Rescue Roulette: Dogs from Abroad

Abi90 said:
They could do that. But the ā€œadopt donā€™t shopā€ and demonisation of websites like Pets4Homes and the lines across social media about ā€œonly get from rescues, and not irresponsible private sellersā€ would put people off, especially those looking for their first dog.

And in a lot of corners of the internet that messaging is very loud and very strong and very judgemental.

Also, there are people trying to move stolen dogs along on there, or are unscrupulous breeders.

Not everyone is an experienced dog owner and not everyone has an experienced dog owner to help them find a suitable dog on Pets4Homes etc, even if there are lots of wonderful dogs in need of homes on there.
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I am an experienced dog owner and I have helped loads of people acquire dogs and puppies, but sometimes people don't listen and are going to do what they want to do anyway and some people go and get the dog and then ask questions when they have problems later. Just the way of the world, could apply to many areas of life. The main problem I see is that people don't want to wait/aren't patient and/or fold at the first hurdle/get put off too easily and go for the most convenient option. No one wants to hear that this or that type of a dog might not be right for them.
 
Importing all these foreign rescue dogs year on year isn't the answer. There is an endless supply of street dogs.

A donation towards a spay and neuter programme would be a better idea and pay for facilities for their care in their country of origin.

Then thereā€™s the overseas puppy farms shipping them in by the van load. That needs to stop.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I am an experienced dog owner and I have helped loads of people acquire dogs and puppies, but sometimes people don't listen and are going to do what they want to do anyway and some people go and get the dog and then ask questions when they have problems later. Just the way of the world, could apply to many areas of life. The main problem I see is that people don't want to wait/aren't patient and/or fold at the first hurdle/get put off too easily and go for the most convenient option. No one wants to hear that this or that type of a dog might not be right for them.
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Its great that youā€™ve helped loads of people but not everyone has someone like you to help them.

Iā€™ve got vegan friends who think the best thing in the world they could ever do is offer a Romanian street dog a home, one of them is a vet.

I agree that foreign imported dogs are a problem, Iā€™m just trying to offer reasons as to why people go down that route. I think people naively think they are doing a good thing.
 
Abi90 said:
Its great that youā€™ve helped loads of people but not everyone has someone like you to help them.

Iā€™ve got vegan friends who think the best thing in the world they could ever do is offer a Romanian street dog a home, one of them is a vet.

I agree that foreign imported dogs are a problem, Iā€™m just trying to offer reasons as to why people go down that route. I think people naively think they are doing a good thing.
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Because the ā€˜rescuesā€™ have an excellent social media management system.
Because love can cure all is the watchword in this decade.
Because nothing just ever dies and saving a life means you are a deeply special person who will ascend to heaven on your due date.
Itā€™s all about self gratification and manipulation. IMO.
 
Clodagh said:
Because the ā€˜rescuesā€™ have an excellent social media management system.
Because love can cure all is the watchword in this decade.
Because nothing just ever dies and saving a life means you are a deeply special person who will ascend to heaven on your due date.
Itā€™s all about self gratification and manipulation. IMO.
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Yes I agree with this!
 
Abi90 said:
Its great that youā€™ve helped loads of people but not everyone has someone like you to help them.

Iā€™ve got vegan friends who think the best thing in the world they could ever do is offer a Romanian street dog a home, one of them is a vet.

I agree that foreign imported dogs are a problem, Iā€™m just trying to offer reasons as to why people go down that route. I think people naively think they are doing a good thing.
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If people did their research, waited, asked around and made contacts, they'd probably find someone like me. Then they might have to wait a bit more, but they might find a better fit for their situation.
 
Gloi said:
A few months ago an elderly lady I know lost her old dog and I was asked to try and find her a new adult small dog. No luck with the rescues, naturally, as she was too old. Went on preloved and immediately found some suitable dogs. Went to see a small dog which needed rehoming as owner was moving in with new partner and couldn't take dog. Took lady to see dog and she took him home with her and is happy with him. Ā£25 well spent.
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How perfect, and thatā€™s why that kind of site was originally set up, finding new homes for all sorts of things people no longer want - so congratulations! Hope your friend and her little dog enjoy years together!
The only problem here is a Ā£25 unwanted dog is nowhere near as sexy a backstory as a trans continental, rescued mutt been snatched from the jaws of .....? Um, a dog selling scam enterprise in all likelihood.
Sooner legislation blocks off this nonsense, the better.
 
Clodagh said:
Because the ā€˜rescuesā€™ have an excellent social media management system.
Because love can cure all is the watchword in this decade.
Because nothing just ever dies and saving a life means you are a deeply special person who will ascend to heaven on your due date.
Itā€™s all about self gratification and manipulation. IMO.
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That and inability to walk away ... either out of sympathy 'I can't leave this dog here' or 'I've come all this way/I've spent all this money'.

IF your goal is to rescue and nothing else matters, that's fine. If you want a mentally and physically sound/stable dog who will live in your home and be good with people and other animals/dogs with minimal effort, and something doesn't feel right, then it's OK to walk away.
 
Abi90 said:
Its great that youā€™ve helped loads of people but not everyone has someone like you to help them.

Iā€™ve got vegan friends who think the best thing in the world they could ever do is offer a Romanian street dog a home, one of them is a vet.

I agree that foreign imported dogs are a problem, Iā€™m just trying to offer reasons as to why people go down that route. I think people naively think they are doing a good thing.
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Itā€™s not clear whether you think the cause of such brain-out idiocy is being vegan or being a vet.
Did you actually enlighten them as to the error of their ways?
 
Exasperated said:
Itā€™s not clear whether you think the cause of such brain-out idiocy is being vegan or being a vet.
Did you actually enlighten them as to the error of their ways?
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I think she should know better being a vet, but as they are ethical vegans they strongly believe in rescuing only and would never entertain buying from somewhere like Pets4Homes and they are fully bought into the plight of animals abroad.

I did not at the time as I did not know much about the risks of foreign imported dogs at the time as I had never looked at them or done any research into getting a dog from abroad until I briefly entertained the idea if looking at one.

Iā€™ll say again, I donā€™t disagree that foreign dogs are risky and that we should be looking to rehome UK dogs either via rescues or buying them. I was merely offering up the reasons as to why people naively get foreign rescue dogs, not agreeing with them.
 
<glances nervously around the room at her collection of Preloved/pets4homes rehomes>

Nothing to see here AAD collective, nothing to see here.

I still think that "rescuing" a dog from abroad is daft and irresponsible though. And it troubles me how many people seem to see it as the easy option these days
 
A colleague of mine has announced he will be acquiring a young foreign rescue dog which he will be using as a therapy dog. Photo of dog shows an alsation type with very big feet. I queried health tests and he told me it was all clear, he obviously hadn't heard of any the diseases I mentioned. He organised this in 24 hours. He has never had a dog before.

Fortunately, there are other, very knowledgeable, colleagues who will keep us safe
 
I agree that was very sad about Dan, itā€™s too easy to buy a dog from abroad but quite difficult to get a dog from a rescue, myself and a couple of my friends wanted to adopt rather than buy a puppy, and one was told that as she was over working age , which I assume meant she was over 65 at the time , they would not rehome to her.. most of my friends are still pretty mobile in their 70ā€™s and walk their dogs every day, rain or shine and they all are getting up extra early to avoid the heat. Itā€™s a shame as at least 6 rescue dogs would have had really good homes..
 
My Mum had no issue at all getting a dog from a smaller, independent rescue aged 69/70. She was actually turned down by a private rehome because we have outdoor kennels where dogs spend some time during the day.
 
It was a smaller rescue that turned my friend down , she tried them as Wood Green and Dogs Trust turned her down . The other thing was she had another dog at home so there were very few rescue dogs that say they can live with other dogs.. I also had another dog at home so found the same problem.. the smaller rescues round here seem to have dogs from abroad in them and I wouldnā€™t consider a foreign rescue.
 
Then maybe it wasn't an age thing. I think if people get turned down by multiple, unrelated rescues (and trying one or two then giving up illustrates the point about not being able to wait) then they should maybe think about why it keeps happening and modify their expectations and look at other options that don't necessarily include foreign rescue. And equally, places that give a dog to ANYONE (see post above about a first time dog owner who thinks a large foreign rescue would make a great assistance dog, all organised in 24 hours) is also dodgy as hell. IMO that's negligence on their behalf and naivety if not cruelty on his.

I've said before that I know someone with three of their own young kids and fosters, taking in large foreign rescues (street dogs from Eastern Europe) one of which has started biting tradespeople/visitors to the home. No reputable organisation should have allowed that.
 
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She was actually told by the smaller rescue they wont let a dog go to people above working age, so we were all very confused as many rescues wont let a dog go to people who work. I think in my case apart from having an existing dog I also still had a horse and said the dog would be left at home for 2 hours each day while I rode etc, I was 55 at the time
 
I do think that rescues are between a rock and a hard place with this kind of thing - it's easy to say that people go the foreign rescue route because UK rescues turn them down, but some of the people I know/hear of getting foreign rescues are not the sort of owners that I think any genuine rescue organisation should be rehoming to frankly.

And as above, if you are a responsible, clued up owner then finding a private re-home or a small rescue who will rehome to you is absolutely possible, even if you would be out of the tickbox criteria that some of the bigger organisations end up having to stick to.

The way I see the rehomes that I have bought over the years is that I am just picking them up before they end up in a rescue (or another unsuitable home). Am I giving people who have made bad decisions a financial get out? Yes probably, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. The recent young working-line Kelpie was bought as a puppy by two young women as a birthday present for their mum who is agoraphobic. Obviously this was a terrible idea and he was soon relocated to the home of one of the daughters where she was walking him (at 4 months old) for two hours a day to take the edge off him šŸ˜¬. Breeder couldn't have him back due to ill health (presumably why he had sold a puppy to such obviously inappropriate owners in the first place), so he was advertised at 5 months.

His story is not that uncommon, and you can find dogs like him advertised for resale fairly easily. If you're not going to go down the carefully selected puppy from known lines route then there are plenty of 'better' options before turning to foreign rescues.
 
splashgirl45 said:
It was a smaller rescue that turned my friend down , she tried them as Wood Green and Dogs Trust turned her down . The other thing was she had another dog at home so there were very few rescue dogs that say they can live with other dogs.. I also had another dog at home so found the same problem.. the smaller rescues round here seem to have dogs from abroad in them and I wouldnā€™t consider a foreign rescue.
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Thatā€™s interesting, my neighbour has a lovely little dog from the Dog Trust got a few months ago and sheā€™s over 70 šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø
 
We also are too old for a rescue. There is one we might get, would a 17 year old enjoy a two hour walk in the forest? I think not.
 
DabDab said:
I do think that rescues are between a rock and a hard place with this kind of thing - it's easy to say that people go the foreign rescue route because UK rescues turn them down, but some of the people I know/hear of getting foreign rescues are not the sort of owners that I think any genuine rescue organisation should be rehoming to frankly.

And as above, if you are a responsible, clued up owner then finding a private re-home or a small rescue who will rehome to you is absolutely possible, even if you would be out of the tickbox criteria that some of the bigger organisations end up having to stick to.

The way I see the rehomes that I have bought over the years is that I am just picking them up before they end up in a rescue (or another unsuitable home). Am I giving people who have made bad decisions a financial get out? Yes probably, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. The recent young working-line Kelpie was bought as a puppy by two young women as a birthday present for their mum who is agoraphobic. Obviously this was a terrible idea and he was soon relocated to the home of one of the daughters where she was walking him (at 4 months old) for two hours a day to take the edge off him šŸ˜¬. Breeder couldn't have him back due to ill health (presumably why he had sold a puppy to such obviously inappropriate owners in the first place), so he was advertised at 5 months.

His story is not that uncommon, and you can find dogs like him advertised for resale fairly easily. If you're not going to go down the carefully selected puppy from known lines route then there are plenty of 'better' options before turning to foreign rescues.
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I used to be incredibly anti Gumtree/Donedeal/Pets4Homes etc etc but it's become one of the least worst options over the years!!!

I think my issue is the sellers rather than buyers, if that makes sense. Although I do have someone at the moment who bought a cross of two high drive breeds off a free ad site (and calls it a rescue) and has now got sadface when told it might not end up being genetically/mentally suitable for what they want to do with it.
 
M mum had all her collies from preloved. I donā€™t think she actually paid for any. But she was an experienced owner and would have pts any that turned out to be dangetous or anything. It never happened though.

ETA she then got a dog from a rescue that was local to her. She was about 70 and had no garden attached to the house, so it can be done.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I used to be incredibly anti Gumtree/Donedeal/Pets4Homes etc etc but it's become one of the least worst options over the years!!!

I think my issue is the sellers rather than buyers, if that makes sense. Although I do have someone at the moment who bought a cross of two high drive breeds off a free ad site (and calls it a rescue) and has now got sadface when told it might not end up being genetically/mentally suitable for what they want to do with it.
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Oh absolutely, sometimes you have to really grit your teeth wrt the people selling and just be objective about the dog. Phoebe, my little ginger terrier, was 7 months old when I got her and in that time had shifted from one tiny house to another and had never been outside, not even to the vets. She was an absolute bag of nerves when I got her - it took her a month to stop stress drooling. But initial training/gentle exposure needs aside she has been a fantastic dog so I can't complain. But yes, her sellers I didn't think particularly kind thoughts about.

D's sellers (the Kelpie) on the other hand were perfectly nice people who had got him the best of everything in terms of food, treats, toys, vet checks etc, and were trying to do everything right, they were just in over their head. More a case of you don't know what you don't know with them.
 
stormox said:
Do people include adopting from Ireland in this?
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There's not the same problem with quite serious infectious diseases and most dogs from Ireland, even if they have had a rough start, have some experience of domestic life/aren't the latest in a long line of generations of street dogs who have never been inside a domestic property or confined in any way.

There *is*, the same with horses, and with foreign rescues, a line trotted out that all dogs in Ireland are badly abused to increase the 'appeal'/tug on the heartstrings. There are welfare issues in Ireland, but there are welfare issues in the UK and probably in every other country, too.
 
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