Reputable rescue centres that might home to families with small kids

[AllOverIt]

We're experienced dog owners, have two kids, nearly 6 and 3 and a half, plus a bonkers 1 year old cocker. We'd love a companion for bonkers dog. my kids are really dog savvy and don't overly fuss mad dog (though she overly fusses them!) I'm a SAHM, so lots of companionship for newdog...

Lots of charities seem to have blanket policies for families with under 8s. Have looked at Many Tears website, but wondered if there are any others that aren't overly strict on under 8s...

I don't know if this is generally the case or just this particular rescue,but we registered with Springer rescue Scotland & passed our home visit when DS was 13 months old... The dogs they regime are fostered into family-type homes so perhaps it is purely because they can vet the dogs for behaviour displayed around kids/cats/livestock.etc?

Good luck in your search.

You could try Hope Rescue here. They have a thorough approach to both dogs and adopters and will adopt to families if the dog is suitable. All their dogs are fostered for at least 14 days before adoption so a thorough behavioural assessment can be made.

Dogs Trust are a highly reputable national charity. As far as I know, there is no blanket restriction on young children, it is (sensibly) done on a dog by dog basis. Their website is very good and allows you to search by dog breed, age, gender, rehoming centre etc.

Scruples Whippet Rescue here have some utterly gorgeous whippet pups that are good with chidlren, dogs and cats - Charlie and Lola.

There are also lots of greyhound charities that will work with young families - plenty of Mnetters here who have greys and v young children.

If you indicate where you are roughly in the UK, or which breed you are particularly interested in, may be helpful.

Unlike some on this board, I don't recommend MT for a number of reasons, but primarily because they charge adopters a £20 fee for behavioural support after adoption. In my view, a reputable rescue should (and all reputable rescues do) offer free, qualified support and advice to adopters. Academic research has shown that this is one of the most important factors in ensuring an adoption is successful.

Good luck.

We have one from the RSPCA and one from Dogs Trust. We also passed home check for Scruples whippet rescue, greyhound rescue west of england and retired greyhound trust (who all wanted to home check before allowing us to meet any dogs) - we passed for all of these, but got our second dog from the one which had a dog which ticked all our boxes first iyswim (we had very specific criteria).

I should add, ds1 was 6 and ds2 was 2.9 when we got whippetty, ds1 was 7 and ds2 was 3.11 when we got lurchergirl.

When we got lurchergirl (dog2) charities were more worried about placing a dog who would get on well with our existing whippet than they were about the ds's. (He is not a difficult dog, but they obviously don't want a case of two dogs tearing chunks out of each other after a few days or anything).

We got our first lab from Lizzies Barn in South Wales. They are lovely and found us the perfect dog :)

The Mayhew in West London place on an individual basis, I guess that they are small enough not to have to have blanket policies.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Will check all those out. We're based in Surrey if thats any help. We're after a dog about the size of a small lab, with similar exercise requirement. We're not fussy on breed, we just want a nice temperament and be happy with an hour walk / run each day. Bonkers Dog is so sociable she'd lie a playmate (and I have severe dog broodiness!)

Our local RSPCA seems fairly flexible, though most ads state that they will only home to over 8s...

Try Furry Friends Animal Rescue in Old Coulsdon (google for contact details) Surrey, they are fantastic I have a year old dachshund from them and I have 3 under 5s.
Can't recommend them enough x

You could look at www.streetdogrescue.com They have some lovely dogs, adult and puppies, they charge about £250-300 and the dogs come by road and ferry and can be met at Clacket Lane Services on M25. They seem really lovely, caring people running the rescue. Also Sirius Dog Sanctuary have some lovely puppies - find them on FB or www.siriusdogsanctuary.com