Rescue guide
Dog rescues in North Wales, compared
North Clwyd Animal Rescue runs the kennels and cattery at Trelogan, with a dog friendly cafe on site. This guide sets it beside Almost Home, a smaller dog charity working through fosterers, explains how each one decides who adopts, and covers the RSPCA centre above Colwyn Bay, which advertises on its own website.
By the LocalPetFinder Team · Checked 7 November 2026
The short answer
For a rescue dog in North Wales, start with North Clwyd Animal Rescue at Trelogan, about 17 miles east of Colwyn Bay: £200 for a dog over 6 months, adoption by appointment, and usually about a week from first visit to home time. Almost Home Dog Rescue, a foster based charity that joins our listings with this update, asks a minimum of £200. The RSPCA Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre rehomes from its own site.
- Rescue adoption fees
- 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.
- North Clwyd Animal Rescue
- £200 for a dog of 6 months or more, £250 for a younger pup; a £20 deposit holds the dog. Neutered, vaccinated, chipped and flea and worm treated.
- Almost Home Dog Rescue
- A minimum donation of £200 over 6 months, £225 under; instalments can be agreed with successful applicants.
- Keeping a dog
- North Clwyd puts the running cost at around £900 a year as a guide; PDSA reckons at least £6,200 over a dog's life, and up to £18,800 depending on the breed.
Dog rescues in North Wales compared
Mileages are straight lines from Colwyn Bay, where our North Wales pages are centred. Almost Home is new to our listings with this update and works through fosterers, so it has no single distance. Dog numbers move daily: the live count is at the top of our dogs page.
| Rescue | Where | Dogs, 7 November 2026 | First step | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Clwyd Animal Rescue | Trelogan, near Holywell, about 17 miles | Mostly crossbreeds: Staffy, collie and lurcher types led | Online form for a chosen dog, then an appointment | £200; £250 for a pup |
| Almost Home Dog Rescue | Fosterers and kennels; meetings at its base in Flintshire | New to our listings with this update; see its own site | Adoption form for a named dog | £200 minimum; £225 under 6 months |
| RSPCA Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre | Upper Colwyn Bay | Not listed with us | Through its own site | See its site |
How each North Wales dog rescue works
The difference that matters most is the first contact: a kennel appointment at Trelogan, or a meeting with a dog that has been living in someone's home.
North Clwyd Animal Rescue, Trelogan
The charity sits at Maes Gwyn, off Glan yr Afon Road, and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Adoptions are by appointment: you pick a dog on its website, fill in the form, and if it looks like a match you are invited in. Staff then bring the dog out to you rather than walking you along the kennels, and you can take it for a walk; allow up to an hour.
Reserving costs a £20 deposit, then comes a home check for a secure garden and a road that isn't a main one. It will not home a dog with a family whose children are under 2, and most of its dogs, being strays with no known past, not with under 5s. It takes applications from up to 70 miles away and promises never to put a dog to sleep unless it is suffering or unsafe after long work with a behaviourist.
Almost Home Dog Rescue
A small North Wales charity that keeps dogs in kennels or with fosterers, takes dogs from the local pound and urgent cases such as an owner's death first, and offers adopters lifelong support from two behaviour specialists. It chooses homes through an assessment of each dog, checks on applicants and home checks.
Its form asks how tall your fence is, whether a landlord agrees, and how many hours a dog would be on its own, and it wants applications only for a dog that suits you. Meetings take place at its base in Flintshire. On 7 November 2026 its dogs page included a 12 year old Kelpie.
Thinking about a greyhound or lurcher?
Sighthounds turn up often in North Wales rescue. Almost Home says roughly a quarter of the dogs it has taken in were greyhounds, and when we checked North Clwyd's dogs on 7 November 2026, lurchers were among the commonest types, with a bull lurcher besides. Our lurcher page shows any listed today. Before you apply:
- Fencing. Both rescues ask about your garden: North Clwyd checks it is secure before a dog goes home, and Almost Home asks the fence height on its form.
- Time alone. North Clwyd asks whether someone is home enough that a dog isn't left more than 3 to 4 hours at a stretch (its dog page).
- Settling in. A rescue dog may not be fully house trained after kennels and may need some training, North Clwyd warns (adopt a dog).
The RSPCA centre at Bryn-y-Maen
Just above Colwyn Bay, off the B5113, the RSPCA Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre has 30 kennels as well as cat pens and rabbit pods, and opens 11am to 3pm, closed on Wednesdays. We don't list RSPCA animals, so browse its own pages and apply there. It says it prioritises animals rescued from cruelty and neglect.
What happens to stray dogs around Colwyn Bay?
In Conwy county a found dog is reported to the council; if its owner can't be traced it goes to contracted kennels at Abergele for at least 7 days and may then be rehomed. Reclaiming one costs £75 plus £15 a day. Strays from Denbighshire, Flintshire and Anglesey go to North Clwyd Animal Rescue as the councils' appointed kennels, which is one reason it has so many dogs of unknown history.
Hoping for a puppy?
Puppies are a small share of rescue dogs here. Our rescue puppies guide covers where young dogs turn up and how to buy safely, including the £400 to £3,000 that Blue Cross gives as a breeder's price.
The law in Wales
Microchipping and change of keeper
In Wales, as everywhere in the UK, every dog must be microchipped and registered by 8 weeks old. Since 6 April 2016 a dog in Wales can't pass to a new keeper until it is chipped, and the new keeper must update the database (the Wales regulations). A rescue chips before rehoming; after adoption, keep the details up to date.
Lucy's Law: buying a puppy
In Wales, Lucy's Law has meant since 10 September 2021 that puppies can only be bought where they were bred, or from a rescue or rehoming centre.
Banned dog types
In Wales, 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 Wales, since 31 December 2023 it has been illegal to breed, sell, advertise, gift, exchange or abandon an XL Bully or let it stray, and since 1 February 2024 illegal to own one without a Certificate of Exemption (gov.uk: England and Wales).
Questions
Tap a question to expand
Which dog rescues are there in North Wales?
North Clwyd Animal Rescue at Trelogan lists its dogs with us, and Almost Home Dog Rescue joins with this update. The RSPCA Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre at Upper Colwyn Bay rehomes dogs on its own site.
Where is North Clwyd Animal Rescue?
At Maes Gwyn, Glan yr Afon Road, Trelogan, near Holywell in Flintshire, about 17 miles east of Colwyn Bay. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 3pm, and adoptions are by appointment.
How much does North Clwyd Animal Rescue charge for a dog?
£200 for a dog aged 6 months or more and £250 for a younger puppy, with a £20 deposit when you reserve. The dog leaves neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for fleas and worms.
Can I just turn up at North Clwyd Animal Rescue to see the dogs?
No. You choose a dog on its website and apply, and it invites you in if it looks like a match. Staff bring the dog out to meet you; visitors don't walk the kennels.
How long does it take to adopt a dog from North Clwyd?
Usually no more than about a week, home check included, though it can vary with where you live.
Is Almost Home Dog Rescue a registered charity?
Yes, it shows registered charity number 1172601. It is a small North Wales dog rescue that uses kennels and fosterers and holds its meetings at its base in Flintshire.
Can I adopt a greyhound in North Wales?
Yes. Almost Home Dog Rescue says about a quarter of its dogs have been greyhounds, and North Clwyd Animal Rescue often has lurchers. Both check your garden or fence before a dog goes home.
Are the RSPCA Bryn-y-Maen dogs on LocalPetFinder?
No. The RSPCA centre at Upper Colwyn Bay keeps its dogs on its own website, and you apply to it there.
Keep reading
For rescues and rehoming centres
Are you a rescue near North Wales? 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: North Clwyd Animal Rescue: pet adoption (fees, treatments, appointments) · North Clwyd Animal Rescue: adopt a dog (children, home check, meeting, deposit, costs) · North Clwyd Animal Rescue: FAQs (address, opening, 70 miles) · North Clwyd Animal Rescue: lost or found a dog (appointed kennels) · Almost Home Dog Rescue: home (charity number) · Almost Home Dog Rescue: about (fosterers, greyhounds, priorities, support) · Almost Home Dog Rescue: dogs (dated snapshot) · Almost Home Dog Rescue: adopt (minimum donations, form) · Almost Home Dog Rescue: foster (where meetings happen) · Conwy County Borough Council: found dogs · RSPCA: Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre · RSPCA: Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre, about us (kennels, location) · Blue Cross: getting a puppy · PDSA: the cost of owning a dog · gov.uk: Get your dog microchipped · gov.uk: Banned dogs · Welsh Government: Lucy's Law in Wales · legislation.gov.uk: Microchipping of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2015 · gov.uk: Ban on XL Bully dogs