Adopting from Europe

[Beingslightlymad]

Do any of you have experience of adopting from abroad or opinion on it? I have been looking for some time to find the right dog. I have noticed that there are lots of dogs available from Romania and other countries. I am not sure how I feel about this as lots of dogs are available here. Plus are they vetted properly? I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

@justtb your situation isn't a rescue, you bought a puppy farmed dog online, which turned out to be from abroad. The 'abroad' bit is the least of it.

@terrigrey I was 19 at the time and we saw him on the Pets4Home app. Me and my partner at time did a lot of research! He was £750, he's a traditional looking frenchie - out at the nose, big nostrils, long legs and back - means he doesn't have all the health problems but was probably a fuck up in breeders eyes.
We were meant to go view him but that morning my car got broken into so couldn't be driven. Breeder said that he would come to us with puppy, as he was 5 months old and we didn't need to wait for vaccinations etc. He did come with papers and passport.. we didn't know he was foreign until after seeing them - I think that even if I had viewed him at theirs I would've been inclined to take him.
I always say I feel like we rescued him from whatever life he had. He's the most loving and wonderful dog

Aged 19 you should have known better @justtb.

You bought a puppy farmed dog, online, paid £750 it for - which is a bargain for a French Bulldog, and were disappointed it was from abroad.

Your actions supported puppy farming, everything you describe is a classic puppy farming transaction.

Pretend away to yourself that you 'rescued' this dog.

@noriim excuse me? How was I meant to know what an advert I saw on Pets4Homes was coming from a puppy farm? If I hadn't have taken him someone else would have
And where have I said I was disappointed? I was shocked at the condition he was in and he was immediately sorted and given a good life.
Many vets have seen passport and registration papers and have never said anything about puppy farms

I recently adopted a young dog from abroad. I looked at UK rescue centres but I didn't want a husky/akita/greyhound/staffie/bull breed and that's all they seemed to have.

My dog has been hard work but she's getting there - her recall is coming along, she's a quick learner, she is ridiculously cuddly and affectionate, nearly toilet trained. Obviously I didn't get a chance to meet her first, but it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. A puppy would have been much harder work.

And if those people saying that there are dogs needing homes in UK rescue centres have ever bought a puppy you're a hypocrite. These dogs abroad are in danger in their home countries - some of the pounds hardly feed the dogs let alone walk or play with them so if the rescues weren't picking them up they would have a much worse life than a dog at Battersea for example.

And most rescues will say which dogs have leishmaniasis - they're also marked clear of it in their passports.

I've adopted five dogs from Romania, from a UK-registered charity, and have had no problems. We were home-checked and the dogs matched to our circumstances. I've also previously adopted from one of the big British rescue charities.

My sister rehomed a dog originally from Russia, but through a charity that brings 5 or 6 dogs over to the UK and puts them into foster homes before making them available for rehoming, to get an accurate idea of their temperament in a more typical UK home environment, busier roads etc. Her dog had been here a month before she met him, then went to her 2 weeks later. She said she'd never want to home a dog that she hadn't met beforehand. He's lovely, a GSD cross (with something smaller) who really wants nothing more than to have a little run at the park in the morning then snooze the day away on her sofa.

@justtb

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3904399-Did-I-buy-a-puppy-farm-pup?pg=1

My dog is registered (via microchip) with the charity as theirs, they will take her back if I ever needed to re-home her.

They can have their details as a secondary or emergency contact on the chip records, but legally the primary address should be that of the keeper and where the dog is usually kept. Yours, in other words.

The law on this came into place a few years back.

I live in central Portugal and volunteer at the local municipal kennels (well, I did before lock down and will again). The VAST majority of the dogs are desperate for human contact and are delighted to be around you even if you are just hosing down their kennels. The best part of the work is squatting down in a clean enclosure and being overwhelmed by doggy hugs - the hardest part is the dogs that are so very scared of people.

I have 7 dogs of my own but would adopt in a heartbeat.

I have two dogs adopted from abroad. They are two of the loveliest dogs I have ever come across. I also have two friends who adopted from the same country as me - again lovely dogs.