Greyhound rescue in Kent: adopting near Canterbury

When we checked on 5 November 2026, greyhounds and lurchers outnumbered every other named breed listed with us within 25 miles of Canterbury. The counter above changes as hounds come and go.

They work quite differently. Retired Greyhounds Canterbury starts with a chat at the kennels; Kent Greyhound Rescue starts with a form:

1. Wingham: book, then walk. Ring or email to book a slot in the 10am to noon homing hours. The team asks about your home, children and work, suggests hounds, and lets you walk them, more than once if you need.
2. Wingham: reserve and home check. Once you reserve a dog, a volunteer visits to talk things through and check that your fences are secure and tall enough. Then you arrange collection.
3. Kent Greyhound Rescue: form and video. After the online form, an automated email asks for a video of your home and garden. Renters need the landlord's written agreement before meeting dogs.
4. Kent Greyhound Rescue: visit and home check. The whole household meets the hound in its foster home or kennels, with any dogs you have. A home check with photo ID and proof of address follows, and you collect within a few days.

Kent Greyhound Rescue describes three groups: young greyhounds judged not good enough to race, ex-racers usually between 2 and 5, and lurchers abandoned in Irish pounds. The Greyhound Trust puts the usual retirement age at three to five, leaving many years of pet life.

Blue Cross notes that greyhounds can wait longer for homes than other dogs, partly because people don't think of them as family pets, though most adjust to a house quickly.

Both charities ask about the same things. Think them through before you go:

• Cats. Kent Greyhound Rescue cat tests its hounds but doesn't train them; a "cat workable" dog needs weeks of work, a crate and a muzzle. Retired Greyhounds Canterbury can do an initial cat test if you ask.
• Children. Kent Greyhound Rescue won't rehome to families with children under 8, and places dogs only from foster homes where they have lived with or met children. It won't place a cat-workable dog with a family that has both young children and cats.
• Fences. Both charities look at your garden at the home check; Retired Greyhounds Canterbury checks that fences are high enough.
• Work hours. Kent Greyhound Rescue finds most greyhounds suit people who work full time if someone visits during the day, but wants more for lurchers, which need far more exercise.

Kent Greyhound Rescue asks £310 or more and hands over a dog that is neutered, vaccinated, chipped and usually dentally treated, with a training course paid for. Retired Greyhounds Canterbury will tell you its figure at the kennels.

Buying means paying for all that vet work on top of the puppy, which Blue Cross prices at £400 to £3,000. PDSA adds £560 up front and £116 or more a month for a large dog.

Greyhounds often live past 10, on The Royal Kennel Club's figure. Kent Greyhound Rescue's own advice pages pick out the problems it sees most; take any worry to your vet:

• Teeth. Ex-racers often arrive with advanced gum disease from a soft kennel diet; most of its dogs have a dental when neutered, and it suggests daily brushing with dog toothpaste.
• Bloat. A twisted stomach can kill if not treated fast. The charity suggests a raised feeder, two or three meals a day, and no hard running for a couple of hours either side of a meal.
• Lungworm. It warns that lungworm is spreading in the south east, caught from slugs and snails, and that ordinary wormers don't cover it: ask your vet about prevention.
• Corns. Painful corns on the pads are common in greyhounds, and the charity says treatment is a matter for your vet. PDSA adds bone cancer, a bleeding disorder and an inherited sight loss to the breed's list.

Greyhounds are sprinters rather than marathon dogs. Retired Greyhounds Canterbury says most need two 20-minute walks a day, and Blue Cross says many sleep 16 to 18 hours. While a hound is in Kent Greyhound Rescue's care it wears a muzzle in public, and the charity advises keeping one on until you are sure your dog is safe with other dogs.

No rescue greyhound is sold. You apply, the charity matches a hound to your home, and you give its donation. Every greyhound on our Canterbury greyhound page is adopted like this, via the charity caring for it.

If you buy, see the puppy with its mother as Blue Cross recommends, try The Royal Kennel Club's Find a puppy, and send a suspect advert to Report Fraud. Our Canterbury dog rescues guide covers the other rescues.