Has anyone rescued a dog from Romania?

[Staringcoat]

We're looking for a second dog - a companion to our adopted 6 yr old dog - and someone has brought a particular dog to our attention on a Romanion rescue site who looks to be a good match.

The site is called Save and Hope. Has anyone heard of it or had dealings with it? Does anyone know how to find out if it's legit or not?

This wasn't an adoption route that had crossed my mind up to now and the last thing I want to do is support any illegal trading in animals, although costs only appear to cover vaccination, worming, transport etc and not profit ifysim.

Any guidance/advice out there please?

My neighbours have a dog from Cyprus who was a street dog.
I don't understand your motivation tbh when there are so many dogs in UK being pts on a daily basis. I worked as a dog warden for local authority for several years. Imo I'd be looking at local stray kennels as this is where they end up being pts from due to sheer numbers. Good luck whatever you decide x

@Mich0027 op is not in the UK and for that reason I can believe that her options are very limited. This country is way ahead I think in terms of there being options for Legitimately adopting rescue dogs.

I am going to be unpopular here.

We see many romanian/spanish street dogs in the vets. We often despair if we are honest. These dogs have had a fraught background and it is very sad. They are often scared of life. They are too often homed into well meaning families with young children who are ill prepared for dogs with deep seated behavioural issues that often dont surface straight away. They then end up back in rescue, unhomable and euthanised. It is heart breaking. They have been through so much. All the while rescues in this country cannot accomodate local dogs that might actually make better pets for those families.

Please do your research.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. First natural response is to fly them all over where they can live out their lives as much loved pets and that is often what happens, however it sadly doesn't alsays work that way.

Mich thank you very much for advice and good wishes but as previously mentioned, I am not in UK. And the shelters here are run slightly differently to UK ones.

With regards to disease, I am just not convinced personally that bringing over lots of foreign dogs is good for the health of our own due to the risk of lots of non native diseases and parasites. I have not really researched into the incubation periods of the foreign diseases but i don’t think it’s out of the realms of possibility that an infected dog could slip through the net.

Personally I think the way to help these dogs is through neutering schemes, education and changing the mindset of the people living there. Not dragging often traumatised unsiuitable animals halfway across the world, forcing them to live in a way they are not used to and pretending that they are pets when most of them are not.

X posts Frazzled!

LEM thank you - sobering food for thought indeed - sometimes good intentions are simply not enough.

Excellent post greyhorses.

Greyhorses yes, that all makes a lot of sense. On reflection, I think I agree with your second paragraph, especially wrt education in the country of origin being the way forward.

Really. We have too many in this country without importing.

@Frazzled2207 @Staringcoat oops sorry I didnt notice you weren't UK based. Good luck with your search

Same as LEM,
There are a couple of people on my local facebook page whose Romanian street dogs have run away, I dare not post there, but do wonder about the morality of those who sell these dogs. Are they breeding them in fact to be sold here? puppy farming under a different name, and they tend to look like chihuahuas
that can't be a mistake, that they are all similar breeds?

I think there are so many uncertainties that come from adopting such a dog, many street dogs are unable to cope with living in the home as a pet and having to get along with children and other animals. A vet nurse I know is adopted a Romanian street dog and was assured that he was dog friendly however he ended up attacking her resident dog who unfortunately had to be pts.

littlebookofcalm my Romanian rescue certainly doesnt look like a chihuahua.

I know someone who has done this (we are in another EU non-UK country) and you really do need to exercise caution. Their dog was described as having really minor issues however she was very jumpy and reactive, not house trained, not lead trained and very anxious. They have done a lot of work with her (amazingly as they were not experienced dog owners at all - they have done really well) and she is a lovely dog so it can work out - but she is their only dog and they don't have children. Unfortunately she did bite them and a couple of their friends in the early days before they learned her triggers.

I also feel really uneasy about the Romanian rescues. I think a lot of them have the potential to be scams especially the ones where they take money from you before you've even seen the dog (should be obvious I suppose, but they get you with a sob story). It's something we've considered as we've found it very hard to find a native rescue dog, but I think we would have to go with an agency which uses local foster carers so we could meet the dog and I think we'd definitely try to exhaust local rescue options before we attempted this. We are not looking at the moment anyway as we have a new baby.

I grant you that Bunny

Agree Bertie,
the potential to be scammed is high imo

Friend did it through Mentor4Dogs BTW. I misheard her the first time and thought she said Mental4Dogs and she said it was a more apt name :o

Oh he is adorable and i truly hope he lives out a long and happy life with you.

The street dogs often look very similar but that i think is due to fact that they are true crossbreeds and heinz 47s (showing my age!) and that certain traits will be more dominant.

If I was going to do it I'd want to know how to verify papers for things like rabies vaccination (as these can be faked).

I also wonder if it is really the best way to save dogs in these situations. Though I understand it must be awful and terrible to go to the countries which have a stray dog problem as a dog lover and see the often inhumane ways they are "disposed of" it is a bit like somebody trying to save wild rats from cities to keep them as pets - just imagine trying to stem that tide, it will never dry up and I don't think the supply of dogs will, either. There are also parallells with international adoption of children from poor countries - rich white people think they are "saving" the children or being canny by avoiding the "red tape" of adopting in their own country, but in reality most of these orphanages are run for profit and the "red tape" exists for a reason, to protect both the child being adopted and the family who adopt them.

But it does tug at your heartstrings when you know the alternative for those dogs is really terrible for them.

We’ve got a Balkans rescue dog - she’s super calm (unless she sees a squirrel or rabbit), lives with & ignores 2 cats (unless she’s needed to break up a cat fight, which she’s happy to step in to restore peace with a look), is bomb-proof with children and loves nothing more than a full-body cuddle on the sofa, friendly-but-distant to other dogs ... happy for a sniff hello but doesn’t want to play.

She came via Pozega Dogs and they rehome to mainland Europe. They sent us cat-test and child-test videos, they answered all our questions (many), they provide limited UK foster back up and they vetted us and Home checked us via a network in this country. I’d really recommend them.

She has her quirks - won’t pee in the garden, must go on a walk instead, sketchy recall which we’re working on - but she’s truly a delight. So it can work out.

Hello OP

My friend adopted a Romanian dog to live with her and her husband in the Netherlands and the dog has clicked will with her old lady Jack Russell and is quite frankly a joy (he doesn’t “do” buses though - diva).

The organisation she used was Ioana’s Ark, and the process was seamless and prompt.

DM me if you would like me to put you in touch with her.

Thank you very much for yet more responses!

Again lovely to hear of stories when it has all gone well such as Nosquirrel's account! And thank you for the names of verified agencies. Thank you too PaulHollywood'ssexgut for your kind offer. I don't think we will be going down this route, but will definitely pm you if we change our minds!

I think I share the concerns of BertieBotts and Littlebookofcalm that well intentioned dog-lovers in Western Europe could inadvertently support a trade in street dogs in E. Europe ...where there is a regular source of income, some unscrupulous people are bound to exploit it ...perhaps not in every case but I do think the potential is there.

Again, thanks v much for your input everyone. I've heard enough about the potential difficulties to be 99% certain we will not be taking this further.

The search continues!

Just to be totally clear ...the search continues in a different direction!

I realise you've now changed direction (a very good choice imo) but I just wanted to add something to the discussion on diseases.

There are a number of parasites endemic to central and eastern Europe that are very rarely found in western Europe and the UK but the incidence of cases is rising and has been associated with rescue imports. These are not routinely tested or treated for, and may be difficult to detect.

One that I've come across in a number of reports and studies is tongue worm (Linguatula). I think I first came across it in a post here in the Doghouse.

On a practical level, there are thousands of dogs already needing homes available from shelters in the UK. Adopting from close to home and financially supporting charities in the Balkans, etc. that provide neutering and veterinary services to street dogs gives the most benefit to the most dogs overall.

Good luck with your search.