Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Perth

Perth's own dog rescue is the Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society, known as PADS, which has run kennels at Forteviot, a few miles south-west of the city, since the 1980s. It takes in the strays the council collects as well as dogs given up by owners who can't keep them any more, so expect anything from a Chihuahua to a Mastiff cross. About 13 miles south, near Kinross, Greyhound Rescue Fife houses retired racers, and on 7 November 2026 its hounds made up most of the dogs on this page.

Springer Rescue Scotland adds the odd spaniel from foster homes in Fife. Each dog's profile sends you to its rescue, which handles the application. PADS also says many of its dogs never reach its website because homes are already waiting, so send its form even if nothing listed suits you.

In Scotland a finder must report a stray, and mygov.scot says keeping one without telling anyone is an offence. In Perth and Kinross you call the council's dog control team on weekdays between 8.45am and 5pm with where you saw the dog and what it looks like; at other times, Police Scotland on 101 or the nearest police station. If the dog is near a school or a playground, the council tries to be there within 2 hours.

Every stray the council picks up goes to PADS. The council keeps it for 7 days, and an owner who reclaims it pays a £25 prescribed charge and £20 a day in kennel fees, plus any vet bills; after that, PADS rehomes the dog. In Dundee, strays go to the city council's Brown Street Kennels.

PADS charges £250 for every dog, whatever its age, and that includes neutering, vaccinations, a microchip, worming and flea treatment. The greyhound kennels near Kinross ask a £180 donation, which pays for the jabs, neutering and a collar, lead and muzzle. Springer Rescue Scotland asks for a donation by bank transfer without fixing the amount, and each dog comes with 5 weeks of Agria insurance.

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.

None of the three lets you drop in, and each has its own order of steps; our comparison guide sets them side by side.

• PADS: form first. Return its adoption application and, if the staff think it's a good fit, they ask you to the kennels to meet the dog. An after care visitor calls round a few weeks later, and PADS won't place a dog that came in as a stray with a family whose children are under 12.
• Greyhound Rescue Fife: phone first. You ring to talk it through, then visit the kennels and meet all the hounds rather than choosing from a photo (its rules). It wants a garden fenced to five feet, no child under five, and ideally no cat.
• Springer Rescue Scotland: a detailed form. After the application come a phone call and a visit to your home, then at least two visits to the spaniel in its foster home before you collect it.

Two dog services we don't list are worth knowing. Dogs Trust Dundee has no kennels: its dogs live with foster carers and you meet them by pre-arranged appointment. Brown Street Kennels, run by Dundee City Council, rehomes dogs too, most of them given up by their owners, and assesses each new owner first.

Before you visit PADS, read its directions: the entrance sits beside the level crossing at Forteviot, and satnavs tend to overshoot it.

Our guide to dog rescues around Perth and Dundee compares the three rescues in depth, the greyhound guide is about the hounds near Kinross, and the rescue puppies guide explains how rare young dogs are here. The greyhound, older dogs and puppies pages filter today's dogs, and Dundee's dogs page measures from Dundee.

Can't keep your own dog? Our Perth rehoming page sets out the options.