Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Portsmouth

Most of the dogs on this page live in foster homes or outside the city. In Southampton, about 16 miles away, Second Chance Animal Rescue has its own kennels at Mansbridge and Greyhound Lifeline keeps retired racers on the edge of the city; St Francis Animal Welfare runs a small shelter at Fair Oak, about 15 miles north-west.

Two charities have no kennels at all: Phoenix Rehoming and the Southampton-based Hairy Hounz place their dogs with volunteer fosterers, so you meet a dog in a family home rather than a kennel. You apply to the rescue holding the dog; LocalPetFinder only lists them.

Portsmouth City Council runs its own stray dog kennels at Great Salterns Farm, off Burrfields Road, and asks you to phone before turning up. Report a stray to the kennels by phone at any hour; an owner pays £58 for collection and kennelling, plus £22 for each day after the first 24 hours.

A Portsmouth stray nobody claims within seven days is prepared for rehoming through rescues the council names, among them Second Chance, St Francis and German Shepherd Rescue South. In Southampton, report a found dog to the council's Animal Welfare Officers online or by phone: keeping a stray without telling them is illegal.

Phoenix Rehoming charges £225 to £425 for a dog, with five weeks of Agria insurance and a session with a trainer. St Francis Animal Welfare asks £200 to £350, or £350 to £400 for a puppy, and Greyhound Lifeline a £175 donation for a greyhound.

German Shepherd Rescue South asks £175 to £400 depending on the dog's age. Hairy Hounz, Second Chance and Hampshire Paws Animal Rescue publish no set figure, so ask before you apply.

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.

Expect a form and a home check before anything else, and an appointment to meet the dog: Second Chance asks you to ring first because viewing is by appointment.

• Phoenix: no under-fives, a fenced garden. Phoenix Rehoming won't place a dog with children under 5, wants fencing of at least 4 feet (6 feet for most dogs), and never hands a dog over on the day you meet it.
• German Shepherds: no flats. German Shepherd Rescue South rules out flats and shared gardens, children under 10 unless they have lived with a German Shepherd, and fences under 6 feet.
• Hampshire Paws: home check first. Its about page says you pass a home check before meeting any animal, and it doesn't place dogs with young children.
• Greyhounds: 21 and over. Greyhound Lifeline wants fences and gates of 6 feet, adopters aged at least 21, and a home check once a hound is reserved.

People in Portsmouth also search for the RSPCA Solent Branch, better known as The Stubbington Ark, on Ranvilles Lane in Fareham. It rehomes through its own website, and its kennels are closed for casual viewing; we don't list RSPCA animals.

Blue Cross's Bubb Lane centre in Southampton is also on the council's list of rescues that take Portsmouth strays. Search its own site; its animals aren't listed here either.

Our guide to dog rescues in Portsmouth and Hampshire compares them side by side, and our rescue puppies guide covers the "for sale" searches. The greyhound, German Shepherd, older dogs and puppies pages show what is near Portsmouth today.

Need to find a new home for your own dog? See our Portsmouth rehoming page.