Why import dogs?

Would be good if puppy mills were also discouraged.

Goodness me, there are some unforgiving people here, I am rather shocked at the lack of ‘live and let live’!

Several years ago we had three cats, and absolutely no intention of getting a dog of any nationality (!) or origin but we went to Greece and we saw a young and frightened dog who had just been thrown out of a car by a woman and her two young children and abandoned on the beach. After much soul searching, we adopted him through a local animal charity there, and now wouldn’t be without him. (NB No rabies in Greece so not a problem coming to the UK). If we didn’t have him, he would have died on the streets out there.

PS for those who don’t know, ‘Sophie from Romania’, is a much loved but shy rescue dog and has been given a new life by Rory Cellan Jones and his wife, who both love her.

💕💕💕

A lot of rescue dogs in UK rescues are actually from abroad.

Eddi cat the reason a lot of people go overseas is because our own rescue places are over careful on placing an animal with them. My hairdresser works from home she has two teenage children and also has one dog , she was refused a rescue from our largest rescue due to her having a child under 15 and the possibility she might have to go and work in a salon again one day!! And my nephew who works on the land and wanted to take a rescue with him daily and would have a wonderful life was refused on the grounds he might lose the dog. These are just two of a number of stories I know off. Extremely sad

The breed charity I’ve volunteered for the past 12 years is flexible about the age of adopters. We assess how secure the garden is as well as how well matched the dog they hope to adopt is to the prospective adopter.
Our rescue charities and shelters will have seen dogs returned through no fault of the dog, more unrealistic expectations of the new family of the dog.
Our shelters have many Romanian type rescue dogs. Street dogs come from generations of street dogs and some find it impossible to adapt to domesticity. Any chance they run and keep running
It’s so easy to criticise our charities and rescue centres. They’re very experienced and their cautious approach is aimed at preventing dogs being rejected

My previous rescue dog was from the UK but was a “pretty breed” and consequently spent her short life in a barn in a puppy mill churning out litters, unsocialised, suffering a variety of health problems and terrified of men which meant than eventually the ‘breeder’ dumped her on a local charity. She lived with me for 6 months with all the care and veterinary treatment she needed and had really started to blossom when she died of a sudden seizure at 4 years old.
I returned to the same animal charity and coincidentally they had just rescued about 40 puppies from a kill shelter in Romania and, as a previously vetted adopter, I could take one immediately. 20 weeks old, vaccinated, health checked and very scared.
She will soon be 5 and is a fantastic girl who loves her walks, travels with me, stays peacefully home alone occasionally (sleeping mostly as confirmed by my dogcam!) and loves the grandchildren to bits.

Cossy.
You are right, but not all dog rescue centres are he same, I know someone who had three rescues and only had older small dogs to give them their last few years.

Understandably most people will want to adopt much younger dogs,

This is what I want to do when my dog passes away.
I can’t do it at the moment as he isn’t dog friendly.
I’d love to foster old dogs and give them the best time before they die.

When I retired 11 years ago I applied toTzu f the local Dogs Trust to adopt one of their dogs but I was told I couldn't because I did not have a garden with a six foot fence I bought a beautiful shih Tzu from a reputable breeder one day I'm taking Mickey to that resort centre and say to them "you see this wee dog he is happy and healthy but you had better take him from me because I don't have a garden with a six foot fence "

Hippy chicks your plan would be mine if I hadn’t chosen my gorgeous lab 4 years ago. At that time, I expected mr I to live happily into his 90’s with Huge Lab his companion. Instead here we are, me and the lab bereaved, doing the best we can 🐕

Looking for a dog for my DD when she was a teenager we approached 3 rescue centres. First the Edinburgh cat and dog home. It seemed such a depressing place and the only dogs available were either German shepherds or staffie/pit bull type.
The 2nd was a place in Fife who insisted we take 2 dogs so they wouldn't be lonely.
3rd place let us walk an aged collie who seemed depressed. We were told she had been rehomed 9 times!
Why? Because she didn't like children or other dogs.

We left without a dog and now my DD has a sweet puppy, a cross, Corgi/Jack Russell

I have had dogs all my life but a little poodle, rescued from the centre of a busy road in Romania, turned out to be the most faithful & loving dog of them all. The day afterwards it became legal for dog-snatchers to catch any loose dog on the streets with a long pole & throw them into a truck.It was through Blind Dog Rescue UK that I saw his post. I was thoroughly checked, it turned out he was going deaf as well - he never left my side, sadly he only lived a further 3 years. I then saw a poodle on a Blue Cross site & applied. I had to fill in a form, went the following day & they said I could take her straight away & they’d ring me after a week to see how she was getting on. No home check, no phone call. She was the most spoilt & difficult dog I’ve ever had & turned out to be quite unsuitable in many ways. I didn’t enjoy her remaining few years. I really believe that dogs from abroad are often far more grateful than their UK equivalent.

twiglet77

They do it because the criteria for adopting foreign dogs is so much looser. I believe some of the UK charities are absolutely rigid eg on the garden having a six foot fence, or wanting a guarantee that no child under 10 will ever be in the same house.

I have visiting grandchildren and would never consider adopting a dog whose history is unknown. I don’t want to find out the hard way what ghosts in its past might trigger an attack. I would always prefer a carefully bred and properly reared, properly nourished puppy, from a breeder I know, or at least know of, whose experiences since birth have all been positive.

I think a lot of the charities importing dogs and puppies for adoption are just funding a dubious business. Someone over there is making good money out of it.

This is exactly how it is in Germany. We also attempted to adopt a dog from the local animal welfare society. Their requirements were high, although we were experienced with dogs, having had rottweilers, border collies, labradors in South Africa.
The organisation that was rescuing dogs from Rumania, did not question our "qualifications" to care for a dog. A "handling fee" of €100 Euros was all they asked for. We had 10 happy years with our Carpathian Sheepdog mix.

We have two small dogs adopted from a local rescue. The person that runs the rescue goes to Spain a couple of times a year and supports a rescue there. She says that the Spanish rescue finds it virtually impossible to rehome large dogs so she generally brings back a couple, endures they are properly trained and then rehomed them, saving them from a life in kennels. I don’t see anything wrong with this.

Maybe some people would prefer to get a dog with hybrid vigour rather than a domestically bred puppy mill frenchie, poo-cross etc?

I have 2 dogs who came from China. They were rescued from the vile dog meat trade.
This trade is illegal in China but is the law is rarely enforced.
The people who eat dog meat believe that the meat tastes better if the dogs have endured extreme pain and fear before they die. They are tortured, often skinned alive, legs chopped off while they are still alive and many worse forms of torture which are too gruesome to describe.
There are many reasons why people will chose to adopt a dog from abroad.
The reason I chose to adopt these dogs from China is because in the UK, dogs that need a home are safe in that they are looked after and will not be tortured.
My two dogs are sweet, gentle souls, despite all they have been through, and are very loving and trusting.
Prior to adopting them, I had always adopted UK rescue dogs, for about 30 years. Some of them had horrendous behavioural issues, which my Chinese girls do not.

I have a friend who has adopted 2 cats from abroad though I never asked why. In the past I've owned cats - one was advertised in the local paper as 'free to a good home' but no checks made to see if I would provide one. The second came from a friend whose own cat had had kittens. I would love to have a cat again but now I'm retired I go away more often as my grandchildren currently live 200 miles away. I don't really want the committment because of it, but have wondered about fostering cats needing a short term home. I hadn't really considered that it would be difficult to adopt one but maybe that's why my friend has cats from abroad. I will have to ask her next time I see her.

twiglet77

They do it because the criteria for adopting foreign dogs is so much looser. I believe some of the UK charities are absolutely rigid eg on the garden having a six foot fence, or wanting a guarantee that no child under 10 will ever be in the same house.

I have visiting grandchildren and would never consider adopting a dog whose history is unknown. I don’t want to find out the hard way what ghosts in its past might trigger an attack. I would always prefer a carefully bred and properly reared, properly nourished puppy, from a breeder I know, or at least know of, whose experiences since birth have all been positive.

I think a lot of the charities importing dogs and puppies for adoption are just funding a dubious business. Someone over there is making good money out of it.

I did it and the criteria was exactly the same as adopting from the Dogs' Trust, to which l also applied, was accepted but they did not have a suitable dog. My immigrant terrorist terrier had lived in a home as a puppy, was impregnated during her first heat (under a year old) and promptly tossed out onto the streets where she gave birth to 3 live puppies. Both she and her pups were captured and the puppies rehomed. She was an anxious scrap of skin and bone and after various health checks, treatments, neutering and assessment was advertised by the UK charity (which is second to none) and l was lucky enough to adopt her. I was told all her history, given all her medical and vaccination records etc, she had rabies injection and a pet passport. Within 24 hours of her arriving DEFRA contacted me and did a follow up visit to check all her paperwork. The process was neither looser nor cheaper than adopting in the UK. Part of the fee for adoption (transportation, vaccination etc also included a donation to fund a neutering programmes.
After a very careful settling in period my wonderful immigrant has grown into a confident, happy, well adjusted dog who is affectionate, loyal and great fun - "they" do say dogs take after their humans.

Five years ago during covid my rescue collie who was my world passed away, my remaining dog needed company and local rescue centres were closed. Living in far north of Scotland, Other centres were over 4 hours drive away and required frequent visits to bond with a dog and seem to have a lot of stipulations, obviously travel wasn't allowed and i always rehome a rescue dog, I'm totally against people breeding for money as there are too many dogs everywhere in need of a home. I contacted a dog rescue that brings Romanian dogs to the UK. My new dog who I only met on collection and I bonded immediately and she is my consent companion. Yes she came with some issues which we're still working on, but she adores the grandchildren, is an excellent guard dog, she feels safe with me and I feel safe with her. The rescue charity are great, had a thorough online home check lots of questions asked and photos of where I live. Their main aim is to give these dogs a chance of a better life, and will only allow you the right dog for your circumstances and will take a dog back if its not working out. My dog was returned to the charity as the person who took her on was definitely not right for her, im delighted as i definitely scored, despite her being the hardest dog I've ever had i simply adore her. My dog isn't easy and would struggle in some types of home, but I've been willing to adapt to have her with me. The charity online group is great, everyone willing to give advice, help encouragement, so you're never struggling alone. If a dog needs a home it shouldn't matter from where it originated from. I donate monthly so this charity can help the dogs still in the shelters be fed, neutered and cared for.

I'm afraid I can't help feeling that by falling for the sob stories of organisations which import dogs from Eastern Europe you are merely encouraging a despicable trade.

It's all about money in the end.
Rather support charities working to improve conditions for these animals
in their own countries.

I'm a vegetarian because I loathe the
conditions that animals are kept in
for the meat trade. I prefer to know
that animals are living in as natural a way as possible.

www.theguardian.com/global/2019/jan/08/they-look-cute-but-should-we-rescue-romanias-street-dogs?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Almost the same with cats, the cat rescues will not home to housing tenants. So this means poor people who want a cat have to find one where they can with no proof that they are not loving cat parents.
Meanwhile, the cat rescue charities will only re home to home owners, who are already more privileged.
Donations therefore benefit homeowners only.

Iam64

Hippy chicks your plan would be mine if I hadn’t chosen my gorgeous lab 4 years ago. At that time, I expected mr I to live happily into his 90’s with Huge Lab his companion. Instead here we are, me and the lab bereaved, doing the best we can 🐕

Do you think you may still be able to do it, or would two dogs be too much for you even if you fostered a small dog?

If money is the problem I believe when you foster a dog the food and vets bills are paid for you, so you won’t be out of pocket.

So sorry to hear about your DH
Sending hugs 🫂 💐

We thought that adoptinga dog after the Covid rush would be possible, but this was not the case. Eventually we adopted Poppy, an ex laboratory beagle who had been rescued then abused and rescued agan by the adoption centre. Unfortunately, we were too inexperienced to deal with her extreme trauma; she turned on me, biting me quite badly, so we had to return her. It left us feeling guilty for having failed her. Four years later, I still have a deformed finger. We now have a Romanian rescue dog, Rosie. Why we have is too long to go into. But yes, I do think that capturing dogs is probably big business in Romania. As my husband and I are in our early seventies, we are concerned for her future. We have contacted the Dogs Trust who may not take her, even though she has been tested and has the paperwork, because of the brucellosis threat to British animals. Again, I quite understand this. Consequently, we live with the fear that, should anything happen to us, she might be put down. Pictured is Rosie.

Hippy chicks, I also have a spaniel who will be 7 next month. The dogs are my biggest expense but I love them. I’ve had three in the past but these two are enough now

Iam64

Hippy chicks, I also have a spaniel who will be 7 next month. The dogs are my biggest expense but I love them. I’ve had three in the past but these two are enough now

Ah I see. A bit much to have more then. Never mind. Enjoy the lovely two you already have.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to foster.

My Buddy is 13 tomorrow, he’s a small breed. Chihuahua Yorkie cross and they have been known to live as long as 20 years, and there’s loads of life in him.

Yesterday we went on a four mile walk. My DD had to carry him a few times but he wanted to get down and walk. He thinks he’s a puppy lol.

I love him but he won’t accept another dog into the house.
I could try, and hope he’d get used to them but I’d hate for it to fail and then to have to send the poor things back.
I’d be heartbroken for them.