Romanian rescues anyone?

[disappearingfish]

We lost our old boy early last summer and are ready to take on another rescue.

We have had a home check with a charity that rescues dogs from Romania and have been matched with a 2 year old dog that looks lovely.

Has anyone been through this? I'm slightly nervous about adopting a dog that you don't meet IRL first. Otherwise the organisation seems great.

@Luxurybeliefspreader yes, I'll keep updating. And I'll be honest. He's arriving next month so we're starting to look around for kit. Any recommendations for bargain pet supplies?

A neighbour has one its hard work and really reactive with almost every dog around here, owners, traffic, any noises and she has had it for several years and it is still like this.

You don’t need much op. Couple of sturdy bowls, a comfy bed and a decent lead and brushes. Ours is fit as a fiddle(never needed a vet visit) on Aldi dry food with added carrot, occasional sweetcorn, fish or rice.

I'm afraid not although I do tend to scour eBay for quality branded things and I've just bought some fancy preloved waterproofs for winter on there.
I think it's definitely worth investing in a good harness.
I have found some really good recommendations for the stuff we needed when we were prepping for our boys arrival,on threads here so worth having a scroll back.

We have a very sweet Romanian rescue.... it took a while for her to settle though, unsurprisingly.

You need to get the dog insured 2 weeks before you get them to make sure they are covered when you they arrive with you. Initially get the most expensive you can afford that has behaviourist cover - Pet plan will cover behaviourists expenses. If you dont need it you can change the plan at a later date

Not bargain but get an escape proof harness with three ties under the stomach to stop them running away and escaping Ruffwear Webmaster harness is the best. https://ruffwear.co.uk/products/web-master-harness

You will need a double ended lead to attach to the harness

The rescue centre checked our garden and we had to dig down to secure wire fencing as we have mostly hedges. We didn’t let her off the lead for at least 6 weeks and then in an enclosed park. For the first year or so she’d go awol in the bushes a few times and we’d think she’d gone but then she’d saunter out looking innocent but she’s very good now and responds well to tone of voice. Good luck op.

The rescue offers life long support including behaviourists. We had the same from the Dog's Trust and they were superb. Definitely need a secure harness for the Houdini-dog potential.

You will quite probably have to condition the dog to a collar and in particular the harness for quite a while before you can use it, unless the rescue has been doing this (some do but no imports as far as I know).

Both my rescues have ruffwear webmaster harnesses, attached with a double lead to the harness and collar. Very secure.

Here's my gorgeous floofy rescue boy modelling his Ruffwear Webmaster harness.

I adopted a dog from a local rescue who brought over Romanian dogs from a rescue there which in turn had rescued dogs from a poor chap in Cluj with no resources trying his best to get dogs off the street. She was around 13, arthritic and had terminal cancer. We had a beautiful 10 months with her. I didn’t adopt her because she was a Rommie

Ours came to live with us 3 years ago via foster care so we met him. He was very shut down and so his true cheeky personality didn’t shine through. He gets on with our other dog, loves our regular visitors but is nervous around strangers and reactive to other dogs.
it’s been hard work, but no worse than a previous UK rescue.
As long as you are well prepared and have support going forwards that is key!

Just to update on Oscar, the rescue that escaped out of a window - he was on the run for a month before sadly falling off a cliff to his death while he was in the process of being rescued.

That’s so sad

I have 2 friends who have done this, both dogs 2-3 years old.

The rescue offers life long support including behaviourists

Yep, both had that, helped with some aspects but still signify problems 3 years on.

Neither dog can ever be walked off lead as they have never been trained, prey drive sky high, no recall. Both dogs very nervy. Both were told that the dog was trained. Both have done extensive training/ behaviourist support. They love their dogs but life has been very difficult.

It really is. He was stuck on a cliff face on a fell and someone managed to secure him, but he panicked and fell to his death.

It's horribly sad but makes you question whether he should ever have been brought here in the first place - he was quite obviously not a pet.

This makes me really angry.

A street dog, never had human contact, captured, transported across Europe in conditions that must have been terrifying for the poor animal, confined in a ‘foster home’ desperate to escape, running wild in a new environment so less chance to survive as he had in Romania… jumping terrified to his death.

The whole thing is cruel.

Some people need to think what ‘rescue’ ‘charity’ and ‘animal welfare’ mean.

@BrimfulOfMash I totally agree with you - it's awful what happened to him and he should never have been in this country to begin with.

But if you voice those views on a lot of pages then you very quickly get shouted down.

Bringing street/feral dogs into homes is not always kind. In fact, it's often incredibly cruel.

The U.K. dogs are in “ Kill” shelters too.

Most of the Romanian dogs that were sold to people in lockdown have disappeared from the local area- The one that remains has very experienced owners, but it’s not a fun dog to walk due to it’s dog aggression.

It’s ridiculous to ship street dogs here.
Spay and neuter over there- but while there’s money to be made from selling them to U.K. it will never stop.
Donate to charities that keep them over there- but focus on our own homeless dogs that also face being “ Killed”.

Exactly @oakleaffy.

There are dogs in pounds and rescued up and down the UK who are euthanised because there's nowhere for them to go.

Let's be honest - the main reason people adopt from abroad is because it's easier and there are less stringent rules about children, working hours etc.

Absolutely right!
UK rescues are strict for a reason- They don’t want “ Bounce backs” where the dog is distressed even more.

A dog crated for hours on end due to work or young kids or an insecure garden is unfair.

As most Romanian dogs have disappeared locally- they were either euthanised or given back.

@disappearingfish I wish you luck with your rescue dog.

But I think with a bit of effort, you could have given a UK rescue a fantastic home.

Agree. All shelters here are kill shelters too. There is no need to adopt from overseas.

SIL has a Romanian rescue. She is a nightmare. She cannot be left at all, even for 20 minutes and someone has to be at home with her 24/7, she is not able to be controlled when out and about, she barks a lot and she snaps at people. But SIL thought it would be really "worthy" to bring in a husky breed from Romania when the shelters here are full of them.

RSPCA definitely will rehome to people who have had to have a pet euthanised on health grounds- The person’s vet can provide details of the circumstances.
Terminal osteosarcoma or having to be euthanised at the vets after a medical emergency.
As others have said RSPCA euthanise terminally Ill animals at their centres as to keep them alive would be inhumane .
We had an RSPCA dog whom their chief vet advised home euthanasia for, so that is definitely not true.