The best dog rescues in Worcester, compared

Formed in 1983, Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter sits on Hawthorn Lane at Newland, between Worcester and Malvern, with kennels for up to 26 dogs. It is a non-view shelter, so you can't walk round the kennels: you read a dog's profile online, send in an interested parties form, and a member of the team gets in touch within 3 working days (its adoption process). If you hear nothing within 2 weeks, it asks you to take that as a no this time.

Expect at least three meets, at the shelter or your home, finished within 14 days of the first. Bring your own dog to one of them, and a home check follows the second. Every dog is vaccinated, neutered and microchipped, and goes home with a Pet Remedy kit and 4 weeks' Petplan cover. It is open to the public from 11am to 3pm, Thursday to Tuesday, and closed on Wednesdays. Its dogs are on our Worcestershire Animal Rescue Shelter page.

Founded in 2009, Happy Staffie Rescue is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier rescue with a small rehoming centre in Kidderminster, about 14 miles north, and takes in Staffies from all over the UK. It keeps no waiting lists: apply on the page of a dog that is available, only when you are ready to adopt now, and it replies only if it can arrange a viewing.

Its rehoming policy is strict and clear: adopters must be 18 or over, it won't rehome to a home with children under 5, and a dog must not be left for more than four hours. Bring your fence photos with the form, your landlord's written permission if you rent, and every dog in the household to the viewing; there are no drop-ins. Its dogs are on our Happy Staffie Rescue page, and our Worcester Staffy guide covers it in detail.

Begun over 40 years ago by a local vet as the Tanwood Stray Fund, Forest Dog Rescue has owned its kennels at Far Forest, in the Wyre Forest about 14 miles north-west, since 2010. It takes dogs from private homes, strays and other charities, and its homepage counts 251 dogs rehomed in 2025, every one vaccinated and neutered, after a thorough home check. Viewings are by appointment: ring or email first. It is closed on Wednesdays. Its dogs are on our Forest Dog Rescue page.

Birch Hill Dog Rescue has rescued dogs since the mid-1990s from kennels at Neen Sollars, near Cleobury Mortimer, about 16 miles away in the South Shropshire hills, and its charity shop is on Mealcheapen Street in Worcester. It cares for up to 24 dogs at once, and dogs that can't be rehomed stay for life.

You fill in its adoption form or call, and it gets in touch when it has a match; some dogs need a few visits. Every adoption starts with a one-month trial, and it will always take a dog back. Viewings are by appointment only. Its dogs are on our Birch Hill page.

Home Run Hounds rehomes retired racing greyhounds, and the dogs listed near Worcester are at its Broadmarsh kennels at Hagley, about 16 miles, and Monkspath Cottage at Wombourne, about 23 miles. You visit the kennels by appointment, it does a home visit or a video tour of your home, and a £30 non-refundable deposit holds a dog for up to two weeks. Its Foster-To-Adopt option lets you foster for 2 or 3 weeks first. The donation is £200, less the deposit, and its staff are all unpaid volunteers. Its dogs are on our Home Run Hounds page.

About 19 miles north-east, at Wythall, Wythall Animal Sanctuary rehomes dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, and gives priority to homes within 15 miles of it. Dogs usually need around three meets, fencing of at least 5ft for most, and no more than 4 hours alone; it won't rehome to homes with children under 3. Each dog's page gives its fee: £150, £250 or £350. Its dogs are on our Wythall page.

Nearly 100 years old and on its Gardners Lane site since 1939, Cheltenham Animal Shelter rehomes dogs, cats and small animals from across Gloucestershire, about 21 miles south. You email its dogs team, not phone, and it sends an application; if you are a good match it aims to reply within 7 days, and keeps your form for 3 months. After you meet the dog with a Rehomer, a non-refundable deposit reserves it, and it aims to have dogs home within a week. The fee is £300, or £500 for two, with an engraved ID tag and four weeks' Petplan cover. Its dogs are on our Cheltenham Animal Shelter page.

A foster-based Worcestershire rescue founded in 2018, High Hopes Dog Rescue takes dogs from shelters in Romania, Bosnia and Macedonia as well as the UK, and many of its dogs wait in paid kennels. Apply on its own site and ask it about the fee. Its dogs listed with us are on our High Hopes page.