Brands Hatch

Battersea's country kennels in Kent

Brands Hatch is located just off the A20, and not surprisingly it's very close to the Brands Hatch racing circuit (they can hear the racing at weekends).

Despite being very close to the M20 and the M25 it is a rural location with great facilities for the dogs to exercise and play in. The centre has the joint purpose of increasing the catchment area for rehoming to Kent and also reducing the concentration of animals at Battersea in London.

Brands Hatch has been open for rehoming since 25 October 1999. Prior to that it was a busy boarding kennels complete with resident cat - Humphrey. He decided he liked living there, so he stayed on - he can occasionally be seen by visitors on sunny days basking on the hill.

In 2001 the centre took in 606 dogs and 336 cats, and on average takes 37 dogs and 13 cats from Battersea in London each month. This helps to relieve some of the pressure there, as well as giving the animals more suited to a rural life a better chance of finding a home.

The centre rehomed 596 dogs and 310 cats in 2001. Animals have gone from Brands Hatch as far afield as north Scotland and Cornwall. We will go any distance to find the right home!

Brands Hatch has the capacity for around 60 dogs and 25 cats housed in small blocks. All the blocks have racing connection names. (Murray) Walker, (Nigel) Mansell and (Eddie) Irvine are the kennel blocks and the cattery is named after (David) Coulthard.


There are around 20 staff in total, and while they have their specific roles, everyone mucks in together to make every animal's stay a happy and short one. One of the nicest things about Brands Hatch is the family feel. Being small means staff know every dog or cat by name and their little quirks. There is also a dedicated team of 15 dog walkers and eight cat socialisers who do an invaluable job helping the dogs and cats.

Generally stray dogs will be guided towards the local dog warden for the area, but Brands Hatch will never turn a stray dog away in an emergency as long as there is kennel a to put him in.

At Brands Hatch, the animals and staff all benefit from being out in the Kent countryside. The animals get one-to-one attention and training, and each dog gets at least one walk a day with the help of the volunteer dog walkers.