Rescuing a puppy from the Philippians

[Bryonyberries]

My daughter is on holiday and just rescued a puppy off the side of the road. She’s taken it to the vet and it is quite poorly. Anemic and a flesh injury to its hip. They are treating it and compared to the UK the fees are tiny and manageable. A rescue can help foster once it leaves the vets.

However… in the longer term she now wants to bring it back to the UK.

Has anyone had any experience of bringing a dog back to the UK from an unlisted country? How long did the process take and how expensive was it to get the pet passports etc?
I’m not convinced it is going to be feasible and pup may not make it anyway. It’s probably 2/3 months old, but I said I’d help her research.

I genuinely can't understand people who do this

There are sick, abdandoned and injured animals in the UK who don't need many thousands spent on them to be flown half way across the world. Not to mention the journey will be terrifying for the dog, as would moving to an entirely new part of the world.

It's likely this puppy hasn't been well socialised in it's earlier life and is going to be prone to significant behavioural issues.

Rabies risk, but also presumably other diseases like heartworm, babesia, insert other nasty disease we don't have endemically in the UK...

We'd all love to rescue every sick animal we encounter but it's naive at best to actually consider going for it in a case like this

It’s not like there aren’t dogs desperately needing help here in the U.K.!

A better idea would be for your daughter to support the dog in its own country and pay for veterinary treatment and in finding it a loving home or a place in a sanctuary where she can follow its progress and donate.

I mean - she has a point.

Dogs like this shouldn't be imported to the UK. We already have issues with overseas rescues bringing in diseases that aren't native here, and a dog from the Phillipines may well have rabies amongst others.

Yes, it feels good to rescue a sad, sick puppy but that doesn't mean transporting it halfway round the world for thousands of pounds is the right thing to do. Why not use that money to save hundreds of other dogs in the UK instead?

What a horrible, uncaring response. I’m not saying it’s a good idea to try to bring it to the UK, but if it’s mangy, it’s hardly the poor puppy’s fault!

Not an option from the Philippines.

Sounds like she's thinking of what she wants and not what the pup needs. She's got it seen by a vet with a rescue place and foster care to follow on. Better for the pup to stay there than be carted half way round the world. Give the rescue a good donation and it'll help more pups in need as well.
Also even if she gets it over to the UK has she got a suitable home environment for it. It may need further vet treatment (or behavioural issues needing specialist help). Vets may be cheap in the Philippines but they're not here so who would pay for this? What is she planning to do with it when she goes on holiday again?

Assuming it survived, get it vaccinated and neutured then put it back on the streets. Most of the world's dogs are street dogs and live a perfectly good life on the streets, they just need neutering out of existence, they don't need 'rescuing'.

As someone who works with a veterinary charity in the far east if she brings this dog home she saves one dog. If she raises the money and gives it to a reputable charity and the dog stays out there she will save hundreds of dogs. Plus if she chooses the right project they will be working with mission rabies to vaccinate the dogs which helps to save human lives and works towards areas becoming rabies free.
If she brings the dog home it will take at least 4 months to arrange this, honestly nowadays flying to Europe and then driving home doesn’t make a huge difference.

The puppy died today, it was too poorly I think and estimated to only be around 6 weeks old. I just hope she doesn’t find anything else to rescue for the rest of the holiday!

Yes, rabies is something I am worried about and I have been nagging her to be careful and it’s something I’m quite paranoid about when I go abroad.

That’s sad @Bryonyberries. Poor little puppy.

I think @Needanadultgapyear makes a good suggestion if your DD wants to try to help other puppies and dogs in a similar situation.

The cost of bringing in one dog from the Philippines to the UK will be more than looking after 100 dogs in a home over there get her priorities right

You say “A rescue can help foster once it leaves the vets.” So why on earth does your daughter think it’s a good idea to bring it back to the UK? It sounds like she’s thinking about herself and not the dog’s welfare.

I’m sorry to hear about the puppy.

If your DD really wants to help animals, why not suggest she signs up to volunteer with the Cinnamon Trust or another local charity?

I’ll let her know about the charities suggested.

She has always helped animals, since she was tiny, and it is her passion. There was never any chance that she could leave a baby at the side of the road if it was in need. Bringing it home would have been a call of the heart, not practicality, but it would have been interesting to hear the experiences of those who might have done similar.

That’s a sad update OP. Your daughter sounds lovely and very caring.

@mumsnetwhy are some op’s able to post under a different username in the same thread? It’s very confusing.

I’ve been following Paddington as well. Cost her thousands, not to mention the bureaucracy involved. It wasn’t easy.

Sorry to hear the update.

Maybe she could look to combine volunteering with travel Mission Rabies sometimes needs non-veterinary volunteers to help with the logistics and admin on rabies drives. These projects improve the health and welfare of dogs, but also save human lives. This is a way she could make a massive difference to animal welfare.