In process of rescuing a dog from abroad but concerned..

[Stumpedasatree]

We are hoping to adopt a young street dog from Turkey. She is currently staying with a foster person while she has her vet checks and immunisations before coming to the UK. The foster carer has noticed that she pants for a long while and makes some odd breathing noises after she’s been playing with her other dogs. She is worried and I’m worried about this. The vet there has checked her over and hasn’t found anything yet. Just wondering if this is something potentially serious, does anyone have any experience? She’s around 1.5 years old and a small-medium mongrel type dog. We’ve been told it could be reverse snoring.

I cannot speak for the unscrupulous agencies that undoubtedly work across Europe, but I can say that through the many Italy-UK adoptions I have witnessed, the dog refuges have taken the utmost due diligence to ensure the process is a success. And we’ve never had any problems with the dogs settling into their own homes! That might be partly due to the fact they’re all abandoned hunting dogs, mostly English setters and Brittany spaniels, both of which are the most docile, loving dogs in the world.

I just realised this was an old post of mine. I was so anxious and scared to adopt this dog, who was brought over from Turkey by road after having all her vaccinations and vet checks. She has now been with us for almost 2 years and after a brief settling in period is an absolute dream of a dog. She is crazily affectionate and always happy, adores her walks and just loves everyone. She is a medium sized complete mix of breeds and is just so easy, compared with her stubborn big sister of a golden retriever.

The reverse sneezing was never a problem, only happens when she gets very excited and she otherwise seems in the best of health.

So a positive story - what is happening to the dogs in Turkey and other countries is absolutely awful.

@Jewelspun that is because a lot of these street dogs are semi-feral and have been living (surviving) on the streets over a few generations. Yes, that is not a safe or healthy life for a dog and they are faced with abuse at times. On the other hand, being enclosed, having to travel and then live in a house is no good life for them either. Because they need to feel freedom, they need the option to run away from stressful situations, that's their survival instinct. Not having this option when they become pets must be incredibly stressful for them. They are not pets. It is a very sad situation.