Getting a dog from overseas- what's this first things I should do?

[Imsosorryalan]

I think I need to make an oppointment with the vet to get her checked out? Do I need to sort out insurance before or after the vet looks at her? Help, excited but never done this before!

Why are you importing a dog? Have you met it? Is it from a breeder or a rescue? In either case they should be guiding you through the process.

I think there may be a whole heap of issues here. Please can you explain more?

Which country is your dog coming from and, I presume into the UK? You would be advised to check out the importation / vaccination / potential quarantine issues.

Is it a specific breed? If yes, then perhaps find a breed forum who can advise.

I would have thought you need special insurance to cover all transportation as well as general health insurance.

Is all the paperwork sorted out? Pet passport?

Here's a link to DEFRA

Thank you for the link. I have been in contact with defra already and my dog has passed the entry requirements. She is a Romanian stray dog currently in a shelter. The team operating this shelter are well known and adopt regularly to the uk.

You will need to find out what diseases are endemic in Romania that are not present here, as your vet may not be expecting them if she/he presents with certain symptoms.

Is rabies present in Romania? What about Leish?

Strays in Romania have often come from backgrounds of great cruelty and neglect - have you experience in the physical and mental issues this may give the dog?

I have to say while I happily support spay/neuter/shelter programmes in other countries, there's no shortage of dogs (many at risk of PTS in pounds) to adopt in the UK.

Are you being provided with rescue support/backup? What happens if the dog does turn out to have behavioural issues or you can't keep it for any reason?

I ask this because we are currently fostering two dogs who were adopted by a lady some six years ago - unfortunately she is currently very ill in hospital. If no rescue support available, these dogs would have ended up in the pound, probably separated, and at their age would have been unlikely to have found homes. None of us can plan the future which is why adopting from a British rescue can give this peace of mind.

If no backup in place, then what happens? Will British rescue be left to pick up the pieces, possibly for a dog with multiple and severe health or behavioural problems?

Can you let us know how you get on & what, if any issues you come across?

This is something I want to do post planned house move in a year or two.

As to why a Romanian stray? Well for a start there are breeds and types very rarely available in the UK + my son has family links to the country.

GOOD British rescues take back dogs, not all British rescues are equal though,

Are you getting it through AAA (Action Aid for Animals) by any chance? I follow their group on FB and they seem like a fantastic bunch of people who help a lot of animal welfare groups operating in Romania. The rescue you're getting the dog from should be able to answer all your questions. All vaccinations should have been done prior to coming to UK or they wouldn't be allowed in. I would also happily consider taking on a rescue from another country. There are many different kinds of dogs not the usual staffy/JRT ones found in UK pounds, they are at risk of being killed, poisoned, treated v v badly in Romania, Spain, Greece and Cyprus. What sort of dog are you getting and how old?

Is it K9 angels? I've heard great things about them and my dog daycare lady has adopted three dogs from abroad (2 spanish, 1 from the Thai meat trade) and they're all lovely

I have a rescue dog from Greece, she was picked up as a street dog and into a rescue there.
She was spayed and fully vaccinated inc Rabies and microchipped in order to have a passport, from there they got her a flight to me.
I don't know how the dog can be transported other than plane.
I had her checked over the day she arrived by my vet and got insurance sorted as well that day.
Lovely girl never had a single issue with her (except eating anything in sight).

It's a rescue supported by k9 angels. My dog is only 3 months old- she was born at the shelter so hopefully she hasn't been through too much cruelty. She is a beautiful crossbreed and to be honest I have been looking for a rescue dog for ages but haven't seen any I truly like ( or the ones I do are either much older or don't regime to young families) she will have had all her vacs and chipped so I wondered if I should still take her to the vet to firstly double check all is ok and then to introduce the dog to what would be our vet practice. Do I need to do this?
Unfortunately apart from telephone support it is unlikely I would be able to, or want to, return the dog to Romania IF anything goes wrong but I am pretty sure all will be ok
To me, a rescue dog needs a home regardless of where its film and yes I know I'm not changing a country's problems by just adopting one but for that one its world will def. change for the better.

I am involved with a UK breed specific rescue which has and still does re-home Romanian dogs as well as Irish dogs and UK dogs. If the UK rescue you are getting your dog from is reputable, then I would be guided by the rescue as everything should have been done health wise, etc etc - but a vet check in the first few days for your own piece of mind won't hurt.

The rescue I work with re-homes any dogs under their existing re-home "British Dog" policy, so provides back-up for life, neuters/spays before re-homing, etc. OP - everything should be fine, all that should really happen is that you sign the rescue contract & have the same back-up as a British Dog from the same rescue organisation.

If your dog is only 3 months old, I am surprised that she is travelling to the UK. I could well be out of date, as I know legislation was changing, but AFAIK, there is still a 6 month "quarantine" after a rabies jab in the country of origin. Any vets here, could you clarify that?

There is no quarentine period but the dog has to travel within 1month IIRC of having the jab or in needs redoing.

You don't need to take her to the vets when she arrives but it would be a good idea to get her a once over and acclimatise her to the vets.

i have just adopted a hound cross dog from cyprus not a pup an older dog, and she came fully vaccinated, chipped , spayed everything, she is wonderful the sweetest dog i have ever owned and she flew into heathrow airport with her own pet passport so no quarantine anymore, i took her to my vets just for a general check up and apart from slightly inflamed ears she is healthy and before anyone asks why i didnt adopt from here in the uk, its because this rescue (cyprus pride house) is being run by an english couple who are in dire straights financially having lost thier jobs and need to rehome all thier cats and dogs and i thought if i can give a home to just one dog i have done something good , i lost my 13 year old dog at christmas and there was a space

If anyone else ever wants to adopt a desert saluki from Qatar I have several spares at the moment! All trained and socialised, no ghouls apart from one who is a bit agoraphobic. He just sleeps on your feet all day.