Where can I rehome my dog? Your options compared

The same choice for every owner: who picks the new home, what it costs, how long it takes, and what to watch out for.

Dogs Trust takes dogs from across the UK, free, and aims to reply within 72 hours, though you travel to one of the areas it works in. **Blue Cross** takes dogs, cats, rabbits and small pets; it says its Home Direct service is the quickest way, because its own kennel space is very limited (Blue Cross). **Battersea** asks for a suggested £50 donation and has a waiting list.

The RSPCA , which works in England and Wales, says its national centres “can’t take in unwanted pets” because it prioritises cruelty and neglect cases, though your local branch may help. For a rescue near you, search the ADCH’s “Find a rescue” by postcode. Our guide to surrendering a dog walks through each step.

Pets4Homes describes itself as “the UK’s largest online pet marketplace”, and says it connects buyers with breeders and is also trusted by a number of UK animal shelters and charities. It says it manually approves the majority of adverts and rejects around 40% of those submitted, and that sellers must confirm a UK phone number. It says it follows PAAG’s minimum standards and runs a report function monitored around the clock. It also says it is “not an enforcement agency”, so checking an advertiser is “ultimately a buyer’s responsibility”.

LocalPetFinder is for adoption only: no breeders or commercial sellers. Your dog appears alongside rescue animals, a person checks every listing before it goes live (usually within a day), and adopters message you through the site, so your email stays private. You meet them, you choose, and you hand over in person. We take listings from anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for dogs, cats and rabbits aged 6 months or older.

• You can keep your dog for a couple of weeks: a stay-at-home scheme, or list your dog yourself. If time is short, read rehoming a dog urgently.
• You want to meet and choose the new owner: list your dog yourself. On Dogs Trust Homestay you won’t meet the adopter.
• Your dog has shown aggression towards people: talk to a charity and your vet. Dogs Trust says a rehoming centre is “very unlikely” to be right for a dog that is aggressive to people, and may suggest your vet refers you to a behaviour expert (Dogs Trust).
• You can’t keep your dog at all any more: surrender to a rehoming charity, which takes over from the handover.

Meet adopters in person, never take a deposit before they’ve met your dog, and never send a dog by courier. In England, Wales and Scotland a dog can’t go to a new keeper until it is microchipped, and the new keeper must update the chip database (in England, 2023 Regulations, reg. 9). In Northern Ireland a dog must be microchipped by 8 weeks old, and the new owner must have a council dog licence before taking it (nidirect). Anywhere in the UK, it’s illegal to rehome a banned type or an XL Bully (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland). Our safety guide covers spotting a scam.