What do you think about adopting from abroad?

[AssignedSlytherinAtBirth]

I'm thinking of e.g. hunting dogs in places like Cyprus and Spain, or rescued homeless dogs from places like Romania.

A fortnight ago I would've thought someone who brought a dog over to the UK was barking(!), because shelters over here always need adopters and it's so much cheaper/easier/seems a bit.... privileged? to adopt from abroad instead. But we had decided to get another ddog and saw one online, that had been brought to a shelter abroad. The shelter is run by a friend of a friend and I know they are full, basically, and struggling with their income. Fell in love, basically. The shelter is well used to the paperwork and other requirements to send ddogs to the UK, and would make it a smooth process, hopefully.
I don't know what my friends will say. I'm interested in what the MN posse thinks. TIA.

Better to adopt locally and give the money you've saved in transport to the shelter abroad.

We have plenty of animals that need adopting here.

My rescue mutt is from Spain. He was only a pup when he was rescued, part of an accidental litter from a hunting dog. He was the wrong mix of breeds so the farmer abandoned him.

He had great socialisation with people and animals as he'd lived with loads of other dogs and cats in the shelter but was frightened of everyday things like roads, cars etc. It took me three weeks to get him to walk half way up the cul de sac. Once he got to the road he point blank refused to move. The rescue was in rural spain so tarmac, cars, garden gates opening, wheelie bins etc etc were all a mystery to him.

Plenty of ddogs already here op.
Please choose one of those!!

It would interest me simply because the breeds of dog are not the same as what's in shelters here. I have a setter, they seem to rarely show up for adoption in England, but they are used for hunting in Europe so are in shelters there.

Currently a ban on importing rescue dogs from Romania/Belarus/Poland/Ukraine due to risk of disease.

I have plenty of friends who have adopted from Europe with great success, but you must be prepared emotionally to give the dog the time and patience it will need.

People are so quick to cry "there are plenty of dogs here" blah blah blah however UK rescues are notoriously picky about where they place their dogs which makes rehoming from the UK inaccessible to many (eg no flats, no young kids, no cats, have to WFH or be at home 90% of the time...the list is endless).

I actually found adopting from abroad harder than the UK. Not a single UK rescue turned me down when I adopted my first two. One Romanian rescue refused to rehome to me because my 18 year old daughter would have been left home in charge of the puppy while I worked two nights a week.

An adult dog with an unknown history I could kind of understand their feelings on the matter although one would hope they would assess the dosg as being safe to live with adult women before rehoming them.

They thought at 18 she would be too young to deal with a four month old medium breed puppy who would be "traumatised and constantly on the look out for the dog catcher"

I only adopted from abroad as there were no suitable dogs local to me and I don't drive so I needed somewhere local enough to reach via public transport in order to collect the dog and be home checked etc. The Spanish rescue had local home checkers and drop off points.

I adopted from Spain as I was refused here (because I have cats…) My boy is a delight - yes, he was a lot of work to start with, all worth it. And he gets on great with the cats…

OK, interesting. Thanks. I meant to say 'abandoned' hunting dogs in my OP. Those were just examples.
It's not because the shelter is full, etc. It's because this particular dog is the most gorgeous ddog I have ever seen, and needs a home. I want her here, with me! The shelter are going to do a home check by video and have asked us loads of questions about working, garden, experience, etc.

I think adoption from abroad is a scam to be honest. Seems to be huge amounts of money involved and a never ending supply of dogs.

We have just adopted a dog from Bulgaria having previously struggled to get anywhere with UK sites. I had some reservations, but the whole process was very quick, straightforward and professional. Our dog is absolutely lovely - 9 months old when she came to us, calm, confident and house trained. It definitely worked for us.

So many dogs in shelters near me are bully breed crosses. It's very hard to find a bog standard mongrel.

The shelter say they aren't making anything. The cost is only for transport and jabs. But doubtless once you adopt from them you're more likely to send them cash in the future, join their FB adopters community, etc., be a supporter.

There are a few hardcore people on here who think rescuing from abroad is the worst thing to even consider but they will have hardly any experience with those dogs so take their comments with a pinch of salt I think.

I have two Cyprus rescues and they’ve been bloody hard work but we have turned a corner with our newest one and he is turning into the sweetest little cuddle bug. I wanted an old fashioned mongrel hence looking abroad. If you choose the right rescue and you are experienced with dogs and ready to put work in I say go for it.

if you have young kids and it’s your first dog I say don’t do it.

I've been to Romania many times, both rural and city and I personally think some of the shelters are probably scams. Also the dogs are very unlikely to be socialised and can bring in disease. Maybe donate the extra transport money to neutering schemes if you want to help Romanian dogs. However, people are free to spend their money how they like. I suspect they would need a lot of specialised training to make good family pets.

This was post l part of the attraction for us. I just wanted a bog standard dog-shaped dog.

What a beautiful dog!

Yes, we are experienced/don't have young kids/have adopted an older dog before. We know what to expect (famous last words!) and are prepared to put the time in. I just wanted some opinions on the concept. If this one falls through for some reason I'll defo look locally.

That's it @Timeforanothername

Just a medium sized, multi coloured, wagged tailed dog. Like my dog growing up. Who was from Battersea.

There are some very reputable rescues who do this. Find one that offers lifetime back up.

I am very concerned about this trend of importing problem dogs from overseas. The UK now has a much increased number of dogs, many being badly looked after and many problems stored up for the future. There is a lot of wishful thinking around dogs these days and it is time for a reset to a more realistic approach. They are not lifestyle accessories.

So I think you should persist in trying to find a UK-based dog as you have more control over what you will get and somewhere to return it to if it is unsuitable. The constant rehoming of problem dogs is unkind to the dogs and unsafe for the public.

I’ve got a ‘medium sized, multi coloured, wagged tailed dog. Like my dog growing up’ (who was from Birmingham Dogs Home). She came from the Balkans. She’s great with cats, kids, tolerant if a bit disinterested in other dogs. She loves humans and cuddling the most. Her only vices are greed, an inability to ‘play’ and being scared of loud noises. We looked for a U.K. rescue but couldn’t get one due to kids & cats & no suitable breeds. I honestly think the majority of people who don’t approve of overseas rescue would change their mind if they met my dog! (Obviously, I’m biased )

There are genuine dog shelters abroad but there are scams too, whereby dogs are being bred for shipping here as rescued dogs.
This will continue as long as people here are willing to home them.

Many, not all, are feeding a lucrative trade in dogs.
Puppies? Street dogs and neglected dogs? Look again! It's very difficult to trace where the dog has come from.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recue from abroad.

We have a Bosnian rescue that we got last year, if you had asked me at any point last year I'd have said to run a mile... fast!! However, 14 months of patience has paid off and he is a soppy, clever, sociable, clean, sweet mutt. He still has some issues with his nerves and new people but a dog from anywhere could have some issues, they aren't robots.
So now I'd say go for it, but be prepared to put the time in, you are not likely to get a happy, friendly pup at first (but you might!)

Our family has very successfully adopted five dogs from Romania, and we previously adopted from local rescues as well. It's not difficult to find out if a rescue charity is trustworthy or not.