Rescue dogs for adoption and rehoming in and around Stoke-on-Trent

The nearest dogs we list are at Greyhound Gap, a charity with its own kennels at Kidsgrove, about 6 miles north of the city centre. It takes in mainly greyhounds and lurchers from council stray pounds, and has room for 40 to 50 dogs.

Most other dogs listed here are a drive away: Windyway Animal Rescue at Macclesfield, about 16 miles, Ashbourne Animal Welfare at The Ark in Ashbourne, about 17 miles, and Just For Dogs at Brailsford, about 22 miles. Every profile 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. Stoke-on-Trent City Council takes reports with an online form, and its partner Acorn Kennels handles stray and lost dogs: collection from a home runs Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm, and you can drop a found dog at the kennels from 9am to 6pm any day.

That service covers the city council's area. Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands have their own councils, so report a dog found there to them. A microchip with up to date details is still the fastest way for a lost dog to get home.

Ashbourne Animal Welfare asks £275 for an adult dog over 12 months, sometimes less for an older dog, and £300 for a puppy. Windyway Animal Rescue asks £160 for a dog or puppy, or £300 for a bonded pair, and Just For Dogs says its fee is normally £400, up or down with the dog's age and breed.

Greyhound Gap doesn't publish a fee, so ask when you get in touch; its dogs leave neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for parasites. Animal Lifeline, which shows its dogs on social media rather than with us, asks a minimum adoption donation of £150.

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.

None of these rescues lets you turn up and pick a dog: you apply or phone first, and visits are by appointment (Ashbourne Animal Welfare and Just For Dogs both say so).

• Greyhound Gap: four stages. You fill in its questionnaire and have an informal chat, then book a 2-hour appointment at the Kidsgrove kennels to meet and walk a dog with your family and any resident dog. If it goes well, the team brings the dog to visit your home, you get 24 hours to think, and on adoption day it aims to bring the dog to you.
• Animal Lifeline: local homes only. It rehomes only to adopters in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire, because it home checks every adopter. You see a dog on its social media, apply, and a volunteer home check in daylight follows; no children under 6 can come to a viewing.
• Ashbourne: form, call, appointment. You send an enquiry form, Ashbourne Animal Welfare phones if it has a dog that suits, and then books you in to meet it.
• Just For Dogs: the right dog for the home. It says it will rehome to families with young children, older people and people in full-time work if the dog fits the home.

Animal Lifeline runs its Serendipity kennels at Cellarhead, on the Leek Road east of the city, and says it rehomes around 300 dogs and puppies a year. Its dogs don't show on our pages, because it posts them on its social media; apply through its own site. Cheadle & District Animal Welfare Society, about 7 miles east, has no kennels of its own and boards or fosters its animals, mostly cats; it lists a few dogs too.

People also search for the RSPCA in Stoke. The RSPCA Staffordshire North Branch says it has not been able to rehome animals since 10 April 2025, and now helps local owners on low incomes with vet bills and neutering. We don't list RSPCA animals.

Our guide to dog rescues in Stoke-on-Trent compares them side by side, and the greyhound guide covers Greyhound Gap in depth. The greyhound, lurcher, crossbreed and puppies pages each list the dogs near Stoke today.

Need to rehome your own dog instead? Our Stoke-on-Trent rehoming page sets out the local routes.