Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Oxford
Rescue dogs and puppies looking for new homes in and around Oxford, listed for rehoming by rescues and rehoming centres.
All 29 are with rescues within about 25 miles of Oxford, in places such as Stadhampton, Stokenchurch and Great Shefford. Each card shows the town and how far it is from the centre of Oxford.
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Cindy
8 years • Female • Chihuahua
Dodger
2 years • Male • Chihuahua Cross
Adopting a dog in Oxford
Oxford's own dog shelter is the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary at Stadhampton, about 7 miles out, and its dogs join our pages with this update. Expect sighthounds: of the 14 dogs on its site on 7 November 2026, nine were greyhounds, one of them an ex racer still learning about everyday life, and two were lurcher types. The rest were two Chihuahua types and a French Bulldog, aged 2 to 8, with no puppies.
Stokenchurch Dog Rescue, about 17 miles away in the Chilterns, was already on our Oxford pages, and NAWT Berkshire at Great Shefford, about 21 miles, had three dogs that day. If you can travel, a wider search radius brings in more dogs.
Lost and stray dogs in Oxford
Under English law a finder hands a stray to the council (GOV.UK), not the police. In the city that means Oxford City Council's Dog Warden service, which covers nights and weekends as well. It follows a non-destruction policy: a dog nobody claims is rehomed unless it is too ill or dangerous. Owners who come to collect a lost dog are charged £188, and kennelling adds £36.50 a day.
What adopting a dog costs around Oxford
At the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, adult dogs are £300, and a £20 deposit you won't get back secures the one you choose; a few cost more. NAWT Berkshire asks £250 for a dog, and Stokenchurch Dog Rescue prints a minimum donation on each dog's own page.
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.
How the dog rescues near Oxford work
None of them lets you turn up and browse the kennels. The sanctuary only books visits in connection with an adoption:
- Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary: the form comes first. There is a questionnaire on every dog's page and no phone route; expect an answer, usually within 2 to 5 working days. A booked meeting follows, a deposit holds the dog, and the balance is due when it goes home. Photos or a video of your home stand in for most checks, though dog adopters often get a visit.
- Stokenchurch: a short afternoon window. Viewing runs only from 2pm to 3.45pm to spare the kennelled dogs a stream of visitors, and homes must lie within 50 miles.
- NAWT Berkshire: first matched, first called. Interest is registered on each dog's page, and staff ring suitable applicants in date order. The Great Shefford site shuts on Tuesdays; other days it opens 11am to 4pm.
Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and the RSPCA near Oxford
Three national charities keep separate lists. In west Oxfordshire, Blue Cross runs a centre at Burford, with online applications. Over the Berkshire border, Dogs Trust Newbury at Hamstead Marshall works by booked appointment, and the RSPCA Oxfordshire and Reading Branch has its own animals. None of their dogs appear here.
More help for Oxford dog adopters
For fees and first steps side by side, read our Oxford dog rescues guide; if a puppy is the goal, the rescue puppies guide explains how rare they are here. Sighthounds gather on our greyhound and lurcher pages, and Reading's dogs page measures from the rider town.
Owners who can no longer keep a dog will find the options on our Oxford rehoming page.
The law in England
- Microchipping and change of keeper. In England, as everywhere in the UK, every dog must be microchipped and registered by 8 weeks old. Since 6 April 2016 a dog in England can't pass to a new keeper until it is chipped, and the new keeper must update the database (the England regulations). A rescue chips before rehoming; after adoption, keep the details up to date.
- Lucy's Law: buying a puppy. In England, Lucy's Law has meant since 6 April 2020 that puppies under six months can't be sold by a third party such as a pet shop or dealer: you buy direct from the breeder or adopt from a rehoming centre.
- Banned dog types. In England, 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 England, 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).
Oxford dog adoption FAQ
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Where can I adopt a rescue dog in Oxford?
Start at Stadhampton, 7 miles out, where the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary has its kennels. Further afield we also show dogs from Stokenchurch Dog Rescue (17 miles) and NAWT Berkshire at Great Shefford (21 miles), and you apply to each directly.
Is the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary on LocalPetFinder?
Yes, its dogs, cats and rabbits join our Oxford pages with this update. You still apply on the sanctuary's own website, because it doesn't take phone enquiries and books visits only after an application.
How much does it cost to adopt a dog near Oxford?
A dog aged one or over costs £300 at the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, which takes £20 of it as a deposit when you reserve. NAWT Berkshire charges £250, and Stokenchurch Dog Rescue sets a minimum donation dog by dog.
Why are there so many greyhounds at the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary?
Greyhounds made up nine of its 14 dogs on 7 November 2026. Their profiles mostly called for 6ft fencing and not one was listed as cat-friendly, so check each page before applying.
Who collects stray dogs in Oxford?
The Dog Warden service run by Oxford City Council, day and night. A dog left unclaimed is rehomed rather than put down, unless illness or danger rules that out.
Does LocalPetFinder show Dogs Trust or Blue Cross dogs near Oxford?
No. Dogs Trust Newbury, Blue Cross Burford and the RSPCA Oxfordshire and Reading Branch publish their dogs on their own websites, so look there as well as here.
How do I rehome my dog in Oxford?
Owners apply on a relinquishment form at the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary and wait for a space. Every other route is on our Oxford rehoming page.
LocalPetFinder and other pet sites
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Is LocalPetFinder the same as Petfinder?
No. LocalPetFinder is an independent UK website and is not connected with Petfinder. We bring together dogs, cats and rabbits from UK rescues and rehoming centres, and every profile links to the rescue that cares for the animal, so you apply with them directly.
How is LocalPetFinder different from Pets4Homes?
Pets4Homes describes itself as the UK’s largest online pet marketplace, connecting buyers with breeders as well as shelters and charities. LocalPetFinder is for adoption: our listings come from rescues and rehoming centres and from owners rehoming their own pet, each checked by a reviewer before it goes live. We do not take adverts from breeders.
Can I find RSPCA animals on LocalPetFinder?
No. We do not list the RSPCA’s animals, at its national centres or its branches. To see them, use RSPCA Find a Pet, the RSPCA’s own search for animals in its centres and branches across England and Wales.