Lurcher lying on owners lap on the sofa, looking into camera

Home Direct scheme

Leaving a family home and coming to a rehoming centre can be a stressful time for pets. For some animals it’s the best option, for example if they’re stray, abandoned or neglected. But for others there’s another way that Blue Cross can help them to find loving new homes, and that’s with our Home Direct scheme.

How does Home Direct work?

Home Direct gives people who need to give up their pet the opportunity to keep them until we can find a new home for them, rather than accommodating them in one of our centres. We get a detailed history of the pet and fully assess them, as we would with any animal at our centre. We then create a rehoming profile for the pet on our website and start looking for a loving new home for them.

When we’ve found a potential new owner we’ll arrange for them to visit the pet at one of our centres for the introduction. We’ll be there to make sure everything goes smoothly. They’ll spend some time getting to know each other and, if it’s a good match, the pet will then be rehomed.

What are the benefits of the scheme?

Home Direct saves the pet the stress of staying in kennels, cattery etc, as they’ll go straight from one loving home to another. It also frees up more spaces at our centres and with our pet fosterers, so we can take in more pets that have no other choice, for example if they’re stray, abandoned or suffering from neglect.

Which pets can use Home Direct?

We’re now using the scheme for all the pets we rehome, from dogs and cats to small animals.

To find out more information about our Home Direct scheme for horses, please email [email protected].

I’m looking for a new pet, how can I rehome one that’s on Home Direct?

All the pets available for rehoming through Home Direct are listed on our rehoming pages with our other animals waiting for new homes. Have a look at the pets currently waiting for new homes. They may also be advertised locally at our centres.

Where is Home Direct available?

All of our centres now use the scheme in their regions. If you have a pet that you need to give up and you’re interested in using Home Direct, please contact your nearest centre.

— Page last updated 30/03/2023