Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Two dog rescues are on the north edge of the conurbation. Waggy Tails Rescue has its office at Canford Magna, near Wimborne, about 4 miles from the centre, and Staffie & Stray Rescue, a mainly Staffy rescue that takes on dogs other rescues find harder to rehome, has its dogs filed at Ferndown, also about 4 miles away.

Further out, Margaret Green Animal Rescue runs its Lincoln Farm centre for dogs at Winterborne Kingston, near Blandford, about 14 miles west. Around Southampton, about 24 miles east, Greyhound Lifeline, Second Chance Animal Rescue (Southampton) and Hampshire Paws Animal Rescue list dogs too. Every profile links to the rescue that cares for the dog, and you apply with them: we don't rehome dogs ourselves.

In England, if you find a stray dog and can't contact the owner, you must report it to the council. BCP Council asks you to check the collar and tag first and to take a dog with no tag to a local vet to scan for a microchip. If the dog stays in your care, report it online or by phone; its officers can't come out to strays nobody has caught, and you may be asked to take the dog to a reception centre or keep it until the next working day.

An owner pays before the dog goes home: the fee may cover collecting the dog, a vaccination by a vet and a daily kennel charge, and the council won't release a dog until it is paid. A collar and tag with your details, and an up to date microchip, get a lost dog home far sooner.

Most rescues around Bournemouth don't publish a fixed fee. Margaret Green Animal Rescue discusses the fee for each animal when you reserve it, and says it goes towards neutering, vaccinations, worming, flea treatment, health checks and microchipping; Hampshire Paws Animal Rescue says its fees vary with the species, age and health of the animal.

Greyhound Lifeline asks a donation of £175 for a greyhound, with a £50 non-refundable holding deposit to reserve one that comes off the donation on adoption day. Waggy Tails Rescue, Staffie & Stray Rescue and Second Chance Animal Rescue (Southampton) publish no figure, so ask them.

Each rescue sets its own adoption fee. Dogs Trust charges £300 for a puppy or adult dog in England, Wales and Scotland, and Blue Cross fees start from £235 for dogs aged 8 or over and £335 for dogs aged 1 to 7. The fee usually covers neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations, and each rescue confirms its own fee.

Rescues here meet adopters by appointment, after an application and usually a home check (Margaret Green's rehoming steps).

• East Dorset or West Hampshire only. Waggy Tails Rescue rehomes only within East Dorset or West Hampshire, so it can do checks and follow ups. A dog can't be left more than 4 hours a day, there must be no children under 6 and a secure rear garden, and it won't place a dog where there is already an unneutered dog. You ask for an adoption pack, return it with a form from your vet, a home checker visits, and every adopter comes to one of its monthly induction meetings at Kinson Community Centre.
• Experienced homes for harder dogs. Staffie & Stray Rescue asks applicants to have a pet free home, experience of bull breeds or larger breeds and of reactive dogs, a private and secure garden, and to live within two hours' drive of Bournemouth (its criteria article of May 2021). You download its adoption form and email it, and it can take up to two weeks to reply.
• Phone call, then a home check. Margaret Green Animal Rescue starts with a phone call, then a Zoom call or home visit, and may ask for a vet reference and your landlord's permission before you meet the animal. Lincoln Farm is open by appointment only.
• Home check before adoption. Greyhound Lifeline shows its greyhounds by prior appointment only, wants fences and gates at least 6 feet high, and completes a home check before any adoption.

Three rescues about 24 miles east list dogs with us. Each works its own way, so read its page before you apply (Second Chance's home page).

• Second Chance Animal Rescue (Southampton) has kennels and a cattery at Mansbridge and asks you to call first, since viewing is by appointment. It warns that scammers target people looking for dogs, and says it operates only from Mansbridge.
• Hampshire Paws Animal Rescue keeps its animals in foster homes and asks every applicant to complete an application and pass a home check before meeting any of them.
• Greyhound Lifeline rehomes retired greyhounds; every greyhound it homes comes with a leather collar, lead set and muzzle.

Looking for a particular kind of dog? The Staffy, greyhound, crossbreed and puppies pages each list the dogs near Bournemouth today.

Need to rehome your own dog instead? Our Bournemouth rehoming page sets out the local routes.