JRWR doesn’t have a specific base. We work throughout the UK with a team of staff, volunteers and foster carers. This allows us to help and rehome Whippets all over the UK.
We have sadly seen a huge increase in the number of whippets needing our help each year. These figures have risen significantly since lockdown. It’s important to remember that dogs end up in rescue for a reason, and that is no different for whippets.
These reasons include –
- Behavioural problems, such as Reactivity, Separation Anxiety, Sleep Startle and Resource Guarding.
- Littermate Syndrome.
- Relationship Breakdowns.
- Birth of a baby and the dog not coping with the new arrival.
- Owners buying a puppy/taking on an older dog and not realising the commitment required to look after them correctly.
- Elderly owners taking on young dogs that they can’t cope with.
- Lack of basic training causing the dog to be unmanageable and needing significant training.
- Whippets not coping in their environment (cities, lack of garden, with children).
- Owner illness or death.
- Financial hardship.
- Unclaimed strays from the pound.
Sadly, most of the whippets coming into the care of JR will need some form of behavioural support. This is most often with lead reactivity or separation anxiety. We are happy to support adopters with this by offering training programmes with qualified behaviourist Becca Sommerville at Behaviour by Becca, but adopters need to be willing to put in the time, effort and patience with consistent training as advised.
When whippets move to a new home, they can be a flight risk, at least initially and until they are settled into their new environment and bonded with their new owners. A nervous / scared whippet can easily clear a low fence. We prefer adopters to have 6ft fencing to ensure the whippets are kept safe.
Yes, we do allow some homes with stock fencing to adopt. We assess each home individually so we can be sure the environment is safe for a whippet. It is important that we only home the right type of whippet to homes with lower fencing and adopters need to be sensible and understanding of this. Keeping the whippet on lead outside until they are used to their new surroundings may be required. We will not home nervous / flight risk whippets to homes with low fencing.
Taking on a rescue whippet is a big responsibility. Most of the whippets available for adoption will need support and training to settle into a new home and allow them to thrive into wonderful pets. We would advise that you wait until children are old enough to understand about boundaries (giving the whippet space) and you will have the time to commit to a rescue whippet.
We have homed many whippets to homes with children. We assess each situation individually. We will only place whippets in to homes with children if they have successfully lived in a home with children before, or if they are young puppies who can be bought up carefully alongside children. It’s important that parents are sensible and children are taught to be respectful of the whippet.
It is extremely rare that we have cat friendly whippets available for adoption. Whippets are sighthounds and many see cats as prey animals. We will only home a whippet into a home with cats if they have successfully lived with cats previously, or they are young puppies who can be bought up carefully alongside a cat. On average we only have up to 5 whippets a year classed as cat friendly.
Yes, providing the rescue whippet can live alongside other dogs, and your dogs are accepting of a new dog coming into their home. Whippets do tend to like the company of another dog, particularly other whippets/sighthounds. However, since lockdown we have seen a huge increase in the number of whippets coming into rescue that need to be only pets due to lack of socialisation during a crucial time in their upbringing.
As mentioned in the answer to an earlier question, whippets are sighthounds. This means they chase by sight. Many whippets see small animals / livestock as prey, so extreme care needs to be taken when they are around these types of animals. We have successfully homed whippets to farm environments if they have been used to this type of life previously, and to homes with small animals / chickens providing they are suitably housed to keep them safe from the whippet. Please understand it is rare for these types of whippets to come through rescue, although not impossible.
We rarely rehome to flats without gardens. This is because most of the whippets in our care either come from homes with gardens or are surrendered because their owners believe they need access to a suitable garden. If a whippet has lived happily in a home without a garden, we will consider homing to this type of environment again, providing the adopter understands that they will need to commit to more walks to allow the whippets ample toilet opportunities, this will include during bad weather and sometimes during the night.
This depends on each individual situation (how secure the area is and how many other animals will be using the space). It also depends on the whippets needs. We assess the environment before deciding, but most of the whippets in our care will need a secure private space where they can feel safe.
We are rarely able to home whippets into Central London or built-up cities. This is because most rescue whippets will not cope with this type of environment. Whippets are a sensitive breed and we have several whippets surrendered into our care each year from busy areas because their owners feel they need a quieter environment away from the city / main roads etc, so it is very rare that we will have a whippet available for this type of lifestyle.
Yes, we do home whippets to adopters that haven’t owned whippets before. However, we strongly advise that you do lots of research into the breed before deciding to adopt. Whippets are a unique breed with their own quirks and often a strong prey drive, so it’s important that you educate yourself about them. Having a good understanding of the breed will also increase your chances of being able to adopt. You can find lots of helpful information about whippets on our Facebook page and on the UK Whippet Breed Council website.
When applying to adopt, you can select a preferred age range. We understand why people may only want to adopt a younger whippet, but we would also ask that you remain open minded. Your perfect whippet match may be slightly older than you would ideally like, suitability to your home / environment should be top priority.
We only rehome within mainland UK (and occasionally on the Isle of Wight). This is so we can ensure that relevant home checks are carried out by one of our trusted volunteers and we can offer full support and back up.
You can, but you will need to ensure you are able to meet the whippets needs, like getting to vet appointments. If there is an emergency and you need to get to a vet immediately, do you have support in place to help you in these situations.
Home checks are usually nothing to worry about. We just like to visit to ensure your home and garden is suitable and safe for a whippet. It also gives us a chance to address any possible hazards and speak in person about whippets and settling one into your home.
We offer all adopters and JR rescue whippets a lifetime of support and back up. If you need any help, advice or behavioural support throughout your whippets life, we should be your first point of call. If for any reason you can’t keep the whippet, whether it be after 2 weeks or 10 years, you must contact us so that we can ensure the whippet is found a suitable new home with all our relevant checks and back up in place again.
As we help and rehome whippets all over the UK it is rarely possible for a meet and greet to happen first. However, this does vary depending on the individual situation, distance, and whether the whippet is in our foster care or still with their original owner. As meets and greets are often not possible, we offer our FWVTA scheme.
FWVTA is short for ‘Foster with view to adopt’. This is something we offer to adopters to allow a settling in period before official adoption takes place. It allows you to get to know the whippet, especially if a meet and greet hasn’t been possible.
We have a network of volunteers and work closely with an experienced transporter. In most cases we will bring the Whippet to your home to ensure they are transported safely and legally.
Whippet puppies up to 1 year old – £350
Whippets 1 year old to 8 years old – £250
Whippets 8 years old and over – £200
(For pairs and special circumstances, we discuss the adoption donation depending on the individual situation)
This can often depend on each individual whippet. Some whippets arrive into our care with all their belongings and these will be passed onto the new home. Some whippets very sadly arrive into our care with no belongings at all. We always try to ensure you have the essentials you will need. (Collar, harness, lead etc) and we will speak with you to let you know what you may need to get in preparation for the whippets arrival. All whippets come with a lifetime of support and back up, information leaflet and 5 weeks free Agria insurance (if you opt in for this). We will cover the cost of the whippets neutering (if they are not already done).
This is a question that is impossible to give an exact answer to. It very much depends on your home, lifestyle, circumstances and the type of whippet you need / can cope with. We pride ourselves on responsible rehoming and we match the whippets to the best possible home to suit their individual needs. Some adopters may be home checked and a whippet placed with them within a couple of weeks, some may have to wait a few months, and occasionally a suitable whippet may not be found. Although we may have several whippets looking for a home while you are waiting to adopt, we will not place whippets into homes unless we feel you can cope with their needs as this wouldn’t be fair on you or the whippet.
