Hertfordshire rehoming centre

Our rehoming centre originally opened in the 1940s and has facilities for dogs, cats and small pets. Our newly refurbished facilities include 20 kennels, five puppy pens and 29 cat pens, which includes a mother and kitten unit. We also have indoor rabbit space and rooms for small pets.

Jump to how to get pet food from our pet food bank.

Jump to how to donate to our pet food bank.

If you are looking for a pet please read about the rehoming process and view our pets looking for new homes. If you need to find a new home for a pet you own, please call 0300 777 1490.

Drop-in hours

Can I visit the centre without an appointment?

Yes. You can visit between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. We are closed to visitors without a pre-booked appointment on Wednesdays.

Can I meet a pet when I drop in?

Most of our dogs, cats and small pets are looked after by our fantastic team of foster carers. If we do have pets in our centres, we do not allow the public to visit them as it can be stressful and disruptive for them.

If you visit our centre we'll be happy to talk you through the adoptions process but you will not be able to look at any pets. If you are matched to one of our pets following an application to adopt, we'll invite you to meet them by appointment.

What can I drop in for?

Our team are here to help. So, whether it’s about volunteering, donating, pet advice or information on how to adopt a pet, we’ll talk you through.

Can I rehome a pet when I drop in?

You’ll need to apply to adopt a pet on our website. This is to make sure the application process is as fair as possible to everyone. If we think you’ll be a good match for one of our pets, we’ll contact you to start the process.

Home Direct

Our Home Direct scheme is for dogs, cats, rabbits and other small pets whose owners can sadly no longer keep them but don’t need to find them a new home straight away. Pets stay in their existing home until a new owner is found for them. All pets go through our careful assessment and matching process.

Pet food bank

How to get pet food

We’ve partnered with the food banks below so they can give out the pet food, bedding and other items we are donated.

For details of our partner food banks’ opening times, contact details and more information, please click the links below to be taken to their own website. Please note you may need a referral from a frontline professional, Citizens Advice, or a voucher to use our partners’ food banks. Blue Cross is unable to provide a referral.

• Codicote Food Bank
• Pets in Need Herts

The above food banks may not have your pet’s usual food brand or type in stock when you need our help. We’ve put together some useful tips on feeding your pet in a crisis situation to help you manage this.

How to donate pet food

No one should have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pet. We collect food and other pet items for Blue Cross pet food banks at our rehoming centre and distribute it through our food bank partners. Each and every donation we receive goes to support pets and their families in the local area and helps keep pets in their loving homes.

We accept donations for our pet food bank here at any time during our opening hours. Please let a member of our team know when you arrive and your items will be gratefully received. You can also support us by donating funds to our pet food bank appeal.

The pets helped by our pet food banks are:

• cats
• chinchillas
• degus
• dogs
• ferrets
• gerbils
• guinea pigs
• hamsters
• mice
• rabbits
• rats

What we can accept:

• Wet or dry pet food in unopened tins, pouches or packets, including special diets eg senior, puppy, kitten
• Hay, straw and substrate for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets
• Litter
• Bedding

Sorry, but we’re unable to accept donations of the following:

• Dry pet food that’s over three months past its best before date
• Wet pet food that’s over three years past its best before date
• Open packets of food or litter where the contents have been exposed to the air. Open boxes containing individual pouches or tins are accepted as long as the pouches or tins are unopened.
• Food with damaged packaging, including dented tins, holes in sacks, grease spots on bags
• Raw food
• Food for humans
• Food or items for horses. We hope to be able to collect these soon.