Ledley King teamed up with one of the world’s leading animal welfare charities in Hong Kong today to spread the message of the importance of animal welfare.
Our former captain joined Jill Robinson MBE, the founder of Animals Asia – a charity that promotes understanding, compassion and respect for all animals, to lead a ‘Professor Paws’ session for 10 children. It is common in Hong Kong for children to grow up never encountering dogs as companion animals – the Professor Paws programme was set-up by Animals Asia to help children overcome a fear of dogs and learn about responsible pet care.
The Professor Paws team consists of volunteers and 200 registered therapy dogs, with the children graduating as “Pet Cadets”.
Ledley, a dog-lover himself, helped teach the children the charity’s four rules of greeting dogs – Ask, Pat, Pet, Pause – before demonstrating how to feed the dogs to help break down negative stereotypes.
The charity, which has a number of high-profile supporters including comedian Ricky Gervais and actress and singer Karen Mok, one of East Asia’s biggest stars, has been promoting animal welfare since 1998. Ledley sat down with Jill to discuss the charity’s wider mission, as well as the work the Club has done in this space.
Ledley King said: “It has been great to learn all about the amazing work that Animals Asia do. Teaching respect for dogs, and all animals, is vital, especially for children at an early stage of life. We forget sometimes the importance of greeting animals in the right way and setting the tone for a healthy relationship. We are a family as a Club and are proud to be supporting Animals Asia, continuing our work with All Dogs Matter back home.”
Jill Robinson MBE, founder of Animals Asia, said: “Animals Asia were thrilled to host Tottenham Hotspur Ambassador Ledley King today, and show him our work with the children of Hong Kong. Our Professor Paws programme helps young people to overcome their fear of dogs, learn how to interact with dogs safely and teaches the importance of kindness and compassion. Ledley is clearly a dog lover and proudly told us that last year Spurs created the first Official Supporters’ Club for dog owners, Tottenham Hotspaw!”
Tottenham Hotspur is the Club for animal lovers, and we use our platform to raise awareness of animal welfare and promote the importance of preserving nature.
In 2024, we created the first Official Supporters’ Club for dog-owners, Tottenham Hotspaw. The initiative is inspired by the Club’s many dog-loving staff, fans and players across both its men’s and women’s teams.
Through the initiative, the Club and its fans have helped find a loving home for unwanted and abandoned dogs put up for adoption by rehoming charity All Dogs Matter.