Did you know that we have dogs available for rehoming all over Ireland? There's no need to travel to our rehoming centre in Dublin to meet a dog, you can adopt a dog more locally through our Regional Rehoming programme, whether you’re in Munster, Connacht or Leinster.

Better for Dogs

Rehoming locally is better for dogs. There is less travel involved, and for dogs who need to live in a quieter area, there’s a greater chance for them to meet more rural families. Even if you’re not in the same region, you can still apply to adopt a dog, but we try to give priority to local families where possible.

How it Works

Regional adoptions all begin with fostering. If you see a dog you like, you agree to “foster pending adoption”. This means that you agree to foster the dog in your home. After the first week, you have the option to formally adopt the dog into your family. If you decide not to do that, we ask you to keep fostering them until we can find a suitable new family. This gives vulnerable dogs greater stability and continuity of care, and it gives us truly valuable information about what the dog is like in a home, so we can match them to their forever family.

Steps to Apply

When you see a dog you think is right for you, please complete a Home Finding Questionnaire which you will find by clicking HERE.

If you're a match, these are the next steps:

1. You’ll get a call from one of our Regional Rehoming Advisors, who will talk you through all the information we have about the dog – their medical history, anything we know about their personality – to see if you want to proceed.
2. If you are still on board, we will email you the paperwork to foster pending adoption.
3. When you have completed the paperwork, our Regional Rehoming Advisor will arrange a suitable time for the dog to be brought to your home – (Monday to Friday).
4. Your foster dog will arrive at your home, along with a collar, harness, lead and food.
5. During the week that you are fostering, you’ll stay in touch with the Regional Rehoming team, giving updates and getting any advice you need to help your foster dog settle in.
6. After a week, you can choose to adopt your foster dog. We will send you the paperwork to complete and you can make the applicable adoption fee:

• Adults (over 6 months): €220
• Puppy (under 6 months): €270
• The adoption fee for a puppy includes Dog School classes.

What if I decide not to adopt?

By having a dog in your home and fostering for any length of time, you are giving us invaluable information on what the dog is like in a home environment. This greatly helps us to find them their perfect forever home.

We will send you a “foster feedback form” to be completed. This allows us to update the dog’s profile and where possible we also ask that you continue to foster the dog in your home to prevent them coming back to a kennel, until a suitable home is chosen.

Please be aware, we are a small team covering all of Ireland, so we may not have someone in your area to collect the dog immediately if you decide not to adopt and you no longer wish to foster.

Frequently Asked Questions