new home.

"We always wanted to come and pay our respects to Paul. Lucky enough we were able to come and do that." Lisa Porter, senior veterinary nurse at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home told ITV.

"Obviously we were able to do some filming with Paul over the years, we've all met him, and it was something we all wanted to do."

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A horse and carriage carrying O'Grady's coffin from his home to the church was followed by a procession of limousines.

There were floral tributes to O'Grady's love of animals as part of the funeral procession, including to his dog Buster who became a regular star on The Paul O'Grady Show.

Many of the residents of Aldington wished to pay their respects to the TV and radio star, and there have been other events set up to raise additional funds for Battersea.

Among those was a bake sale outside the Walnut Tree pub, with the proceeds going towards the animal shelter.

Before the funeral, O'Grady's husband Andre Portasio told the local community on Facebook that they would be welcome to pay their respects to the entertainer, thanking them for the 'overwhelming outpouring of love and support' he'd received.