Why are people adopting dogs from Greece and Romania?

[NorthernGravy]

My Facebook seems to have people who are getting dogs from charities in Greece and Romania and I don't get it. If you want to foster a dog then why not one from a local shelter?

I know a lot of rescue dogs can't be re-homed with children as past history isn't often known, but more of the foreign charity dogs seem to be allowed to go to families. It makes me suspicious that either the foreign charities are less strict or that there is some form of puppy farming going on somewhere in the chain.

AIBU?

I know several charities involved in rehoming dogs from other countries. None of them apply less strict criteria than UK organisations. None of the adopters I know do it for glory. All of the people I know rescue dogs because they care about them and not their nationality and want to give them a better life.

Ive got a Romanian rescue dog. I've also got two uk rescue dogs, two uk rescued cats, two uk rescue bunnies and a load of ex battery rescue hens. I met a lady at work who brings in rescues and learned about the horrible conditions they're kept in at the "shelters" in Romania. I followed her on Facebook and one day the cutest little dog face popped up on her photo stream, just as my husband happened to ask me what I wanted for my birthday. I'm just soft.

For the record, the Romanian rescue did FAR more stringent home checks than any of the UK rescues I've used, and did a lot of follow up check ups. I've much more issues with people that breed and sell dogs in the uk personally, even the so called proper breeders.

Many pronged - a lot of the uk rescue centres set very high criteria as to who they will let adopt.

Add to the that that the dogs they have for adoption often tend not to be the easiest.

Don't underestimate the misery of street dogs from the Spanish or Greek islands or other areas of Europe that are not so economically strong.

Couple that with the fact that the dogs are often small to medium size (bastarding terriers) and easier to place, then throw in the fact that the charities that rescue them are often more pragmatic about placing them.

Honestly, it's it as simple as stopping rehoming of foreign rescue dogs and expecting our own rescue centres to empty.

No matter how many dogs we import we cannot make a dent on the problem.

It solved the problem for my dog.

Someone I know rescued a couple of large street dogs from Romania and they were in poor health and quite vicious in temperament.
She worked full-time and lived in a small house with no garden and was not allowed to rescue a dog in the UK.
Both her Romanian dogs are anti-social and haven't made good pets, and she is stuck now with the poor animals. They may well end up in a UK rescue centre after all.

I assumed it was because of the cruelty aspect and the fact there are many street dogs whereas you don’t see dogs on the street in the UK , I know someone who is involved in rescuing Latvian dogs and the stories she told me were truly horrific.

Please don’t bring any more dogs into the UK. It will back fire one way or another and our domestic animals will suffer.

My local independent shelter ships them in from Romania. I follow their fb page and only realised last week, don't think they widely advertise it. I just assumed the dogs came from local pounds. But there was a video of the latest van full arriving after their journey.

Most foreign import chairities have very strict rehoming criteria, it’s not an ‘easy’ way to adopt.
Also most of the dogs are lovely and friendly just not use to the language, and being in a house environment.
I cant imagine there is any difference between the percentage of aggressive imports v U.K. rehomed dogs.

Am I dumb? How are people getting them over here?

Am I dumb? How are people getting them over here?
In vans. There are specialist couriers, and also some rather non-specialist ones.

PS
Threads on imported rescues come up occasionally in the Doghouse. Anyone in this discussion not familiar with that section of MN might want to take a look.

I'm a vet and see a LOT of Romanian rescue dogs.

I have quite a few reservations about all these foreign dogs coming in.

Many of them have been street dogs. They are not socialised and not particularly suited to life in a house. We see loads of "behavioural" issues that are completely understandable: some of these guys don't want to live in a house, they are used to freedom. They often run away at the first opportunity.

The diseases they bring can also be a problem. Suddenly we are seeing distemper, transmissible venereal disease and leishmaniasis. These are diseases that were previously virtually eradicated or not known in the uk.

Sadly, many of these adoptions fail. And then these dogs end up in UK rescues, which are already overstretched. The "charities" that arranged their adoptions are not on hand to help with problems. One of my clients rescued a dog from Cyprus. She was supposed to be spayed/ vaccinated etc.I examined her the day after she arrived and she was pregnant! The new owner was left with five puppies and the charity were not interested. They all have behavioural issues.

One thing I did find weird a couple years ago when we were looking at rescue dogs was one charity who had I think romanian dogs had written the same 'back story' for all of them - something about them running out of a shop and across a busy road, which made us suspicious. Obviously this is only one case, but I do also question adopting a dog you're yet to meet. This said, I know of some who have adopted dogs from abroad and had a great experience, so who knows.

I know this will offend or upset the softer-hearted people here, but I would only take a young dog, and only after I had seen it. I know lots of rescues/rehomed dogs and most are adorable, but an awful lot have needed huge amounts of time and affection to become passable pets. Many are too damaged to adjust and should be PTS.

Because they let anyone adopt them for cash? Unlike British rescues who have "criteria"

Exactly. There are some seriously strict rules for U.K. rescues. However, importing dogs has become big business, origins can be very iffy and there are often multiple issues. Anecdotally, a friend has returned a Romanian street dog which started to bite everyone. Importing rescues obviously exacerbates the rescue crisis in this country. It’s a simple equation.

I've got a Rommie dog. I've always had UK rescued cats and wasn't particularly planning on getting a rescue let alone one from Romania but I saw his picture via a friend and fell in love.

Trust me, the checks were stringent. Phone interview, then home check. A signed contract which also states that if they don't think we're looking after him properly or we're not getting along, then he has to be returned to the charity.

The dogs there are treated as vermin, I won't describe some of the photos and videos I've seen but it's disgusting.

I'm not doing this for glory or bragging rights.

I've ended up with a fantastic, healthy, extremely intelligent mongrel and I couldn't be happier. We're the lucky ones, not my dog

I worked with someone who rescued a dog from Romania. She said it was easier to get a rescue from abroad than the UK and she really wanted a rescue.

Mist of the rescues here are now rescuing dogs from china meat trade, I don’t really get it? When there are many dogs in the uk that need rehoming, many being put to sleep and they are flying dogs over from China to rehome?

I feel sorry for any animal that suffers but I feel we shouldn’t be taking on other counties dogs whilst dogs in the uk need help.

Simple answer as they allow you to adopt a dog if your child is under 10 and they nice henze 57 breeds. Uk charities are too restrictive now. Friend has amazing hound mix from romania. Honestly best dog ever and perfect family pet.

With some Greek dogs I don’t think people always understand the cultural differences of dog owning - which rightly or wrongly happen. Quite a lot of Greek people allow their dogs to roam each day - obviously unheard of in the UK, but a part of living in rural, often mountainous parts of Greece.

Usually their dog is a still a loved pet who is let out for a wander and then comes back. It’s a real problem if they’re near a holiday resort. I’ve known several owners who’ve lost their collared and non-collared dogs to well-meaning tourists who assume they are abandoned/live with bad people.

Incidentally some Greek people also think collars around necks are cruel. One owner I know has so regularly had her friendly beach happy dog, which is named, contact no and collared, “adopted” (and paid to retrieve him from Brindisi port), that she now daren't let him out and is trying to lead train him having never been on a lead for eight years. I’m not advocating that people might allow dogs to wander, but I do think people adopting need to be very sure of local cultural practices and also know that to locals it feels like these innocent but unknowing adoptions can appear to be an exhibition of a very xenophobic attitude by pet-loving Brits who assume they are cruel to animals.

Great that the vet’s verdict is being pretty much ignored in this conversation.

Romanian dogs are not domestic. Even the ‘pets’ are left outside and left to roam the streets in packs. They live on farms and are not cared for in the sense we care for them, they are given scraps, sleep outside and live a very ‘doggy’ type life, closer to the wild. As a result they behave differently, they come into contact with a broad range of other animals. My DH had to run for his life from a pack of dogs in Romania afrer they circled him and started closing in on him on his way home one night. They are closer to wild dogs. They could easily be carrying parasites and diseases that our dogs haven’t built up immunity to and the entire practice of importing them is unregulated and entirely irresponsible.

Foolly yes your dog is cute. Your dog would have been cute if it was from a UK shelter. But don’t feel virtuous about prioritising the wellbing of that one over and above the health and wellbeing of our own native animals.

For instance, Alabama foot rot, otherwise known as the black death for dogs, came into the UK from importing Dogs from American. It’s spreading slowly in our wooded area and cannot be detected. Dogs die slowly from legions in pain. This is just an example of how imported diseases can send our wildlife and pets to an horrific slow death. Our animals only escaped the devistation of rabies because of our strict animal movement laws at the time. It’s not just dogs, but all our domestic UK creatures that are under threat from these ‘do gooders’. It’s importing trouble and should be stopped.

I have a Romanian rescue dog,I have had him 5 years,I would never get a dog from a U.K. breeder.I looked at all rescue centres near my home,not one of them had a dog that was suitable for me.

When he came to me at 20 weeks old,he was spayed,chipped,had had all his vaccinations,flea treatment and wormed.He was checked by a vet on arrival in the U.K.,I even had a home check before applying to adopt him.

I really couldn’t care less about other people’s opinions,he is the right dog for me.

I follow a greek dog sanctuary called takis and he is honestly an angel.

Giardia is horrible, but can be treated in humans with a five day course of Metronidazole (and no alcohol).

An ex caught it from a flatmate, got diagnosed because the (Polish, according to the doctor) lab tech recognised the symptoms from the description and, despite it not being requested, as nobody thought of it as a possibility, tested for Giardia. I wasn't impressed, but saw my GP (also Polish), who wrote out a prescription and I never experienced any symptoms, despite being the person who cleaned the bog and lived with a person with it for years, with them doing a lot of cooking.

I wouldn't be considered for a rescue dog or cat at all. No point even asking anymore, as the sort of telephone conversations I experienced were - interesting - I had to be simultaneously

Single
Married
Single
Widowed
Young
Old
Rich
Working
Not Working
With other animals they could inspect
No other animals
Living near a park
Having a huge garden
Prepared to keep them locked in at all times
Prepared to let them roam free
Able to stump up three hundred pound cash for two sight unseen animals
Capable of looking after kittens
Wouldn't dream of depriving a kitten of its mother for five months (that was the most hysterical one - apparently, saying I had experience of handrearing from 5 weeks old on three occasions and was prepared to do it again meant I actually just wanted a cute baby to take away from its mother and was a evil bitch)
Prepared to have a single cat
Only prepared to take two or more
Had to provide personal references from people who had known me to have a pet before

It appeared that to be deemed fit to take on two moggies or an untested dog of appearance approaching that of what is legally termed 'Pit Bull Type' (as most abandoned ones are) required me to be a wealthy widow, not working but aged under 35, able to run marathons, living in a huge house with paddock surrounded by twelve foot fencing and, most importantly, able to come up with at least three hundred pounds cash for animals I had never even met.

Or have a notable online presence, as that could help get more people interested and as such, all the previous requirements were no longer essentials...

I suppose if you have the money for a breeder but don't want to do it, can't get through the ridiculous, constantly changing goalposts of the workers, want something other than a bull type or want what could be interpreted as pedigree cat breeds over here and are easily manipulated by the stories of how those evil foreigners don't look after animals you pay for some terrified animal to be shipped across Europe.

Me, I ended up with freebie British TwatCats. Because I'm a mug. One's got Cerebellar Hypoplasia. A large charity had said they'd take the healthy ones and the mother a friend had been feeding straight away, but they'd put this one down as they'd never get anybody to pay the adoption fee and vet bills for one that wasn't right. I brought him home at 7 weeks in my handbag on the Tube as a result. The only time he's needed vet treatment was to have his knackers chopped off and when he came off worst in an argument with a mouse (a tenner for some antibiotics). He's been cheaper than any animal I've ever had before.

He's still a Twat, though. But he's my TwatCat and I love him

@MrsTerryPratchett the reason we don't see white dog poo* these days is because dogs usually eat dog food and biscuits - when dogs used to eat lots of bones, the calcium turned the poo white when it dried out.

• or "pure" as I learned from our old pal Harry King