Greyhound Rehoming FAQs

The first step towards adopting one of our dogs is to fill in our online application form.

If you wish to discuss anything prior to completing the form please send us an email with your questions and telephone number and one of the volunteers will give you a call.

The first step towards adopting one of our dogs is to fill in our online application form. 

If you wish to discuss anything prior to completing the form please send us an email with your questions and telephone number and one of the volunteers will give you a call. 

Please make sure you are in a position to adopt a dog from us and have no pending commitments before you start your search. If you have holidays booked, or other commitments, you need to start your search once you are actually in a position to adopt, as we are unable to hold onto dogs for more than a couple of days once you have passed your homecheck.

If you rent your home, we will require your landlords written agreement before you can visit the dogs.

The online adoption form is important because it gives us information about your prior experience with dogs, lifestyle, work commitments and family (human and animal) so that we can recommend suitable dogs to you. Please do not forget to tell us anything important, such as a non secure garden or a cat – as this will be picked up at the homecheck stage.

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email in response which sets out the next steps (please check your junk email!) including sending us a video of your home and garden. 

You then visit the dogs in either their foster home or at the kennels. Please remember to take all members of the family with you.  All members of the family have to be in favour of the adoption and agree the choice of dog for it to work in the long term.  If you already own other dogs you will also need to bring these with you to ensure that they all get along.

Once you have chosen a dog we will do a home check.  This is to make sure that the dog you have chosen is the right dog for your family and lifestyle so everyone is happy.  It is also to make sure that your garden is secure, that you are who you say you are and that you are adopting the dog to be a family pet. 

We will verify that pets are allowed in your home if it is rented and that you are aware of the costs involved in keeping a dog.

Once your application is finally approved we ask for a suggested minimum donation of £310, which includes 6 weeks dog training at your local class. On completion of the training up to £60 will be refunded.  You can read about why we want you to attend training classes in our dog training FAQs.

Your donation helps fund the ongoing work at KGR.  This donation is not refundable. 

All of our dogs are neutered, vaccinated, micro-chipped and will have had a dental if necessary.  Any other medicals problems will have been attended to by the vet and you will be informed of these prior to adoption.

Why is there a suggested £310 minimum donation to adopt a dog?

Kent Greyhound Rescue is funded entirely by donations. Your donation helps fund part of the work we so, so that we can continue to rescue more dogs. We know there are homes for rescued greyhounds and lurchers in Kent, but the rescue and rehabilitation process can be costly. You will be part of our future and we will keep you up to date with our work – both the highs and the lows.

Up to £60 of the donation will be refunded on completion of a 6 week basic dog training course.

It costs (on average) £700 to rescue each of our dogs. We don’t pick and choose which dogs deserve a rescue place, and some dogs need extensive veterinary treatment or long term rehabilitation before they can be rehomed. None of our volunteers are paid, but kennelling fees and veterinary costs soon stack up for those dogs that needs more support to put their life back in order. We do not get a contribution from the racing industry.

Even healthy dogs have a significant cost and the vast majority of our dogs require neutering, vaccinations, and flea and worm treatments. While they are looking for homes there are private boarding and feeding costs.

The dog you wish to adopt has been assessed by us and matched to your family and living conditions via a home check. The careful process, carried out by experienced volunteers means we have a very successful rehoming record. There are very few failed adoptions.

All of our dogs are supported by lifetime ‘back-up’. Sometimes life changes, and families are affected by illness or changes in financial circumstances. We will always provide a safety net for our dogs. Rescue spaces are difficult to find, particularly for older dogs, but this will never be an issue for dogs rehomed from KGR.

Most of our dogs are rescued from dog pounds in Ireland, where they have 5 days to be claimed or find a rescue space. They tend to be one of the following:

  1. Young greyhounds that were deemed not good enough to race and left at the dog pound to be destroyed. These big innocent puppies are simply ‘wastage’ of the industry and deserve a chance to live. They are often cat trainable and happy ‘teenagers’ that will make great family pets.
  2. Ex-racing greyhounds, often returned from their racing career in the UK, repaid by a visit to the dog pound in the expectation they will be destroyed. These dogs are between 2 and 5 years old and often need significant veterinary care, ranging from tooth removal to repairing broken limbs. These dogs tend to be quiet plodders and are now proudly owned by lots of our supporters in Kent. We can often trace their history: the racing records, and the point at which they have been let down by the people that should be caring for them.
  3. We also rescue luchers (greyhound /whippet crosses) that have ended up in Irish dog pounds. These dogs have been dumped by their owners. Most of these dogs are a result of over-breeding by the Gypsy community, and/or have been working lurchers that have been injured or are surplus to requirements. They are invariably in a very poor state of health, suffering from neglect, wounds and often terrible road traffic injuries. We are always amazed how they adjust to the life of a family pet with the most beautiful nature, despite the harsh treatment they have received.

Each dog removed from the dog pound has to be prepared for travel to the UK. This includes a pet passport which costs £85 and least 3 weeks kennelling or foster home care before he can travel. We have great support in Ireland and this is essential because some dogs need intensive long-term care before they are even fit enough to travel. Each dog travels following DEFRA guidelines which means we have to use an approved transport, which costs £80 for each dog.

If you look at the ‘happy endings’ section on our website you can see many of the wonderful dogs we have rescued – and 95% of those were on death row at the dog pound. We are good at matching the Irish Pound dogs (simply abandoned because they don’t make money) with families in Kent and it is imperative we keep doing this. Many people in Kent have supported KGR with their adoption donations and your donation will help us continue this work.

The adoption donation is only a small part of our fundraising and we are out most weeks of the year doing street collections and attending events. We would love you to bring your dog along to these events, to help with fund-raising and talking to people about the work we do.

Because most greyhounds are generally very lazy and happy doing nothing much all day, they are one of the best breeds of dog to have if you work full time, so long as they get plenty of your time when you are home and someone can come in during the day to let them go to the toilet and either take them for a walk, or give them human time.  Otherwise if you are at work all day, and then asleep for 8 hours a night, your dog will be spending most of its time alone and may become bored and may become destructive.  You could consider adopting 2 dogs then they could keep each other company.

We would not rehome a lurcher to you if you were out of the home all day unless you have other dogs, experience of the breed, a dog walker, and can demonstrate to us that you would be prepared to give the time and patience needed to allow the dog time to settle in and adapt to your routine.  In general lurchers do need a lot more exercise than greyhounds, so you would also need to enjoy long walks, after a hard day at work and in bad weather. 

Please be honest about your working hours.

Dogs and children

KGR does not rehome greyhounds or lurchers to families with children under the age of 10. This is because the majority of our dogs come from a dog pound and will never have lived with a child. Children over 10 still need to be responsible enough and understand boundaries. We may also make an exception to these rules for young puppies.

In the foster home we will have tested the dog to ensure – as best we can – that the dog has a good temperament and is child friendly.   A lot of rescues will not rehome dogs to families with children because even a fully assessed dog can:

  • Have a fright and react in an unpredictable way;
  • Be pushed to the limit of its patience by a child, usually because boundaries are not being enforced by the parent;
  • Be awakened from a deep sleep or a bad dream and react in an out-of-character way.

Dogs are sometimes returned to rescue centres (or relinquished to rescue centres) because they have snapped at a child.  They are normally not bad dogs, but are nevertheless labelled aggressive and can be put at risk.  In fact, it is usually because parents have not enforced boundaries or they have not organised their home so that young children and dogs can be kept separate when they are not being supervised.

By ‘supervision’, we mean actively paying attention to the interaction between your child and dog, not listening from upstairs, working at a desk in the corner or reading on the sofa. You need to take responsibility for the interaction between the dog and the child because the child does not understand.

Before considering adopting a dog from KGR or anywhere else, you need to consider 2 things:

  1. Will your children respect the dog and give it space? A dog is not a toy and children – without any exceptions or excuses – need to understand this.
  2. Will your children leave the dog alone if you ask them to? If you will not, do not or cannot enforce this request, then you put both your child and the dog at risk.

If this answer is no to either of the above – then you need to delay getting a dog until your children are able to give the dog respect and space. Although we can do our best to test the temperament of a dog, we cannot test for children who do not understand, or parents who will not enforce the simple rules of children living happily with dogs.  If you have children and you are considering rehoming a dog or a puppy from KGR, we will expect the following:

  1. Your child needs to understand that if you say no, to whatever he or she is doing with the dog, you actually mean no.  No excuses.  Only you know whether your child has self-control.  It is not something you can put an age recommendation on – even a 10 year old can jump off a sofa and land on a dog.
  1. You will be expected to attend a training course with the whole family.  You need to understand this might clash with bedtimes, or meal times.  If there are no suitable classes that will welcome your whole family, then you must arrange private sessions at your home.  You should research availability and costs before adopting the dog.
  1. You will be expected to demonstrate at your homecheck where the dog will stay when you cannot actively supervise the interaction between the dog and your child.  Preferably it will be a room you don’t use all the time, with a gate across the door (most dogs will not enjoy a closed door when the family are in the house), or a crate tucked into the corner of the living room / kitchen.  Your child must be able to follow instructions to leave the dog where it is.  This space will also be essential when children visit.  Excited kids playing with an excited dog must be avoided.  The dog should just be put out of the way, in the room or crate you have organised for that purpose.
  1. You will be expected to ensure your dog has a quiet place to sleep where it will never be disturbed.  This is a really important rule and your child must be able to always keep to this rule. Children must never suddenly wake a sleeping dog – greyhounds can often sleep with their eyes open and appear to be awake. If your dog is asleep, or in its bed, your children need to respect the dog’s space – a dog is not a toy.
  1. You must be prepared to train your dog to stay off the sofa and beds.  The dog should be resting in its own bed, where it will not be disturbed.
  1. You must feed the dog alone, where he will not be disturbed by children.  At your training sessions, your child will learn how to give your dog treats in return for a behaviour, like a sit, or a stay.  You must ensure your child does not eat near the dog until he is trained with food manners.
  1. You should teach your child how to play safely with your dog.  It is essential that you seek advice from your trainer because all dogs are different.  For example, squeaky toys can be too exciting for some greyhounds and lurchers.  Teach your child not to take toys from the dog, not to sit on the dog or pull his fur and not to follow the dog if he moves away. 

Before meeting the dogs, please let us know if any of your children are nervous around dogs, have any learning difficulties or have any allergies.

Think carefully. 

It can be really rewarding for your children to grow up around a dog, but do take time to think carefully.  Who will walk the dog in the morning and evening when there lots of things to do with the children?  It is not appropriate to think a slow walk to school with a young child is exercise – it’s not!

Is everyone committed to training the dog? And does everyone want the dog enough to be prepared to put the hard work in.

Can you really commit to our rules?  These rules are sensible and good for all dog owning families.

Children and Puppies

If you are considering a puppy, please remember just how much hard work they can be. They chew, they play bite and they are on the go most of the time. Consider carefully whether you have really got the time and commitment? If you have, then a puppy may be a great idea, but if you don’t then please wait until your children are older. It is really unfair on a puppy to adopt him then find out you don’t have the time for him. He may have missed out on valuable training but you will also have deprived another family of adopting a young puppy.

Dogs and children

KGR does not rehome greyhounds or lurchers to families with children under the age of 10. This is because the majority of our dogs come from a dog pound and will never have lived with a child. We may consider reducing the age by a year or two if the adopters feel that their children are responsible enough and understand boundaries. We may also make an exception to these rules for young puppies.

In the foster home we will have tested the dog to ensure – as best we can – that the dog has a good temperament and is child friendly.   A lot of rescues will not rehome dogs to families with children because even a fully assessed dog can:

  • Have a fright and react in an unpredictable way;
  • Be pushed to the limit of its patience by a child, usually because boundaries are not being enforced by the parent;
  • Be awakened from a deep sleep or a bad dream and react in an out-of-character way.

Dogs are sometimes returned to rescue centres (or relinquished to rescue centres) because they have snapped at a child.  They are normally not bad dogs, but are nevertheless labelled aggressive and can be put at risk.  In fact, it is usually because parents have not enforced boundaries or they have not organised their home so that young children and dogs can be kept separate when they are not being supervised.

By ‘supervision’, we mean actively paying attention to the interaction between your child and dog, not listening from upstairs, working at a desk in the corner or reading on the sofa. You need to take responsibility for the interaction between the dog and the child because the child does not understand.

Before considering adopting a dog from KGR or anywhere else, you need to consider 2 things:

  1. Will your children respect the dog and give it space? A dog is not a toy and children – without any exceptions or excuses – need to understand this.
  2. Will your children leave the dog alone if you ask them to? If you will not, do not or cannot enforce this request, then you put both your child and the dog at risk.

If this answer is no to either of the above – then you need to delay getting a dog until your children are able to give the dog respect and space. Although we can do our best to test the temperament of a dog, we cannot test for children who do not understand, or parents who will not enforce the simple rules of children living happily with dogs.  If you have children and you are considering rehoming a dog or a puppy from KGR, we will expect the following:

  1. Your child needs to understand that if you say no, to whatever he or she is doing with the dog, you actually mean no.  No excuses.  Only you know whether your child has self-control.  It is not something you can put an age recommendation on – even a 10 year old can jump off a sofa and land on a dog.
  1. You will be expected to attend a training course with the whole family.  You need to understand this might clash with bedtimes, or meal times.  If there are no suitable classes that will welcome your whole family, then you must arrange private sessions at your home.  You should research availability and costs before adopting the dog.
  1. You will be expected to demonstrate at your homecheck where the dog will stay when you cannot actively supervise the interaction between the dog and your child.  Preferably it will be a room you don’t use all the time, with a gate across the door (most dogs will not enjoy a closed door when the family are in the house), or a crate tucked into the corner of the living room / kitchen.  Your child must be able to follow instructions to leave the dog where it is.  This space will also be essential when children visit.  Excited kids playing with an excited dog must be avoided.  The dog should just be put out of the way, in the room or crate you have organised for that purpose.
  1. You will be expected to ensure your dog has a quiet place to sleep where it will never be disturbed.  This is a really important rule and your child must be able to always keep to this rule. Children must never suddenly wake a sleeping dog – greyhounds can often sleep with their eyes open and appear to be awake. If your dog is asleep, or in its bed, your children need to respect the dog’s space – a dog is not a toy.
  1. You must be prepared to train your dog to stay off the sofa and beds.  The dog should be resting in its own bed, where it will not be disturbed.
  1. You must feed the dog alone, where he will not be disturbed by children.  At your training sessions, your child will learn how to give your dog treats in return for a behaviour, like a sit, or a stay.  You must ensure your child does not eat near the dog until he is trained with food manners.
  1. You should teach your child how to play safely with your dog.  It is essential that you seek advice from your trainer because all dogs are different.  For example, squeaky toys can be too exciting for some greyhounds and lurchers.  Teach your child not to take toys from the dog, not to sit on the dog or pull his fur and not to follow the dog if he moves away. 

Before meeting the dogs, please let us know if any of your children are nervous around dogs, have any learning difficulties or have any allergies.

Think carefully. 

It can be really rewarding for your children to grow up around a dog, but do take time to think carefully.  Who will walk the dog in the morning and evening when there lots of things to do with the children?  It is not appropriate to think a slow walk to school with a young child is exercise – it’s not!

Is everyone committed to training the dog? And does everyone want the dog enough to be prepared to put the hard work in.

Can you really commit to our rules?  These rules are sensible and good for all dog owning families.

Children and Puppies

If you are considering a puppy, please remember just how much hard work they can be. They chew, they play bite and they are on the go most of the time. Consider carefully whether you have really got the time and commitment? If you have, then a puppy may be a great idea, but if you don’t then please wait until your children are older. It is really unfair on a puppy to adopt him then find out you don’t have the time for him. He may have missed out on valuable training but you will also have deprived another family of adopting a young puppy.

If you adopt a puppy from us, part of the adoption agreement is that you take him to puppy socialisation classes and then dog training when he is older.  Please bear this in mind if you are thinking of adopting a puppy, and have children, as classes are often on in the evening and may clash with home work, bed time etc.

Puppies can start training classes a few weeks after their vaccination course is complete.  All puppies will start in a special socialising class, involving very basic training, playing and meeting other dogs and handlers.  These social skills are absolutely vital for a puppy, and will ensure that your pup grows into an adult dog that is confident and comfortable when he is around other dogs and people.

With most older dogs we would prefer you to take the dog to training classes but we do not insist you do so. However, if you adopt a lurcher from us we strongly recommend you attend training classes. 

As the responsible human, it is your responsibilty, to ensure your dog is a good citizen and has good doggie manners. If you fail to do this, choose not to go to training classes and the problems get worse, then often you only have yourself to blame.  Many dogs are handed into rescue centres each year because their owner choose not to go to dog training or seek professional help.  A situation that could have been easily avoided. 

Our greyhounds arrive at KGR via the dog pound so we rarely have any history on them.  They may have never met another breed of dog and may be anxious around other dogs.  If your dog is not friendly to other breeds of dog then we highly recommend you take him to training classes for socialisation in a controlled environment.

If your dog is exhibiting bad behaviour then we do not recommend you read about dog training on the internet or in a book, as a replacement for training classes – especially if you are having problems with your dog.  You may not understand what the issues with your dog are, and you could end up making matters worse. You need a dog trainer to assess both you and your dog – and provide advice. If you are are having problems with your dog and things are not improving – then whatever you are doing is probably wrong – so you need to take your dog to training classes.

In the vast majority of cases you do not need to seek advice from a behavourist on a one to one basis. Group training classes are an excellent way of socialising your dog and reinforcing positive training methods. The are usually very good value for money and are held in village halls and church halls all around the UK.  Ensure the trainer uses reward based training methods. If you do not know of classes in your area please ask your Vet or local pet shop.

The collar, harness and double-ended lead combination is strongly recommended equipment.  The lead is attached to the collar and the harness.  The two points of contact mean that your dog unlikely to wriggle free, leaving you feeling secure and able to concentrate on training and enjoying your walk.

This advice applies to all breeds, but is especially important for greyhounds because their neck is wider than their head, which means it is easier for them to wriggle free of a collar.  If your new greyhound is nervous we will insist that you have a harness.

All equipment is sold in the KGR shop and there is an amazing range of colours for leads and harnesses.

On each rehoming post, our dogs are classed as cat friendly, cat workable or we say nothing.

Cat friendly means the dog has lived in a home with a cat and has a proven track record. Our dogs are very rarely cat friendly – even if they have been living in a home with a cat, they will still have to be trained to live in a different home with a different cat.

Cat workable means the dog has been tested and we feel he or she will be able to live with cats – but you need to teach it how to do this by closely following the guidance we will give you.

If we say nothing, it means the dog currently cannot live with cats.

For cat workable dogs please read the advice headed “greyhounds and cats” to see if you are prepared to work towards training your new dog to live with your cat.  If you are not, or you don’t like using a crate, then it will probably not work and you will put your cat at risk.   We assess the dogs to see if they are cat trainable, but you have to do the hard work!  They very rarely come fully packaged as cat friendly hounds.  

If you are not prepared to follow the guidelines to train the dog to live with cats, we will not rehome a dog to you as it will be returned to KGR at some point for not being cat friendly. Please think carefully as it is unfair on the dog, if he has to be returned because you did not follow the guidance on cat training.  The training is time consuming so please make sure you can allocate time each day for training – the training takes effort, it is not just a matter of locking the dog away in a crate.

We do not rehome cat workable dogs to families who have both young children and cats as more often than not, the dog is returned because the family did not have the time to train him.  The cat and dog training involves the use of crates to keep the animals separate in the early days – children may not understand that they must not  open the door and release the animal which puts both the cat and dog at risk of being harmed.   If you have children and cats we may still be able to match you with a cat friendly dog – you may just need to be patience.

Whilst in the care of KGR all dogs must be muzzled in public – this is a requirement of our Public Liability Insurers and nothing to do with the temperament of the dog, but it is the reason why you will see our hounds looking for homes wearing muzzles at events. 

Once adopted, we strongly advise you to use a muzzle until you are confident that your dog is not going to harm other dogs, whether this is on or off a lead. You have a duty of care to your new dog and part of this means you should not put him in a position where he can hurt another animal.   Never make assumptions, or feel sorry for him – his safety and the safety of other dogs comes first.  Please remember your new dog may not have encountered other breeds before so will need patience and understanding until he learns how to behave appropriately.  The vast majority of greyhounds do not have to wear a muzzle once they have settled into a home life – but please do not take risks until you know your dog is safe with other dogs. You will be supplied with a muzzle at the time of adoption and you can also buy them from our online shop on this website.

It is quite normal to have a homecheck from a rescue organisation before you can adopt the dog. There are 3 main reasons for the homecheck.

The first is to make sure that the dog you are are adopting is the right dog for your family and lifestyle and that everyone in the family is happy with the decision to adopt.  In most cases, this will have been discussed before you visit the dogs and you will, for example, have been matched up with dogs that are cat friendly if you have cats, from a foster home if you have young children or are good being left, if you work.  We also take into account how often and for how long the new dog will be walked, as lurchers need a lot of exercise and most greyhounds are more relaxed and lazy.

The second reason is to ensure that your garden is sufficiently secure for the dog you are adopting. If it is not, we will make recommendations.

The final reason is to ensure that you are who you say you are and you live where you say you live.  At the homecheck stage you will be asked to provide both proof of your address i.e. a council tax bill, and photo ID.

We do not allow home trials.  You need 100% commitment from all of the family to make the adoption work and any doubts need to be addressed before taking on a dog.  We are more than happy for you to spend a lot of time with the dog before adopting him, but we cannot reserve the dog for you until you have made the decision to adopt.

Lots of people have gone on to keep their foster dog and become a member of the KGR FFC – Failed Fosterers Club. Please note that you do still need to adopt the dog and pay the donation of £310 if you decide to keep him. Some people confuse fostering, then failing, with a way to obtain a free dog from KGR or having a “try before you buy”. As much as we would like to give dogs away for free, as it would make you love us as a charity, please think how we would then pay our vet and kennel bills if we did not receive the donation.   Each dog costs on average £500 and our volunteers already have to fundraise to make up the £300 deficit – it would be unfair to expect them to fundraise the £310 adoption donation, just so you could have a free dog.

This question has caused a lot bad feeling with the foster carers who have expected the dog for free once they have decided to adopt him. To avoid any confusion in the future we are making it very clear than if you do foster, then you do still need to pay the adoption donation.

Our volunteers cannot spend their time chasing donations payments, so please only apply to foster if you see this as a rewarding and amazing way to help KGR – and not a way to get a free dog.

The Control Of Dogs Act states all dogs have to wear an ID Disc, showing their owners name and address.  Although it is a very difficult rule to enforce, there is a huge benefit of compliance,as the point of wearing an ID disc is to have your dog returned to you in the quickest possible time.   Even if your dog is microchipped, he may go missing outside normal vet or dog warden working hours in which case he cannot be reunited with you until a person with a microchip scanner is available.  In reality this could mean a sleepness night for you, whilst your dog is happily tucked in a temporary bed a few streets away. 

By law you have to have your name and address on the tag.  Please do not just use your postcode and house name or number.  You need to make it easy for the finder to reunite you with your dog and if you simply put a door number and post code, you have assumed he will have a sat nav or access to the internet with him at the time of finding your dog.   Please remember to have a tag on both the house collar and the outdoor collar. Even if you never walk your dog without his outdoor collar, he could accidentally escape if the gate is left open.  No tag means your dog may end up with the dog warden, you get a hefty release fee and more importantly a huge amount of stress and upset which may have been avoided if a tag was attached to your dogs collar.

The simple answer is No.  Whilst it seems harsh to turn down a good home for the sake of £310 donation.  Each dog costs us on average £700 so the donations become an important part of the charities finances – without them we wouldn’t be able to exist.  

If you read the question – why do you ask for an adoption donation? – it explains why we ask for a donation and what this means to KGR.

We always take back our own dogs – and they will always be given priority over other dogs on the waiting list – BUT if we do not have a kennel space available, we simply do not have anywhere to put the dog and this is why we ask you to be patient.  As with all rescues our kennels are always full and we do not keep a free kennel available just in case a KGR dog is being returned.  A kennel space being available relies on a new family visiting the dogs, reserving a dog, passing a homecheck and then adopting a dog – as such we cannot give a definite date for when a kennel space will be free.

You have signed a legally binding contract which states the dog must be returned to KGR, if you are no longer able to look after him.  By signing the adoption agreement, you have not only agreed to return the dog to KGR but also, more importantly, to hold on to the dog until either a foster home or kennel space becomes available. The dog must be returned with a valid vaccination certificate or it will not be accepted at the kennels for boarding.  If you are unwilling to wait and wish to have the dog returned immediately then you will be responsible for the private boarding fees until we have a space available.  Obviously in the case of a genuine emergency, we will do everything we can to help.

It is your responsibility to return the dogs to the kennel at a prearranged date and time.

The short answer is Yes.  Medical care is very expensive and if your dog is ill or has an accident, what would you do if you could not afford the treatment.  There is a debate for putting aside money each month and spreading the risk yourself, especially if you have a credit card or savings available should your dog need expensive medical treatment.  But, paying for medical care is only part of the reason we recommend you take out pet insurance.

You also need to ensure that you have 3rd party insurance cover for civil claims. This may be covered on your household insurance but you need to check if your policy just covers claims in your own home and garden or whether it extends to public places.  With the introduction of the Anti Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill in 2014, dog owners will be forced by law to be more responsible for their own dogs, which could lead to a rise in civil claims.  Or your dog may simply run in front of a car and cause a serious accident – if it is your fault because your dog was not on a lead, you will be pursued by the 3rd party insurers for damages, which could, in extreme circumstances, result in your losing your family home if you do not have the correct insurance cover.

Until the end of 2014, all microchips inserted into KGR dogs remained registered to KGR, apart from a few exceptions where owners had specifically requested change of ownership. This was done to safeguard the dog and ensure that it was always returned to KGR should it go missing, be lost, or handed into another rescue. 

On 6th April 2016, the law changed and all dogs must be michochipped and registered to their owner. 

Since 1st January 2015 all new dogs are registered to the owner, and where possible KGR is added as an interested party. (This depends on the technology available to the chip company, some are better than others).

Once a dog is reserved, we send out the adoption paperwork and ask the adopter to make the donation online via our website shop. Once this is received, we will arrange for the homecheck.

Once you have successfully passed your homecheck, the next step is to formally adopt your new dog. We do expect you to collect the dog within a few days of passing your homecheck.

If your dog is living at kennels, you will need to make arrangements direct with them to collect him. If your dog is living in a foster home, you will need to make arrangements direct with the foster family to collect him. The shop order and the passport and/or vaccination card will then be at either kennels or the foster home.

You can purchase collars, lead, coats, beds, raised feeders, toys and dog food from us – the profits from the sale of merchandise keeps KGR help more dogs.  A limited supply of stock is available at the kennels or you can order online and we will make sure your order is ready for you at either the kennels or the foster home.

Until you have bonded with your new dog – and this can take at least 3 months – never let him off a lead in a public place.  You are legally responsible for the behaviour of your dog in public and you must never take risks or put his life in danger – your dog should stay on a lead until you are fully confident of how he will react with other dogs and also that he will come back when called. The safety of your dog and the safety of other dogs is more important than anything else – and it is your responsibility, as the owner, to ensure that your dog is not placed in a position where he can cause any damage to himself, other dogs or other people. 

Dog training fast tracks socialisation and it will allow you to assess your dogs’ behaviour with other dogs in a controlled environment.

Because of their background and possible past abuse, some greyhounds will never be the type of dog who can run around in the park off lead – this does not impact on their life – they will be happy with lead walks around the street – muzzled if required. The dogs do not object to being muzzled, we only think they do!  A dog wearing a muzzle usually means he has a responsible owner – it does not necessarily mean he is an aggressive dog.  Please remember that just because a dog has to wear a muzzle outside it does not mean he cannot be the perfect family pet indoors,  Not being socialised with other/small dogs and aggression are 2 completely different things.

Your dog may never have met dogs running around free and off lead – to a greyhound this must be a very odd concept. So whilst he is getting used to other breeds and their freedom, it is a good idea to street walk him, slowly introducing him to other dogs – then take him to the park secure in a harness and correct fitting collar.  For new and/or nervous dogs we recommend you use a double lead and have one attached to the collar and the other to the harness. KGR sell the correct greyhound friendly harnesses and the double ended leads in our online shop.  Your dog can see what is going on, have his say, but be under control. Your dog should soon understand that dogs running free are not scary but are playing. 

Long lines should only be used when you are fully confident how your dog will react around other dogs. A dog 30 foot away from you on the end of a long line is not a dog under control if he attacks another dog or if something scares him.  Long lines are great for teaching recall to sociable dogs or for use in an enclosed space – but you must trust your dog before using one.  Long lines should not be used for nervous dogs until you have their confidence. 

Flexi leads are dangerous for greyhounds and lurchers – these dogs can take off at great speed and if the flexi lead runs out of lead whilst they are still running it could break their neck.

Please do not “think” for your dog and think he needs to be off a lead and running around – he may just get himself into trouble.  Please be cautious – you will have your friend for many years and the effort you put in in the first few months will result in you having a better bond and a better behaved dog in the long run. 

Lots of greyhounds do walk off lead without any danger to themselves or other dogs – but this does not happen overnight.

We do accept dogs from members of the public but it will never be on the day you ask, unless there are extreme emergency circumstances, and we have a space available.

We do not foster dogs on behalf of the general public.  Foster spaces are for the homeless KGR dogs to rehabilitate them before they find a new home.

You will be placed on a waiting list and will be offered a space when one becomes available but this may be 4-6 weeks. We do not have an infinite amount of kennel spaces, so we can only help your dog when we have a kennel space available and you are at the top of the waiting list to be offered a space.

If you got your dog from rescue, please check your adoption agreement, as you may have to return the dog to them.  At the very least they may need to be notified and give their permission for you to rehome the dog.  We will check to make sure you are allowed to hand the dog into a different rescue.

You will need to be patient – there are many more people with dogs needing rescue spaces than there are rescue spaces available.  Please think very carefully before buying a dog – a rescue space is not a guaranteed outcome if you are no longer able to care for it.  

Before you make the decision, have you really tried eveything possible to keep the dog.  If you have not taken your dog to training classes, then this could be the problem. If you have a male dog have you had him neutered?  Is your dog getting enough exercise?  Are you feeding him cheap food which is making him hyper?

If your circumstances have changed since you acquired the dog, but you would like to try to keep him why not check out www.borrowmydoggy.com.  The organisation is recommended by the Dogs Trust, as a way to keep dogs in homes.

If you still need your dog to come into KGR for rehoming, you need to contact us using the contact us page on the website.  The relevant paperwork will then be sent to you.  We are unable to discuss bringing your dog into KGR over the telephone.

Before we place you on the waiting list, we will ask you to provide a lot more information about your dog including any medical or behavourial problems. You need to be honest with us – issues may not stop your dog being offered a rescue space, but it will allow us to find him the right home.

You will also be required to prove that the dog is your dog to hand over, to avoid any potential future legal disputes over ownership. The dog’s microchip must have been registered in your name for at least 3 months and you provide ID to prove your address is the same as the address on the registration.

Your dog will need to be up to date with his vaccinations. 

We ask for an intake donation to help towards the costs of running the charity.

Many of our dogs, especially the cat friendly lurchers and whippet type dogs, live all over the UK.

We do rehome to families living outside of Kent. However, you have to be willing and able to travel to Kent to meet the dog and bring all the members of your human and doggie family with you, to make sure everyone is in agreement to the adoption.  You must also understand that the whole process may be slower than normal as we are working outside our normal proceedures.  Once you have passed your homecheck you will then need to travel again to adopt the dog.   In certain circumstances we will try to arrange for the homecheck to be done, before you travel to meet the dog.

If you live outside the UK but within driving distance of Kent (e.g. France, Germany) then we may also consider your application.  Kent is the nearest UK county to the continent and nearly all of our dogs have pet passports so are ready to travel.  You would still need to go through the home checking procedures but this is usually not a problem. 

We are unable to deliver a dog to you or allow an adoption where the dog has not met the other dogs in your family.

You must also be fully aware that if the adoption does not work out, for whatever reason, you must be prepared to return the dog back to us in Kent.

Greyhounds are very placid dogs and can live happily in a flat. Whether it works or not is much more down to the owners than the dog. The owner must consider that they will have to take the dog out to go to the toilet early in the morning and again late at night, often in the cold and dark. You do also need to consider what would happen if your dog was unwell and unable to climb stairs, or you are unwell and unable to walk him. Do you have an adequate support network to overcome any problems?   And then take into consideration your neighbours above, below and to either side of you – will they complain if the dog barks?

Lots of dogs live very happily in flats and apartments, but it depends on your commitment to making it work.

There is nothing worse than people returning a dog because “they live in a flat”, when they lived in a flat before they adopted.  If you do live in a flat please think very carefully if you are willing to put in the hard work before applying.  We have many dogs living happily in flats, especially in London, but it is very unfair on the dog to be returned to us because the owners did not consider the disadvantages before adopting.

Which Dog Is Right For Me?

Before deciding please consider:

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