Adopt Don't Shop

Taking on a rescue dog isn’t for the faint hearted but the rewards are enormous. Our website features hundreds of dogs looking for their perfect home.

    Every dog shelter has a different set of criteria for rehoming their dogs. Please see the shelter website and register your interest in one of their dogs.

    Adoption donations vary considerably. Typically in the UK it ranges from £100-£300 and overseas because of high travel costs can range from £350-£750+

    For UK adoptions following the initial enquiry it can be fairly quick. Once the home check has been made and you’re considered a suitable match you could have your new dog within a few weeks. For overseas adoptions once the home check has been made it’s then a case of preparing the dog for travel, vaccinations, pet passport etc and waiting for available transport and this can take between 1 to 3 months. (During the Pandemic this has been even longer).

    Yes! Our mission at Starlight Barking is to link up everyone in the Dog Rescue World and we have contacts in just about every country. In particular we have strong links with Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Cyprus, Holland, France and Germany, so wherever you are in the world we can put you in touch with doggy people who can help with adoptions.

    Certain dogs will attract a lot of interest particularly puppies and small cute fluffy dogs so be prepared that there can often be a lot of families after the same dog. The job of the rescue team is to match up the perfect family so please don’t be disappointed or put off if your first few requests fall through. We’ve all got the best intentions in mind for the dogs and they need more people like you so please be patient.

    A Ghost Dog is always worth considering and turning their lives around is the most rewarding experience ever. Ghost Dogs are the shelter dogs who have been passed over for adoption because they are usually shy, sad, big, black or elderly. Many have lived at the shelter for three years or more, often dumped as puppies, and incarcerated 24/7 in tiny cells with no socialisation. It takes a very understanding new owner to bring on a Ghost Dog, typically 6-9 months before their real character comes out, and they generally will thrive even better if the home already has another confident, friendly dog. Needless to say Ghost Dogs are rarely on the adoption waiting list so, provided you are a good fit, the adoption could be quite quick and the rewards enormous!