why do people import/rescue from abroad? when they could rescue from UK

[R4roger]

someone did link about ex pats leaving their dogs in europe when they return to UK. is that people's reasoning? Or is it because rehoming/rescue centres in UK are more fussy with regards to suitability ?

Well, I wanted to adopt from abroad simply because I wanted to rehome a puppy, not a full grown dog. I have another dog, cat and chickens, and introducing a puppy is much easier. Puppies at uk rescue centres are rarer than hens teeth, and the odd one that does pop up has not been a suitable breed, bearing in mind my other animals.
Having said all that, I am not now rehoming from abroad, simply because I cannot get anywhere with the rescue centre. It took me weeks to get any response from them at all, and when I did, and completed the forms and returned, it just went dead again. I have tried several times to get in touch, but nothing.

So, on November 20th, I will be adding a goldie girl pup to the family, pedigree, which I am genuinely not arsed about, but perfect for us, without the fuss.

The attitude of people in those countries towards animals is very different to ours in the UK. So many animals are subjected to cruelty over there and have awful lives until rescued. Yes there are lots of dogs over here that need homes, but there are a lot over there too, that have suffered much more and are much less likely to be rehomed there. Also, if you don't want a staffy or a JRT you aren't likely to have much luck rehomjng in the UK, by and large. Needy dogs are needy dogs, no matter where they're from. My friend has a dog rehomed from Greece, she was abused and us so grateful for a loving and secure home.

I've adopted 3 dogs now from the UK (although one came from Ireland originally) and not a hint of JR or Staffy there. I like big dogs

I wouldn't count it out though, conditions are appalling in some places for stray dogs. It is important to consider rescue back up though, it's unlikely you're going to send a dog back to Spain if things don't work out so it's then UK rescues who have to do the back up should it be needed.

I'm from a country where many dogs are adopted from. The conditions for dogs are horrific. Even responsible, loving owners will tie dogs up to trees and outside the house etc, and they'll live outside, it's just how things are done, I'm okay with that. No one neuters or spats their pets, if there are puppies, they drown or dump them. There is a massive stray problem- they're treated by the government very inhumanely. There are 'catchers' who shoot the strays on the spot (sometimes even dogs with collars on, by accident) or take them to 'kill shelters' where they are packed together and given very little food. Some dogs will eat smaller or weaker ones to survive, dogs die from starvation and from being attacked, and are abused by workers. There is no neutering program going on.

Tbh, I feel adoption by owners abroad is not doing anything. It takes the problem everyone needs to face and hides it. I donate to a charity which encourages and pays for fostering of stray cats (there was a scandal a year ago, where cats were kept in basements to die- literally just starving to death, or being eaten by other cats in an attempt to survive) and dogs, ensuring they're kept inside, neutered/spayed and not fed a raw meat diet etc, and hopefully that will spread awareness and encourage people who know the fosterers to follow suit. They also encourage neutering and set up small centres in the towns for free neutering and spaying. Adoption does nothing and doesn't deal with the problem, like adopting a child from abroad- it does not solve the root of the problem.

My DH is military and we are currently based abroad in a country that HATES dogs. We have two ourselves and it's so shocking and heart breaking to see a constant stream of strays dying in the pound or being pts. Litters of puppies so young they would struggle to survive without their mother being killed by other dogs in the horrific pounds that use dustbins as shelters for them to sleep in.
Several charities and dog rescue centres that have recently been set up send as many dogs as they possibly can to the UK as it's the best chance they have of survival and any kind of decent life.
The people here are so cruel to animals and constantly set up traps and poison to kill any dogs. It's impossible to re home any dog here as there is just so many. It's easier to re home them in the UK as they are more sought after breeds (pointers, beagles, and other hunting dogs).

Toooldtibearsed - there are LOADS of lovely puppies in uk rescues, of all sorts of breeds!

Not around here Adara believe me, I have tried!

I volunteer at a local shelter too, just walking dogs, nothing huge, but even there puppies are very few and far between and when they have come up, have been the wrong type for our particular circumstances.

I have been in contact for 8 months with both national and local rescues within a forty mile radius, and two possible puppies came up, but one died before we got to see it and the other was snapped up between the rescue ringing me and me ringing them back an hour later to say we were on our way!
If I could have, I would have, honest

Being honest? I have no idea why so many dogs from abroad are shipped over here.

It does NOT help the situation in the countries they come from. It is like fixing a leaking tap with a bit of paper. What they need is neutering schemes, veterinary treatment schemes and education. It costs a fortune to bring a dog over. That money could neuter several.

Not only that but the dogs find the journey very stressful and some do die in transit- thats not rescue!!

Also- many of these rescues do NOT offer rescue back up once the dog arrives in the country. if you have problems with your dog you are stuck.

1.5 dogs are put to sleep every HOUR in the UK due to lack of homes. People seem to have this romantic notion that pounds in the UK are lovely. They are not. They are not heated, they have hard floors and the dogs are at risk of catching diseases. They also don't get veterinary treatment.

People also seem to have this odd romantic notion that we are a nation of animal lovers and treat our animals well. Can someone please point that out to the dogs that i have had in with broken limbs as a result of humans, the ones with smashed faces, we have even had one with a cut neck where someone tried to kill him. We have no idea how he survived. How about the dogs that are hung and killed in other ways?

Or what about the pregnant bitches that are dumped? The pups? The old dogs? Kicked out and left to fend for themselves.

There are tens of thousands of dogs sat in UK rescues waiting for homes. Loads of pups too! I have never known so many pups in rescue as there are now. They are not as rare as hens teeth!!

Every dog that is bought into this country takes a home away from a UK stray.

that is shocking Rach

Rach that is shocking, and an absolute disgrace. But please do not call me a liar when I say I have not been able to rehome a suitable puppy.
It was me that said that suitable pups were as rare as hens teeth. For me, personally, they are.

I appreciate what you are saying but it pisses me off being made out to be a liar when I devote a major portion of my spare time to rescue dogs, love what I do and have tried to rehome a puppy to no avail.

Will bow out now, but DO agree that there are some very cruel people out there.

I am not calling you a liar, and my post was a general response to this thread, however there ARE loads of pups in rescue and we are struggling to home them.

We currently have 5 pups in rescue plus a litter due, and I know of 4 other pregnant bitches in rescues that we work with plus every rescue we work with has pups.

Any breed of dog can be child safe, cat safe etc if you introduce the pup to all of the above from a pup.

Baby I would hazard a guess you are somewhere beginning with C.

If you are we were based there not too long ago and I have seen dogs tied to the back of cars being dragged down the road and all sorts. Flaming horrific and it is one of the things that makes me dislike the country.

I really don't think there should be a either or here. All people who rescue are giving a dog a new chance of life wherever it comes from. If it becomes a competition i.e. where the most dogs are killed for being homeless then obviously we should all be adopting dogs from abroad.

This is an unpleasant conversation really. And flipping pointless.

It's a fad based mainly on very emotive advertising of the dogs and more relaxed re-homing criteria.

I am Greek and re-homing our strays to the UK does absolutely nothing other than clear people's conscience to get more dogs. Many dogs are bought with no thought to suitability in the first place, kept with no training or exercise and then dumped on the street when the owner goes on holiday. There is nothing better than seeing the problem of stray dogs disappear to another country so these same irresponsible owners can move onto the next dog.

Booboostoo- would you agree that it is an education problem? (well lack of it?)

In Greece very much so. People still think that neutering a male dog denies it its manhood, that female dogs need to breed otherwise they don't get to enjoy sex, very few people know about breed health screening or targeted breeding, people think that getting a big dog and leaving it on its own in the garden or summer house will protect them from burglars, and there are fads for completely unsuitable dogs like huskies without any knowledge of the breed. Training classes are few and far between and many use completely outdated techniques, e.g. you leave your dog there for a month and get it back 'trained".

Just to add, in rural areas there is a 'survival of the fittest' type of approach. The bumper crops of kittens, fed by tourists during the summer in the islands are left to starve to death by the tiny numbers of locals who live there over the winter. Dogs are habitually abandoned in mountain villages over the winter to fend for themselves or die.

Agree that spending money on importing rescue dogs to the UK is insane when that money could go towards education and veterinary care for the remaining population. Apart from the risk of importing disease, the lack of behavioural back up and the welfare implications of transpiring frightened animals, it's often done because it gives those responsible a self-righteous buzz. The kindest thing to do to many of these poor creatures is to neuter them or even put them to sleep. Better than a life of misery and transport costs could offer many more dogs a way out that way.

*transporting

There are quite a few stories online/on FB of problems with these rescues, e.g. dogs paid for that 'run away during transport', dogs with undisclosed behavioural problems, very sick dogs, no back up from the charity, etc