Surrendering Your Ridgeback

As a Kennel Club Breed Rescue we cannot re-home Rhodesian Ridgeback crosses and we cannot re-home Rhodesian Ridgebacks from outside of the UK mainland.

If you own a Rhodesian Ridgeback that you wish to re-home, the first step is to contact our volunteer Rescue Co-Ordinators, by emailing [email protected]   Please put as much information as possible in the email. 

We must have direct contact with you and following an email we will need to talk to you.  We cannot re-home Rhodesian Ridgebacks solely through email, Facebook messages or via third-parties.

You will initially be asked to contact the breeder of your Rhodesian Ridgeback to see if they can help.  If you no longer have their contact details, our Rescue Co-Ordinators may be able to help.  We will then ask you various questions, including the reasons why you need to give him/her up, if they are used to other pets, children, being left at all, and any particular problems or good points etc. 

If during this conversation you feel that you might want to keep your Rhodesian Ridgeback we will try to work with you, where possible, to help you achieve this. 

After speaking to our Rescue Co-Ordinator you will be asked to complete a rehoming form.  Please have the dog’s paperwork to hand whilst completing the form as you will need these details for the form.  Please put as much information as possible into the rehoming form as this will help us to find the perfect home for your dog. 

Please be completely open and honest – the more we know, the easier it is for us to understand and to find the best possible home for your dog.  Please remember that we are not here to judge you, we are here to help you and your dog.

• We will want to know about your Ridgeback’s medical history.  
• We will also need to know your Rhodesian Ridgebacks’ microchip details.  
• NOTE – It is now the law that all dogs are microchipped and if your dog is not microchipped we will ask that this is done as soon as possible.

If your dog has bitten, for whatever reason, or has a temperament problem, you must let us know. You have a legal responsibility to tell us the correct information and we have a legal responsibility to advise new owners of all temperament issues no matter how big or small. We reserve the right to refuse Rhodesian Ridgebacks with temperament issues we consider to be serious as it is unlikely that a home could be found that will take such hounds in

When we agree to find a new home for your Rhodesian Ridgeback, we require you, the owner, to hand over any Kennel Club registration documents, if available; microchip details and vaccination records.  If at all possible, please make sure that vaccinations are up to date.

We will also require recent, clear photographs of your Ridgeback.  

If your dog is staying with you until we find a new home, then we will carry out a dog check at your premises, to assess your dog.

All rehoming will be co-ordinated by our Rescue Co-Ordinators, not the person undertaking the dog check.

Where possible, we ask that Rhodesian Ridgebacks remain in their own home until a new home is found.  We find that this is less stressful for the dog and generally the owners preference.

If your Rhodesian Ridgeback needs to be taken in urgently, then we will try to help as quickly as possible. However, we have limited kennelling available and do not always have transport or kennel space available immediately.  

Once all the above steps have been completed, we will then go through our waiting list to find a perfect family for your dog.  We want the new home to be perfect in every way and in order to achieve this, sometimes the rehoming process will take a little longer.

New owners are interviewed and home checked before being able to adopt a dog from us. Many families on our waiting list have owned Rhodesian Ridgebacks for many years and are experienced owners.

Many of our owners are also returning adoptee’s who have rehomed dogs from us before, so we know we are placing them in the best care