Our policies

Channel 4’s The Dog House, filmed at Woodgreen, offers a fascinating insight into how we match homeless dogs with perfect new owners. However, what you see on TV is only a snapshot of each dog’s story.

Every dog who arrives at Woodgreen is unique, with their own background. Some need urgent medical treatment; others might need behavioural training. And some just need love and care while we find them a forever home. Of course, it isn’t possible to show the full extent of this support in an episode of The Dog House. We get to know each dog in intricate detail, sometimes over weeks, and the rehoming process itself often takes a number of conversations and meetings – there’s a lot that goes into giving each dog the best chance of a happy future!

We don’t exclude anyone from adopting a pet based on blanket policies. For example, we don’t automatically turn away families with certain aged children, people who live in flats or don’t have a garden. We do not have an upper age limit for rehoming.

We’re incredibly grateful for every rehoming application at Woodgreen, but, unfortunately, we’re unable to respond to everyone. We receive a huge amount of enquiries and our resources are limited, so we can only contact people who meet our pets’ needs in the best possible way.

We aim to increase society’s awareness of their responsibility towards animals. We want to be first in people’s minds for promoting responsible pet ownership and exemplary animal welfare in the UK and further afield.

We will deliver education that is ‘inclusive for all’. We will educate children, young people and their families to improve the welfare of animals currently living in their homes and neighbourhoods – helping them to enjoy their relationship with pets and to become responsible pet owners in the future.

We will provide relevant knowledge, skills and preventative veterinary care through our outreach service.

Objectives

To establish Woodgreen as the primary point of contact for rehoming, advice, support and guidance relating to pets and pet ownership.

To improve the welfare and health of companion animals by providing high quality, sustainable support, education and engagement programmes both in our Centres and in our communities.

Policy

All activities offered by the Charity’s staff and volunteers will be non-judgmental and tailored to the customer’s needs. Where a pet has a home and it’s in the animal’s best interest to keep it there, the Charity will endeavour to ensure a successful outcome.

All presentations and materials will reflect the ethical views of Woodgreen Pets Charity. Woodgreen will ensure that up-to-date and achieveable behaviour, training and welfare advice is given.

Review

This Policy will be reviewed biennially by the Animal Welfare Committee.

November 2017

At Woodgreen, we give homeless and vulnerable pets the chance of a positive future, who would otherwise have nowhere else to go. We support a wide range of pets, some of whom have complex medical or behavioural needs.

We prioritise a good quality of life for every pet in our care. We work hard to help pets overcome serious medical conditions, severe behavioural problems, or both, to ensure they are able to be happily and safely rehomed. However, sometimes, a decision has to be made about putting them to sleep. Such decisions are never taken lightly or in isolation. Our team of experts continuously assess each pet’s quality of life and, for those with behavioural problems, we assess the risk to other pets and people too.

We take our duty of care to all pets we look after at Woodgreen extremely seriously. We also have a duty of care to our staff, our volunteers, and the public. We will not knowingly put people or other animals at risk by rehoming pets who pose a threat to others’ safety.

We are legally obliged to euthanise dogs who are of a ‘type’ who fall under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Read the 2025 report.

Read the 2024 report.

Read the 2023 report.