Rescue guide
Dog rescues in Dumfries and Galloway, compared
Three rescues rehome dogs from around Dumfries, and they could hardly be more different: a kennel centre at Glencaple that takes dogs of every shape, a greyhound charity with kennels near Lockerbie, and a volunteer greyhound charity with no kennels at all. Here is what each charges, how each decides, and which one fits the dog you have in mind.
By the LocalPetFinder Team · Checked 5 November 2026
The short answer
For most dogs near Dumfries, start with Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre at Glencaple, about 5 miles south of the town: fill in its home finder form, and it asks a minimum donation of £220. For a retired racing greyhound, Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue suggests around £150, and Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds near Lockerbie asks you to get in touch. All three list their dogs with us.
- Rescue adoption fees
- Each rescue sets its own adoption fee, and Dogs Trust charges £300 for a puppy or adult dog in England, Wales and Scotland. The fee usually covers neutering, microchipping and first vaccinations, and each rescue confirms its own fee.
- Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre
- A minimum donation of £220, plus an engraved ID disc and a collar and lead you bring on the day. Four weeks of Petplan insurance are included.
- Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue
- No set fee; around £150 suggested, with a muzzle, lead, collar and a month of insurance.
- Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds
- No fee published; the charity will tell you when you enquire.
- Buying a puppy
- Buying instead? Blue Cross prices a puppy from £400 to £3,000.
- Over a dog's life
- On PDSA's 2024 sums, keeping a dog for life runs to at least £6,200 to £18,800, whatever you paid for it.
Dumfries and Galloway dog rescues side by side
All three rescues below had dogs listed with us on 5 November 2026, and between them they held every dog on our Dumfries and Galloway pages that day. Distances are straight line from Dumfries. You apply to the rescue, which runs its own checks.
| Rescue | Where | Dogs | How you adopt | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre | Glencaple (about 5 miles) | Crossbreeds and many breeds | Home finder form, centre appointment, two visits, home check | £220 minimum donation |
| Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds | Kennels near Lockerbie (about 11 miles) | Retired greyhounds | Contact the charity | Not published |
| Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue | No kennels of its own; shop in Lockerbie | Retired racing and coursing greyhounds | Form or call, home visit or meeting | Around £150 suggested |
How each rescue works
The fees differ a little; the routes in differ a lot. Check the notes on whichever rescue holds the dog you like.
Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre, Glencaple
This Scottish charity has rehomed dogs across the region since 2003. It sits just outside Glencaple on the B725 and opens from 11am to 4pm every day, but adoption enquiries are by appointment. Its kennel block has covered runs and underfloor heating, and the dogs exercise off lead in an enclosed paddock.
Adopting runs in five steps. You fill in the home finder form; if a dog suits you, the centre invites you to meet and walk it, and it never asks for a decision on the spot. The whole household, your own dogs included, then meets the dog, ideally over two visits, before a home check of your outdoor space. On collection day you sign the paperwork (allow at least 30 minutes), pay the £220 minimum donation and bring an engraved ID disc. Staff ring within 48 hours and again after 10 to 14 days, and a dog can always come back to the centre.
Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds, near Lockerbie
Lockerbie is home to the kennels of Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds, a Scottish charity that also runs a charity shop in Moffat. Its retired racers go to homes across Cumbria, Lancashire and what it calls the midlands of Scotland, and every hound is vaccinated, neutered, wormed and flea treated, with a dental, before rehoming. Adopters can ring its helpline at any hour, and it says that support has no end date.
Because it sets out neither a fee nor application steps online, contact it about a dog on its adoption page. Its homepage asks the questions it will ask you: who is at home in the day, whether you have cats, rabbits or guinea pigs, whether a very young child could be bowled over, and whether your landlord allows a dog.
Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue
Known as DCGR, Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue is a Scottish charity run entirely by volunteers since 2002, with no kennels of its own: it covers kennel and foster costs for 12 to 15 dogs at a time and funds itself partly through its charity shop in Lockerbie. Its dogs are ex-racing and coursing greyhounds, mostly 3 to 5 years old, and its list marks each as available or rehomed.
You start with its contact form, Facebook or email; it may send an enquiry form, then calls you. It might bring a suitable dog to your home or ask you to meet its dogs, and adoption can follow within days, as it rarely holds a dog on reserve for long. Before rehoming, each hound sees a vet, has a dental, and is neutered, chipped and vaccinated.
Which rescue suits you
Start on our Dumfries and Galloway dogs page to see who is listed today, then weigh these:
- The kind of dog. For a crossbreed, shepherd, collie type or bulldog, Glencaple is the rescue to watch. For a calm, short-coated dog that sleeps much of the day, read our greyhound guide first.
- A cat at home. DCGR doubts its greyhounds can live alongside a cat. The Glencaple centre can assess a dog with cats, but won't promise any dog is cat-safe.
- Your own dog. Glencaple wants your dog to meet its dog before adoption, and Alfie's Dream advises against a greyhound's first meetings being with small or long-haired dogs.
- Renting. Glencaple asks for proof that you may keep a dog where you live, and Alfie's Dream asks about your landlord's permission.
- A secure space. Glencaple's home check looks at how secure your outdoor space is, and Alfie's Dream warns that an ex-racer may never be safe off lead in open country. The Glencaple centre hires out its Freedom Field, a paddock with 6 foot fencing, by the half hour or hour.
Strays and licences in Dumfries and Galloway
A found dog is not a rescue's to take. Scots law expects a finder to return a stray to its owner, or else hand it to the council's officer or the police station nearest where it was found, so call Dumfries and Galloway Council. It scans strays for a microchip, keeps unclaimed dogs in a council kennel for up to 7 days and then rehomes them. Glencaple can't take strays out of hours.
Scotland licenses anyone who rehomes five or more animals a year, and the council publishes its licence list. All three rescues in this guide appear on it, Alfie's Dream as a rehoming activity and the other two as animal welfare establishments, which is a quick way to tell a real rescue from someone passing dogs on for profit.
The law in Scotland
Microchipping and change of keeper
In Scotland, as everywhere in the UK, every dog must be microchipped and registered by 8 weeks old. Since 6 April 2016 a dog in Scotland can't pass to a new keeper until it is chipped, and the new keeper must update the database (the Scotland regulations). A rescue chips before rehoming; after adoption, keep the details up to date.
Lucy's Law: buying a puppy
In Scotland, Lucy's Law has banned the third-party sale of puppies under six months since 1 September 2021.
Banned dog types
In Scotland, it is against the law to sell, abandon, give away or breed from a banned type: the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully. Whether a dog is banned depends on what it looks like rather than its breed or name, so no rescue can rehome one and none appear on LocalPetFinder. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not a banned type.
XL Bully dogs
In Scotland, since 23 February 2024 it has been illegal to sell, advertise, gift or exchange an XL Bully or let it stray, and since 1 August 2024 an offence to own one without an exemption certificate. The Scottish rules also say it is unlawful to "sell, give away or rehome an XL Bully".
Rehoming licences
In Scotland, since 1 September 2021, anyone sourcing five or more animals in any 12-month period to rehome as pets needs a licence (Scottish Government). A licence is a useful sign that a Scottish rescue is what it says it is.
Questions
Tap a question to expand
What is the best dog rescue in Dumfries?
That turns on the kind of dog you are after. Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre at Glencaple rehomes dogs of many breeds and crossbreeds, while Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds and Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue rehome retired greyhounds. All three list their dogs with us.
Where is the dog rescue near Dumfries?
Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre is at Dovecotewells, just outside Glencaple on the B725, about 5 miles south of Dumfries. It opens from 11am to 4pm daily, with adoption enquiries by appointment.
What do Dumfries and Galloway dog rescues charge?
Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre asks a minimum donation of £220, and Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue suggests around £150. Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds gives no figure online, so ask the charity.
Can I get a free dog from a rescue in Dumfries and Galloway?
Don't count on it. The two rescues here that publish a figure both ask a donation (£220 at Glencaple, around £150 at DCGR), which helps cover the neutering, vaccinations and microchip the dog has already had; Alfie's Dream gives no figure online. A dog offered free online comes with none of those checks, so be careful.
How many visits does adopting from the Glencaple rescue take?
Allow for five steps: a form, a first meeting, ideally a second visit with your household, a home check and a collection appointment of at least 30 minutes. It won't ask you to decide on the day.
Do Dumfries dog rescues rehome to Cumbria?
Some do. Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds places dogs in Cumbria and Lancashire as well as the midlands of Scotland, and Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue welcomes adopters from Dumfriesshire, Cumbria or further afield.
Can a rescue dog from Dumfries live with my cat?
Only some dogs can. Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue doubts its greyhounds could, and the Glencaple centre can assess a dog with cats but cannot guarantee any dog is cat-safe.
Is there a cat or rabbit rescue in Dumfries?
Not one we list: the three rescues near Dumfries that list with us rehome dogs only. Our Dumfries and Galloway cats page explains where to look for a cat instead.
Keep reading
For rescues and rehoming centres
Are you a rescue near Dumfries and Galloway? Get your animals listed free.
Every animal links back to your own adoption page, and you can ask to be removed at any time.
Sources: Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: home (since 2003, opening, appointments) · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: adopting a dog (five steps, donation) · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: meet the dogs · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: our centre · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: Freedom Field · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: dogs and cats · Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre: found a dog · Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds: home page · Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds: dogs for adoption · Alfie's Dream For Greyhounds: contact · Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue: about · Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue: FAQs (donation, process, ages) · Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue: adoption advice (cats) · Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue: available dogs · Dumfries and Galloway Council: report a dog problem (strays) · Dumfries and Galloway Council: animal licence holders list · legislation.gov.uk: Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.150 (Scotland) · Blue Cross: getting a puppy · PDSA: the cost of owning a dog · gov.uk: Get your dog microchipped · gov.uk: Banned dogs · Scottish Government: further protection for animals · legislation.gov.uk: Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 · Scottish Government: XL Bully dog rules