Romanian rescues anyone?

[disappearingfish]

We lost our old boy early last summer and are ready to take on another rescue.

We have had a home check with a charity that rescues dogs from Romania and have been matched with a 2 year old dog that looks lovely.

Has anyone been through this? I'm slightly nervous about adopting a dog that you don't meet IRL first. Otherwise the organisation seems great.

I get the impression that these rescue organisations are more of a business than a charity. It must be rough for the dog being rescued and shipped abroad to unfamiliar surroundings.
A neighbour is on his second overseas rescue dog, he is experienced with larger breed dogs and both dogs have been challenging behaviour wise and with health issues, the first only lived 2 years after it arrived, they were heart broken to loose another so soon after loosing their old family dog.
What's putting you off getting a rescue from this country?

My personal opinion based on the clients I see daily is dont do it. I have been involved with some heartbreaking cases of foreign rescues. Bad health, wrong temperament, issues that will never be solved to enable a dog to live happily in the home, street dogs that will never be totally happy in a domestic house. Dogs that have not be assessed correctly or not even seen by people in this country.

Would you really take on a dog for the next 10 years or more that you have never met? That alone is madness.

However there will be some people for whom foreign rescue worked out and will have a different opinion but to me it is not worth the risk.

This country is bursting with dogs needing rescue look there. If you are being turned down by a UK rescue maybe consider why .

Also consider why it is so easy to get a dog from abroad - the checks and assessments are just not in place

What's wrong with rescuing a dog from the UK?

My friend has a rescue dog from abroad, a small, cute looking little thing. But so much trouble! She's ripped a chunk out of a woman's calf as they were walking past her last summer, with no warning at all.

What type of dog? Some of the larger ones are not ideal family pets. Especially the herding types. I wouldn’t adopt without meeting the dog.

I've DM d you

@IngGenius we are not being turned down by UK rescues but thanks for that snide little aside. We successfully looked after a tricky rescue dog for 15+ years so ...

A family member had a rescue from Romania and is a lovely calm dog. However has always had a cough was in a bit of a messy state after the long transfer journey. We nearly adopted from Romania but had similar reservations to you so we decided to go with a puppy from a reputable breeder from U.K. If we were to get a companion for our dog now I would look at Many Tears Llanelli Wales. They sometimes ask for resident dogs with their rescues but not always. Good luck

My friend has done this, the dog is lovely but has behavioural issues, not surprisingly as it is a stray who lived rough in Romania. So reactive to other dogs, scared of any noise etc.

as much as I admire her for doing it, I also find it difficult to understand why she chose this and not one of the very many rescue dogs in the uk looking for a home.

Adopting a dog you've never even set eyes on is incredibly foolish imo, regardless of where it's coming from.

I work with dogs and I don't know a single overseas rescue without "issues". Some are relatively minor but some are pretty serious and not something I'd ever want to live with on a full-time basis.

I would be wary. A family member adopted a Romanian stray a few years ago and she's lovely.
But next week she has to be tested for Brucella Canis and if she's a carrier she will have to be pts. Please google this before you go any further.
Family member is understandably concerned and upset. Lots of dogs closer to home.

Yes and I volunteered at one. I rescued a 6 year old. She came overland which I think has affected her as she’s a bit shaky in the car, but she is simply the best behaved, beautiful, loving dog I have ever met. I now have two and my heart hurts with love for them. Not one single issue with either!

I know a few with rescues from abroad and they’ve not had any issues either but all were from a reputable charity.

I don't really get the need to bring more dogs into the UK when we have plenty already waiting to be rescued here.

@disappearingfish not sure which charity you are going with, Paws2rescue work in Romania, neutering, educating, supporting and rehoming and they sometimes have dogs in foster in the Uk so you can meet them beforehand if that is a slight worry. We did this with our boy as we already had a dog and needed to know if they would be ok together. Nearly 5 years on he is a lovely boy and we wouldn't be without him

I actually don’t have a positive review about Many Tears, I think this also is why I don’t bother with UK rescues. My parents have a perfect home for a dog. Very experienced dog owners and have also had ex breeding. Turned down firstly due to needing a dominant dog (surely better to just have the dog somewhere) and then they realised the opposite - the dog CANT live with other dogs (after 1 year in kennel of being turned down other homes) and now they say: no other pets, must be a young female, no males. What young woman is available to be at home and not work full time and doesn’t have any male visitors? Ridiculous. Poor dog.

It's because the dogs in Romania are in kill shelters. If they aren't adopted within a certain timeframe, they are put down. These rescues bring the dogs to the UK to save their lives.

There is a big following of Rory Cellan-Jones on twitter and Instagram since they adopted #SophiefromRomania.
It's a long road with her and they are using a professional dog expert (don't know his proper job description).
After several months she's just come out from behind the sofa and will sleep in a bed. They haven't been able to take her out yet.
It's massively heartwarming when they make a bit of progress with her which seems to be speeding up now.

We have a Romanian rescue. She was 2 when we got her, she's 5 now. She went to a foster home when she first arrived, and we were able to meet her there twice before we decided to go ahead. She is wonderful! She was a bit anxious when she first arrived and it took a while before she was happy to travel in the car (not really surprising after a two-day van journey through 6 countries). She is sweet, loving, funny, likes other dogs and also people. She is draped over my lap in bed as I write this. She even gets on with our other dog, who is a pedigree and quite particular about which other dogs she gets on with. The rescue charity we used is very good and very thorough - they also have great support for after adoption and a lovely FB group for adopters. So for us it's been a very positive experience and I love her to bits.

My brother and a friend both have Romanian rescues. Good experiences with reputable charities (as far as I can tell), and both dogs are doing well with patience and training. I have Spanish rescues myself. Yes rescue dogs need work - they need patience and generally have quirks, some of which can be ironed out, some not. I hope you get the right dog for you op and you all have a happy life together.

I know there are lots of UK rescues and I have been looking for a while. However, finding one of the right size/breed/temperament/age who doesn't have significant behavioural or health problems is hard. And we're not that fussy. We are also in a remote part of the UK so don't have branches of the main charities locally.

@disappearingfish We have a rescue from overseas (not Romania) but she was very young when we got her and had been in a foster home for 2 months. She is amazing and we love her to bits but it is different to picking a breed and knowing the characteristics to expect. She’s a mix of who knows what so it’s a gamble, we are experienced dog owners though and no young children in the house.

Friends with Romanian rescues have had varying experiences mostly positive though the dogs are generally not good with other dogs and on the nervous side. Also things like leaving them alone when they’re asleep and not giving them an unexpected cuddle because that can make them panic and defensive.

They're dogs who generally have been abused or lived feral and then put in awful shelters. As long as you’re not expecting a perfect pet and understand the work it will take then go for it unless you have young children in which case I wouldn’t.

It seems like every other day in our local page there's one escaped and you mustn't approach if you see it, or someone's has bitten another dog out walking , but everyone jumps to its defence as 'it's a poor rescue don't you know.'
I actually think these things are much less risky than the risk of importing horrible diseases, and the fact that a lot of these dogs gave medical issues that are not apparent, despite the rescues checks, until it's the new owners problem.

@disappearingfish I meant to add that the rescue we used really made us jump through hoops to apply and we had to do things like video our home and family so they could see we had the right environment and we had telephone interviews with someone in the UK to discuss our and their expectations. After adoption we had a 24/7 contact for any issues or concerns and they were very happy to help with advice if needed. Over three years later we can still contact them if necessary and they occasionally message to check all is well. It would have been far easier to adopt from a uk rescue if a suitable dog had been available at the time but I’m not sure it would have been as good.

But how do you know what this dog will be like? You've never even met it.

My ex adopted a sibling pair via this charity. Met them first in foster setting. They are lovely dogs. Quirky. Great with cats and other dogs, but it took a little longer for them to trust people.

The boy views pretty much any living thing as his best mate and cries if the cow/sheep/horse/rabbit/deer doesn't want to touch noses. Weirdly, most of them do approach him for a sniff.