Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Exeter

No rescue we list has kennels inside the city. The nearest is ARC Animal Rescue Centre on Chineway Road, just outside Ottery St Mary in East Devon, about 10 miles east, which opened its current centre with 16 kennels in 2013. Animals in Distress (Torbay & Westcountry) has its rescue centre at Ipplepen, just outside Newton Abbot, about 17 miles south and a short drive from Torbay.

Every profile here links to the rescue that cares for the dog, and you apply with them: we don't rehome dogs ourselves. ARC says more dogs are being handed in because owners are struggling with money, especially the rising cost of vet treatment.

In England, if you find a stray dog and can't contact the owner, you must report it to the council. Exeter City Council recovers and kennels stray dogs found inside the city boundaries, and if you report a dog you have found, it collects the dog from your address and keeps it in kennels for 7 days.

A dog wearing a collar and tag goes home as soon as possible; owners are charged for the service, and for kennelling if the dog went to the kennels. If nobody claims a dog after 7 days, the kennels rehome it. The law already requires a tag with the owner's name and address, so a dog with up to date details gets home far sooner.

ARC Animal Rescue Centre prices each dog and puppy by age and breed, with donations starting at £350, and asks a non-refundable £20 if its staff or volunteers carry out a home check.

Animals in Distress asks £325 for a dog aged 6 months or older and £490 for a puppy under 6 months, and may ask more depending on the breed.

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.

Neither rescue lets you walk round the kennels and choose: viewing is by appointment, after you get in touch (ARC's adopter information).

• Call or email, then an appointment. ARC Animal Rescue Centre shows its dogs by appointment only, between 10am and 12 noon and 1pm and 3pm. Its adopter information lists what it will want to know: your household, other pets, the time a dog would spend alone, whether you can afford vet bills or insurance and whether your tenancy allows pets.
• Within about 30 miles. ARC rehomes within a 30 mile radius, and further out may accept your vet's recommendation case by case. Fence height depends on the dog, and 6 feet is needed for many. It can't hold a dog for you for long, and a dog you can no longer keep must go back to ARC.
• Apply on the dog's page, then walks. At Animals in Distress you press "Apply to rehome me" on the dog's own page and fill in its questionnaire. If you are successful, the team invites you for a series of walks with the dog, and the kennels are open only by appointment after that. If no listed dog suits you, the same button lets you register a general application.

Dogs Trust has no centre near Exeter. Its Devon centre, Dogs Trust Ilfracombe, is at Hazeldene in North Devon. We don't list Dogs Trust dogs, so search its own site.

• All the Ilfracombe centre's dogs live in foster homes rather than at the centre, so you apply online and, if there is a match, it arranges for you to meet (Dogs Trust Ilfracombe).

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

Need to rehome your own dog instead? Our Exeter rehoming page sets out the local routes, including ARC and Animals in Distress's intake form.