Anyone adopted a dog from Romania

[BillThePony]

This is something I am considering along with looking at UK rescues, I just wanted other people's experiences of doing so.

I've not had a dog since I was a child so wouldn't class myself as an experienced owner.

Also what to rescues look for on home checks?

We only have an adult dd who is away at uni, dh works from home 3 days and the dog would come to work with me the other 2.

I would be taking some time off of work to get doggy settled.

I will start looking a rescue charities soon but if anyone can recommend that would be great. I am in the Chislehurst area which is Kent/London borders.

I have one. She was in a local rescue, having been brought over from Romania. She is my first dog. Either I have been lucky, or my fairly laid back approach has worked. I chose her because I didn’t want a Staffie type dog, and she was the right size for me.

I have only really had one unbreakable rule. No using her teeth in anger against humans. She can be aggressive with other dogs when there is food about, but apart from that she is a delight. Her food obsession has made her easy to train.

When I watch her in the evening crashed out in her bed, you can almost see her thinking “I have got it made”.

Many of these dogs have health issues though. Mine has had a broken leg at some point that was not treated.

@GreekOddess it’s because there are so many dog lovers here. Sadly, the attitude to dogs in Romania is poor. They get slaughtered there, not rehomed.

Take a look at the 2nd Chance Dogs FB page, a friend of mine adopted very successfully from them. They are based in Cyprus.

Too many rescue dogs in this country without bringing more in. I can't get my head around it. There are hundreds of breed specific rescues to choose from, they aren't all staffies.

If you want a spaniel, Spaniel Assist and Rescue are an amazing charity, as are Spaniel Aid. Can highly recommend both - I've personal experiece of SARR and my cousin is a foster carer for Spaniel Aid.

I have a dog from Spain, another country with a surplus of dogs that would otherwise get killed.

To the PPs asking why anyone would want to rescue a dog from abroad, for me it was quite simple - no local rescue would give me a dog as I have young children (youngest was 4 at the time) and work. They also had 90% staffies, and they're just not my kind of dog.
The rescue I used is a breed specific charity. Our DDog had already been rescued from a shelter and was living with a foster family in Spain. This meant they could advise quite clearly what kind of dog she was, she had all the blood tests done and was spayed before she came over.
We've had her 1 1/2 years now and not once regretted getting her. Seriously the loveliest dog ever without any issues - never destroyed anything, great with the DC, friendly with people and other dogs, ok to be left alone for a bit, very easy to train and eager to please.

Thank you I will take a look.

I am not too bothered about breed, always had gsd as a child/teen but think I would go for a small-medium sized dog.

I am going to stick with the UK rescues to start with, a quick look online shows lots.

I don't have to worry about children as none at home although I do have nephews that visit aged 8 and up so o need to consider that.

A number of friends have overseas rescues. All but one have behavioural issues that make them difficult to manage (that one is a delight). Most have had behaviourists in, which is far from cheap.

Issues include: absolutely no recall; destructive in the house; reactive and needing to be muzzled outdoors; resource guarding to the point of biting on several occasions; being very timid/nervy and thus unpredictable around other dogs; persistent housetraining issues. Any dog can have issues, of course, but the likelihood of problems is understandably higher in a dog that has been traumatised or had to fend for itself.

None of these issues are irredeemable. My friends have all managed and the dogs have improved and are much loved, but none are easy. These are by and large a group of experienced dog owners, which clearly helps.

One has had their ‘healthy’ rescue diagnosed with leishmaniasis, which will need ongoing treatment.

The industry is completely unregulated. Some rescues offer thorough checks and good aftercare. More simply give the dog to the first person who will pay the adoption fee, and offer no backup if the placement fails.

Long way of saying I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. If you are going to, then do your research on the organisation - what support will they give if there are issues? - and go for a dog fostered in the UK so you have some idea of what you’re taking on.

I really wish people would consider and realise that they're compounding to the romanian stray dog problem by adopting from there. Most of these dogs come from the streets. There are still thousands and thousands of them still on the streets. That's why they get slaughtered. Not because people have a bad attitude to them, but because parks,hospital grounds, tips,streets are riddled with them. You can get places in which they are in packs. They can be aggressive. They have attacked children in parks. They take refuge in blocks of flats. They bark and growl and follow people. The winters can be brutal for them, and in turn they can become more vicious...freezing,starving.

When is the last time you saw a stray dog here? Felt threatened by one? Were chased by one? Had your child mauled by a pack?

Oh, never? Then I don't think you can judge the attitude of the people that live with it, especially when no one will take responsibility for it.

I have decided not to rescue from abroad following advice.

I have a rescue Rommie,6years I have had him,fabulous dog.He was only 20 weeks when he came to me.

He was neutered,chipped and assessed before I adopted him.I also had a home check.

All legal,vaccinated and vet checked on leaving Romania and again in this Country.

Go and have a look at the Battersea sites , we got our dog as a 15/16 week old puppy from Battersea London nearly 10 yrs ago and he’s absolutely perfect .

Charities are bringing dogs to the UK from Romania? Why? Makes no sense and i'm surprised it's even legal.

Many shelters import dogs, thousands of strays are imported from Ireland every year - as well as the well-meaning Romanian/Bulgarian do-gooder charities.

There's a reason that the charities don't re-home under certain circumstances - it's because those circumstances are over-represented as sources of abandoned dogs.

Unwanted dogs in UK shelters get killed too.
You're not saving a dog when you import a rescue, you're just swapping one dead dog for another.

I have four and fostered twelve. Apart from some initial shyness they’ve all been wonderful and laid back with no issues whatsoever. I work with dogs so very experienced which probably helps.

There's a reason that the charities don't re-home under certain circumstances - it's because those circumstances are over-represented as sources of abandoned dogs.

This is actually not true - in fact studies in Australia and the USA show that removing rehoming criteria results in the same long term outcomes for dogs and cats as having extensive rehoming criteria

@PanicAndRun hence the bad attitude. Why is it happening? You’re right , it doesn’t happen here.

My ‘Rommie’ is often mistaken for s pedigree cockapoo. She’s not got a viscous bone in her- had her 4 years this year and she’s 6. Never chewed anything, she wet in the house the first week but not since. Used to pull on the lead but soon stopped. Sits, lies, waits on command, never needed any vet treatment. Very cuddly and gentle. We got lucky.

There are already too many dogs in the UK need of good homes. We can't fix other countries problems.

I wouldn't. A lot of these dogs are essentially wild animals, as they have been raised on the streets. Most of them won't make good pets. The costs of bringing them into the country would go a long way to helping UK shelters if the money could be diverted.

My ‘Rommie’ is often mistaken for s pedigree cockapoo.

Umm... no such thing as a pedigree crossbreed.

@lilgreen a mix of corruption, attitude, ignorance , bleeding heart but not willing to take responsibility syndrome and exasperation. It's not uncommon to see tagged(as spayed) bitches with a litter of pups trailing after them.

I've yet to see someone asking about adopting cats from Romania, even though there are just as many strays .

We don't see it here because there isn't an actual stray dog problem and because whatever method is used, the strays don't really(often?) go back on the streets.

@DogInATent ok you know what I mean! Jeez it’s hardly the point of this thread. My point is, people pay a lot of money for a cockapoo and that not all Romanian rescues are fierce, scary dogs.

I didn’t set out to adopt a dog from abroad. I saw her on a local uk shelter site and only after expressing an interest did they tell me her history.

Unwanted dogs in UK shelters get killed too
Yes but here, the dogs are kept safe in kennels, with heating and food and water, vet treatment if needed. They are euthanized humanely with a sedative.

Abroad, they are thrown 10 to a kennel, with no shelter, chucked carcasses in to fight over, no vet treatment and often killed by drowning or clubbing.