@hugoandursula: Not every Free Hug finds a home. Some people are late for work. Some are halfway through a conversation. Some are looking at their phones. Some have a million other things on their mind and probably haven’t even noticed us. Some people don’t like dogs. Some are scared of them. Some don’t want to be approached by a stranger in the middle of London. And some people simply don’t need a hug that day. All completely reasonable. Unfortunately, try explaining any of this to Golden Retrievers who have been standing there offering FREE HUGS and have just watched their 47th potential customer walk straight past them. To a dog who believes every person on earth has been put here specifically to tell them they’re beautiful, it’s crushing. I share so many of the lovely moments from Free Hugs that it probably looks like we turn up, get mobbed with cuddles and go home. The reality is there can be a lot of waiting. A lot of people walking past. A lot of hopeful little faces watching someone approach only to realise they’re heading for Pret. Sometimes we spend hours out there for a handful of moments. Which, in dog years, is approximately three working weeks. But I never come home feeling like it was a failure. Because it doesn’t really matter how many people walk past. It matters that eventually somebody stops. Someone who misses their dog. Someone who’s having a bad day. Someone who just really fancies a cuddle with a Golden Retriever. We don’t need everybody to stop. We just need to be there for the ones who do. Although Hugo, Huxley and Henrietta would like it formally noted that everybody stopping would be preferable.

Ursula

Open In TikTok:

Region: GB

Thursday 24 September 2026 10:38:40 GMT