Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Plymouth

Two rescues are on the Plympton side of the city. Gables Dogs & Cats Home is on Merafield Road, and Woodside Animal Welfare Trust is at Elfordleigh. Across the Tamar, German Shepherd Rescue Elite lists dogs from its kennels at Callington in Cornwall, about 12 miles west: see the German Shepherd page.

Further out, Margaret Green Animal Rescue runs its Wingletang centre for dogs and cats near Tavistock, about 15 miles north, and Animals in Distress (Torbay & Westcountry) has its rescue centre at Ipplepen, near Newton Abbot, about 23 miles east. Every profile here links to the rescue that cares for the dog, and you apply with them: we don't rehome dogs ourselves.

In England, if you find a stray dog and can't contact the owner, you must report it to the council. Plymouth City Council asks you to check the tag, ask a vet to scan for a microchip and try local lost and found groups first, then report the dog to the council if that fails. A dog the council collects is kennelled for up to seven days, and if no owner claims it, the council arranges for an animal welfare charity to rehome it.

An owner pays a release fee before the dog goes home: £159 on day one, rising each day to £390 on day seven. The council says the fee is based on the legal penalty for stray dogs and its own costs, and that every dog must wear a collar and tag with the owner's details and be microchipped, so a dog with up to date details gets home far sooner.

Gables Dogs & Cats Home asks £150 for a crossbreed dog and £200 for a crossbreed puppy; pedigree and designer crossbreed fees vary. That covers a behavioural assessment by a qualified dog behaviourist, neutering, a vet health check, a microchip, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment and a Gables collar and lead.

Woodside Animal Welfare Trust asks £200 for a dog over 6 months and £230 for a puppy under 6 months, and Animals in Distress asks £325 for a dog aged 6 months or older and £490 for a puppy; both say a pedigree or particular breed may cost more. Margaret Green Animal Rescue discusses the fee for each animal when you reserve it, and says it goes towards neutering, vaccinations, worming, flea treatment, health checks and microchipping.

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.

No rescue around Plymouth lets you walk round the kennels and choose. You apply first, and the rescue invites you in once it thinks you could be a match (Gables' opening times page).

• Matched, then met. At Gables Dogs & Cats Home you fill in an application, the rehoming team calls if it has a possible match and keeps your details for three months, and everyone in the household comes in to meet the dog. If all goes well, staff bring the dog to your home to check the garden and any other pets. Gables rehomes only to adopters aged 21 or over, in Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
• A secure garden, about six feet high. Woodside Animal Welfare Trust visits every home before a dog goes, won't rehome to a property with no garden or a communal one, and asks for fencing suitable for the dog, on average 6ft.
• Apply on the dog's page, then walks. At Animals in Distress you apply with the "apply to rehome me" button on the dog's own page; if you are a match, the kennel team invites you for a series of walks before you decide. It receives many applications, so it asks you to keep applying.
• Phone call, then a home check. Margaret Green Animal Rescue starts with a phone call, then a Zoom call or home visit, and may ask for a vet reference and your landlord's permission before you meet the dog. Rehoming is by appointment only.

Dogs Trust has no centre in Plymouth. 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 the dog to come in to meet you (Dogs Trust Ilfracombe).
• Visits are by pre-arranged appointment only, and the centre keeps an application open for three months, since not every dog goes on its website.

Looking for a particular kind of dog? The German Shepherd, greyhound, Staffy, crossbreed and puppies pages each list the dogs near Plymouth today. Gables says it doesn't put all its puppies online, because most stay in foster homes until they are old enough, so register with it if you want a puppy.

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