Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Northampton

Until this update the dogs we showed within 25 miles of Northampton came mostly from Pawprints Dog Rescue, whose kennels are at Monks Kirby near Rugby, about 23 miles away. Four more now add theirs: Wellingborough Dog Welfare (Wellidog) at Grendon, about 8 miles east, Animals In Need Northamptonshire at Little Irchester by Wellingborough, about 10 miles, Midlands Dog Rescue, whose dogs live in foster homes around Northampton, and NAWT Bedfordshire, the National Animal Welfare Trust's centre at Aspley Guise, about 19 miles south.

When we checked on 7 November 2026, Animals In Need's dogs page had greyhounds, lurchers and a run of Cocker Spaniels, many of them still "under assessment", which it says you can apply for while it works out the home they need.

West Northamptonshire Council collects strays from 8am to 8pm every day, usually once the dog has been safely shut in somewhere, and takes them to Appledown Kennels at Eaton Bray, near Dunstable. It keeps a stray for the statutory 7 days. For 2025 to 2026 an owner pays a £140 collection fee, an £11 administration fee and the £25 statutory fee, plus £25 a day for kennelling.

Animals In Need asks a minimum donation of £250 a dog, with a £50 deposit to reserve. Wellidog takes a £50 non-refundable deposit, then "the remainder of the adoption fee which will be £250". Midlands Dog Rescue asks £375 for a dog aged 5 months to 7 years, £425 under 4 months and £275 over 8, and NAWT charges £250 for a dog.

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.

Each rescue sets its own steps, and its own pages (Animals In Need, Wellidog, Midlands Dog Rescue, NAWT) set them out:

• Animals In Need: email first. Viewings are by appointment only, arranged by email, and it isn't first come, first served. Bring photo ID and proof of address; it wants a secure garden with 6 foot fencing, any dog you have neutered, and no children under 5 in the home.
• Wellidog: an application by email. It only books appointments to meet a dog you have seen online, then a home check follows, and it encourages visits to the dog in kennels before you take it home.
• Midlands Dog Rescue: form, home check, meet. Its process is an application, a home check in person or by video, then a meet and greet with the dog.
• NAWT Bedfordshire: register interest. You register on the dog's page; it contacts matched applicants in date order and can't reply to everyone.

The RSPCA Northamptonshire Branch, an independently run branch based at Rushden, rehomes dogs through its own website, and we don't show its animals. Search its site as well as ours.

Our guide to dog rescues in Northampton and Northamptonshire compares the rescues in detail, and if you searched "puppies for sale" around Northampton or Milton Keynes, our rescue puppies guide explains what rescues can offer instead. Who is waiting shows on the greyhound, Cocker Spaniel and older dogs pages, and our Milton Keynes and Wellingborough pages measure from those towns.

Giving up your own dog? Our Northampton rehoming page has the owner routes.