#sophiefromromania

Jenko109 said:
I know this question wasnt aimed at me, but I did ask myself the same question.

Will people see how long the journey was and realise how awful it is for both dog and owner? Or will they romanticize and want to create their own fairytale.

I daresay I think it will be the latter.
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And has bringing thousands of dogs into the UK done anything to lessen the problem of strays and street dogs in Romania?
 
skinnydipper said:
And has bringing thousands of dogs into the UK done anything to lessen the problem of strays and street dogs in Romania?
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In 2019 19,487 dogs were imported from Romania

In 2020 32,525 dogs were imported from Romania


Veterinary Voices UK,
updated 23 June 2023

"In 2020 alone nearly 30 thousand dogs were imported from Romania, over 50% increase from 2019 and NOT taking into account the astonishing number of illegal imports! The number of dogs imported from the EU increased during the lockdowns by 52% - it is important to note that these are only the official figures and don’t take into account illegally travelled animals."

"Veterinary professionals are worried about the risk of diseases that could impact our other UK pet population and livestock, zoonotic disease (can spread from animal to human) that could have detrimental impact on our family or other people coming into contact with the animals, and the severe emotional and behavioral distress many of these animals are going through to be transported to the UK,"

www.vetvoices.co.uk

Brucella and Babesiosis and Rabies, Oh My!

During lockdown, the number of dogs imported (and illegally smuggled) into the UK soared. Veterinary professionals are trying to warn people to stop and think before considering importing or 'rescuing' dogs from abroad. But why?Numbers are on the upThe UK saw a 50% increase in dogs being...
www.vetvoices.co.uk www.vetvoices.co.uk
 
Tbh they could stop this illegal trade if they had more man power at the border. I know when APHA have been tipped off about illegal dogs being transported in and they have failed to intercept.

https://www.facebook.com/barnabyslaw read up on this from Natalies page.

For myself the Romanian dogs I fostered were from a reputable organisation Lancashire Heeler Welfare, as they are a vulnerable breed they are not too many about, myself and Murphys Minder have one. The group were made aware of dogs in Romania that looked like Lancashire Heelers so a decision was made to bring them over one dog at a time. We fund raised on the LH page and the money left over was given to the shelter to neuter/spay and vaccinate and quite a bit of money was raised. The dogs that came over were fully compliant with all vaccinations ,tests etc and full RBU provided. Good loving homes were found for them all, I think there were 4 in all and I have one ,Zara who Ive spoken about before.
 
She still looks incredibly tense/worried/on edge in most 'normal' scenarios, judging by the pictures/videos they are posting. Not helped by bringing strange things into the house for her to be surprised by, with no help or support, just a phone in her face. Just my opinion, based on looking at a lot of different dogs.
 
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Auslander said:
Could you explain, because I'm confused. Sophie appears to have come on in leaps and bounds since they got her, and looks like a happy little dog most of the time nowadays.
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She looks like a happy dog most of the time? really, from what little Ive seen she looks very anxious and tense which doesnt fit with a happy dog.. The whole journey has been pushing this dog rather than allowing the dog to make her own decisions. As for taking her on tour which I hope they dont this would be challenging for even well adjusted dogs and is something I wouldnt contemplate with my Rommy dog who I think is very well adjusted.
 
To clarify, book tours are fairly normal and I really do hope they leave the poor dog at home.

ETA: Also, again I don't think these are inherently bad people, they just don't know any better and have been very poorly advised by those who definitely should know better. The same people who share 'isn't this awful' videos of dogs being distressed by babies and children climbing over them or foisted upon them should, IMO, exercise the same judgement about people who are, whether they are conscious of it or not, are monetising and using for celebrity, the extreme distress of the dog they love. It sets a really bad example, as can be seen by the scores of people who coo over the upset dog and think its AMAYZING.
The reason the dog seems to have improved is mostly, luck, my opinion based on THEIR videos, that THEY post.
 
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Cat the Vet, February 2023

"This post from the fabulous Barnaby and Bluebell is very powerful but particularly this statement;

“For over 10 years millions of pounds and Euros have been sent abroad to help with the problem of stray animals. Hundreds of thousands of dogs have left Romania alone to travel to other parts of Europe and the UK yet numbers in public shelters have not decreased.

Despite hundreds of fundraisers to ‘build shelters’, how many registered, well constructed shelters adhering to local requirements exist abroad? How many engage with the local community, have open days or educate locally? How many free run sanctuaries have been built for dogs to safely live out their lives?

Two thirds of the dogs in Monks Bunks [a rescue kennels here in the U.K. ] were apparently foreign and dumped there with behavioural issues! Wouldn’t those dogs have been happier living out their life running free in a Romanian or Serbian sanctuary rather than shut in a excrement strewn kennel or dead?

Does anybody in rescue honestly believe that importing van load after van load of dogs is, alone, going to make a difference? Time has proven it doesn’t work!

The number of strays has not decreased despite a dramatic increase in numbers being exported and yet few see any reason to change or they ‘claim’ to be making a difference by neutering a minimal amount of dogs each year.

Every rescue I have spoken with acknowledges that foreign rescue is rife with scams, dogs being bred for rescue, scenarios being staged for social media to elicit more donations, paperwork faked and dogs being abused and killed whilst in the care of a rescue.”


The video she references shows a ‘rescuer’ removing puppies from a mother but making no effort to trap the parents. Meaning in a couple of months there will be more.

If one was cynical one could say that this will result in another easily ‘rescued’ pups in a couple of months, without actually having any impact on the numbers or health of the native population.

I appreciate working in charity abroad can be challenging but the focus should always be to improve the lives for the dogs in that country, not shipping the cutest ones here.

And this is one of several reasons why I have serious concerns about the practice of ‘foreign rescue’."


https://www.facebook.com/catthevet/posts/pfbid02ZoSED4mrzHA1sRt6j4Mq9nRWza7ycmLEAmEfsgzXFSUZd4mLtbBUctXGaP2eu3hFl
 
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skinnydipper said:
If one was cynical one could say that this will result in another easily ‘rescued’ pups in a couple of months, without actually having any impact on the numbers or health of the native population.

I appreciate working in charity abroad can be challenging but the focus should always be to improve the lives for the dogs in that country, not shipping the cutest ones here.

And this is one of several reasons why I have serious concerns about the practice of ‘foreign rescue’."
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Agreed. Every now and then something pops up on my Twitter timeline about a guy in Thailand who does a lot of work with street dogs, sterilising them, providing basic shelter and feeding them daily but otherwise letting them be. The ones that need complex, ongoing veterinary care or who wouldn’t survive on the streets are re-homed. I don’t know the full story here, and it may not be as good as I think it is, but it seems a much better option to leave dogs where they are once you have ensured they are safe (from humans mainly) and have adequate food, shelter and basic vet care (wormer, flea and tick treatment) than to round them up and ship them halfway across the world to be someone’s latest virtue signalling project.
 
Morwenna said:
Agreed. Every now and then something pops up on my Twitter timeline about a guy in Thailand who does a lot of work with street dogs, sterilising them, providing basic shelter and feeding them daily but otherwise letting them be. The ones that need complex, ongoing veterinary care or who wouldn’t survive on the streets are re-homed. I don’t know the full story here, and it may not be as good as I think it is, but it seems a much better option to leave dogs where they are once you have ensured they are safe (from humans mainly) and have adequate food, shelter and basic vet care (wormer, flea and tick treatment) than to round them up and ship them halfway across the world to be someone’s latest virtue signalling project.
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I think he rehomed a dog to Liam Gallagher!!
 
Morwenna said:
Agreed. Every now and then something pops up on my Twitter timeline about a guy in Thailand who does a lot of work with street dogs, sterilising them, providing basic shelter and feeding them daily but otherwise letting them be. The ones that need complex, ongoing veterinary care or who wouldn’t survive on the streets are re-homed. I don’t know the full story here, and it may not be as good as I think it is, but it seems a much better option to leave dogs where they are once you have ensured they are safe (from humans mainly) and have adequate food, shelter and basic vet care (wormer, flea and tick treatment) than to round them up and ship them halfway across the world to be someone’s latest virtue signalling project.
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As newly qualified vets my daughter and a friend volunteered in Fiji doing something very similar. They neutered and vaccinated strays, healthy ones were released , those needing a bit more care they tried to rehome, the very poorly ones (there was a lot of parvo) were pts.
 
Morwenna said:
Agreed. Every now and then something pops up on my Twitter timeline about a guy in Thailand who does a lot of work with street dogs, sterilising them, providing basic shelter and feeding them daily but otherwise letting them be. The ones that need complex, ongoing veterinary care or who wouldn’t survive on the streets are re-homed. I don’t know the full story here, and it may not be as good as I think it is, but it seems a much better option to leave dogs where they are once you have ensured they are safe (from humans mainly) and have adequate food, shelter and basic vet care (wormer, flea and tick treatment) than to round them up and ship them halfway across the world to be someone’s latest virtue signalling project.
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Agree with everything you're saying here but re "once you have ensured they are safe (from humans mainly)" I think it's worth remembering that a lot of street dogs live in very happy symbiosis with the people in their area.

Obviously it changes area to area, but my experience with street dog populations in Southern Asia - particularly in residential or more rural areas - was that the community did very much look out for the dogs (feeding them, providing shelter during the monsoon, and I remember some who got coats and fleeces put on them when the temperature dropped!) and, in return, the dogs looked after the community, protecting them from other street dogs and alerting to strangers. It's a good life for the dogs, and and it feels very special getting to experience that genuine equality between people and dogs. Nothing beats a street dog freely choosing to come out for a walk with you - not because of a leash or food; they're just doing it because they feel like it - and then choosing to ditch you whenever they want too.

But the problem is that social media doesn't often show people this side of things because many street dog accounts have a major white saviour complex, "look at me, the white (wo)man, looking after these dogs because no one in this primitive country cares like we Westerners care." Plus there's the natural bias that they're only showing the dogs that needed help, not the many who are already being cared for by locals.

And, sure, these sorts of accounts do good work helping the dogs but, even if they're not putting dogs up for adoption themselves, I do often wonder if they're not encouraging people from the West to adopt these street dogs with how they portray the country they're in.
 
So last night, she escaped their back garden, ended up two doors down in a garden where the house occupants were away and had to be rescued with stepladders after being gone for 90 minutes.
Posted a picture of her staring out the door saying 'And no, you can't go out again'.
Anyone would think she doesn't want to live indoors in a London suburb.
 
CorvusCorax said:
So last night, she escaped their back garden, ended up two doors down in a garden where the house occupants were away and had to be rescued with stepladders after being gone for 90 minutes.
Posted a picture of her staring out the door saying 'And no, you can't go out again'.
Anyone would think she doesn't want to live indoors in a London suburb.
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It's sad isnt it :(

I had a lot of empathy with them to begin with as we have an Eastern European street dog too. We've had rescue dogs i our family all my life, so thought I as fairly dog savvy.

Nothing prepared me for his arrival.

He was so, so, so nervous and reactive when we first got him. He didn't come out for under the table for weeks & would leave rooms when we entered and even our garden was terrifying. He was even scared of dog toys let alone us terrified of us.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't take him to XC day on Badminton or walk him down Oxford Street and I still have to be careful in some situations with him - I'll never fully trust him around children for example (but we just don't him in those scenario's) and would never leave him with just anyone.

But by and large he 4 and a bit years on after a lot of work he lives a normal life - he's so affectionate, he's in and out the garden happily now, is confident out on walks (admittedly on a long line), loves dog hire fields, greets the people he knows with such enthauasism and basically believes he's a complete diva that we are lucky to live with 🤣 Honestly, I get barked at if he now has the 'wrong' toy at the wrong time.

But we are usedcto dogs, live on the very edge of a small town and have altered our lives quite significantly to best suit him - we've re-figured the interior of our house for him, we no longer host nearly as many people socially as we did and we only go away on holiday to places we know would suit him to name but a few changes.

He'd geniunely really struggle in a busier environment.

I don't regret having him - because he's awesome - but I'd be very cautious about recommending them to others and I've seen quite a few ex street dogs that don't look that happy to be honest :(

Edited: I don't mean to come across like I'm tooting my own horn, it was more that we knew what rescuing dogs entailed but it was still a shock to us how hard we had to work, the stress and the tears and how much we had to spend (£££££) on behaviourists to help us learn enough to help him. And we knew what we didn't know - I think a lot of people don't even recognise that, like possibly in this case.
 
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