Please make sure you consider the timing of your adoption request if you wish to adopt a dog from us. Do you have pending commitments; holidays, house move, house refurbishment projects? etc before you start your search. If you do then it would be better to start your search once you are actually in a position to adopt.

NOTE. We do not allow any home trials or adoptions to take place over the Christmas and New Year period. This is an understandably exciting time for most people and a newly homed hound can find it incredibly stressful.

Please take a look at our Adoption Process  leaflet and FAQs and read the experience of one family going through the adoption process.

Dog adoption process

Please complete the pre-home check form

Click here to be redirected to the pre-home check form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read our “Greyhounds as Pets” leaflet and “Responsible Dog Owner” leaflet.

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.

No dog should really be left more than approximately four hours as they will need a toilet break, as indeed we would too! If you wish to employ a dog walker, you would need to ensure they are confident & knowledgeable/experienced at walking greyhounds.

If you are unable to provide your dog with human company during the daytime, we will not be able to consider your adoption submission. Greyhounds, like all dogs, are social animals and can become distressed, possibly destructive, if left alone for long periods throughout the working day or week.

Please be honest about your working hours and be fair to your chosen hound.

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.

Greyhounds are very placid dogs and can live happily in a flat. Whether it works or not is much more down to the owners and their environment 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 them?

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 and whether the dog can physically manage the stairs safely.

Please read our “Greyhounds & Children” leaflet before considering adoption.

WGW assesses every adoption submission where children are involved, very carefully and on individual merit. While we do not have any objections at rehoming greyhounds to families with children, we need to find one suitable for the age of your child/children.

We will guide you towards a selection of hounds which we feel will suit your circumstances. Many times, where young children are involved, we may require you to have several visits to the kennels so we can get to know your family requirements a lot better.

Teaching your children meanwhile the importance of leaving a dog be, when it is on its bed/sleeping/eating is always good practice with any dog – no matter how tolerant that dog may be. Your children need to be able to behave safely around these (or any) dogs, and it is your responsibility as parents, to ensure they do so.

Many of our greyhounds live all over the UK and we do rehome to families living outside of Surrey.

However, you have to be willing and able to travel to meet the dogs at the kennels and bring all the members of your human and doggie family with you, to make sure everyone is in agreement to the adoption. In most circumstances we will try to arrange for the homecheck to be done before you travel to meet the dog.

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 Surrey. You must have access to a car to transport the dog to and from the kennels – whether your own, via a friend, or relatives or hire car.

Please read our “ Foster/Home Trial” leaflet which is available to download from the website

Please read our “Bringing Your New Dog Home” & “First Night at Home” leaflet.

You can purchase collars, lead, coats, muzzles, dog food & many more items from us – the profits from the sale of merchandise helps WGW 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 arrange for it to be posted to you (if posting, the cost of P&P will be added to your order).

It is quite normal to have a homecheck from a rehoming organisation before you can adopt the dog.

There are 3 main reasons for the homecheck

  1. The first is to make sure that the dog you are adopting 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 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 greyhounds will happily like a bit more exercise and some are more relaxed and lazy!
  2. The second reason is to ensure that your garden is sufficiently secured (if you have one) for the dog you are adopting. If it is not, we will make recommendations on how you can improve that, and progress to considering adoption once evidence of the improvements have been submitted to your home checker.
  3. The final reason is to ensure that you are who you say you are and you live where you say you live. At the home check stage you will be asked to provide both proof of your address i.e. a council tax bill, and photo ID.

Wimbledon Greyhound Rescue is an independent charity funded entirely by donations. Your donation helps towards the upkeep of the hounds in our care and allows us to continue to accept more dogs when spaces become available, without your donations, we would be unable to do that as the provision of care for the hounds is costly. When you adopt a dog from us, you ensure that space can then be used for another dog needing our care. You will be part of our future and we will keep you up to date with our work – both the highs and the lows.

It costs (on average) £300 per month to provide kennel space for each of our dogs. We don’t pick and choose which dogs deserve a place in our kennels, and running a charity and caring for our dogs is very expensive. Rent, kennel costs, dog food, staff & veterinary costs, neutering, vaccinations, and flea and worm treatments soon mount up while they are waiting to find their forever homes. We also provide a safe space in our Sanctuary for some very special dogs who may require longer term care prior to rehoming. We never put a healthy dog to sleep.

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 records. 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. Kennel spaces are difficult to find, particularly for older dogs, but this will never be an issue for dogs rehomed from WGW. We also aim to provide you with as much support as is required during your homing process and will offer advice & guidance on a range of questions you may have throughout your dog’s lifetime. You also have your homecheckers details to be able to contact or just keep in touch with and who will offer or signpost you to advice or help as needed. We always appreciate owners keeping in touch with us!

Many people involved with WGW dedicate large amounts of their time and effort into fund raising donations which help support our charity to continue its work. We encourage new owners to participate in show casing our dogs at events or becoming one of the much needed volunteers offering their skills in order to keep our charity and kennels doing their job, so please do ask to join in and become part of a very special group of people. WGW is a very special place.

The simple answer is No. Whilst it seems harsh to turn down a good home for the sake of a minimum £150 donation it also brings into question whether you can afford the basic equipment and ongoing upkeep that every dog requires once homed. The donations become an important part of the charity’s finances – without them we wouldn’t be able to exist. It also begs the question, what are you going to do if your hound becomes ill or needs a vet and for insurance or other financial concerns around your dog.

Please read our “Foster/Home Trial” leaflet .

Lots of people have gone on to keep their foster dog and become a member of the WGW FFC – Failed Fosterers Club.

Please note that you do still need to adopt the dog and pay the donation of £150 if you decide to keep them. These donations allow us to pay our vet and kennel bills for the hounds who are still looking for their forever homes as each dog costs on £300 per month while in kennels.

We always take back our own dogs – and they will always be given priority over other dogs on the waiting list. As with all rehoming centres our kennels are always full but we will always take back a returned WGW dog.

When adopting the dog, you have signed a legally binding contract which states the dog must be returned to WGW, if you are no longer able to look after them. By signing the adoption agreement, you have agreed to return the dog to WGW should the need arise. It is your responsibility to return the dogs to the kennel at a pre-arranged date and time.

All relevant paperwork as discussed with the kennels manager needs to be returned along with the dog on its surrender back to the charity, including vaccination certificate, studbook, microchip details, and any relevant dietary or behavioural information we will need.

Any homing kit, lead, muzzle, coats etc. that are also returned will always be made use of.