Dogs From Europe

[agardener]

I am thinking of adopting a rescue dog from a european country. I have had many dogs over the years but not at present. I have been told some real horror tales about how these dogs have been treated but my immediate concern is whether it is a genuine rescue and what is the real condition of the dog. Does anyone have any helpful comments please and especially if you have knowledge of the arrangements for importing a dog from europe into this country. Thanks.

[THEMOTLEY1]

There are surely enough dogs in the UK needing to be rehomed, why on earth do you want to bring another one in from Europe?

[RATTER15]

We also have plenty of abused dogs in this country that need rescuing, just saying......

[webbo3]

When my parents lived in France they used to take Bric a Brac and books and thing for these people to sell..

http://phoenixasso.com/


And these are on facebook.

http://www.streetdogrescue.com/


Dave.

[TheChair]

These are genuine rescue dogs. ARK is overwhelmed with rescued animals and is desperately seeks adopters.
http://www.animalrescuekefalonia.com/
also
http://www.kefalonia-animal-trust.org/

[woofgang]

you need to decide what kind of dog you want and can manage before you decide where it comes from.

[agardener]

I must say this is the first time I've asked a Q of Abs and got such unhelpful responses. I have given many hours thought to the type of dog I want ( I dont mean breed, a cross would be fine). I have actively sought such a dog now in my part of the uk for several weeks without success. And no I'm not being too fussy. I just hoped someone might have been through the process and have some advice to give. I wished I hadn't bothered.

[gness]

Webbo and The Chair.....those are very useful links to know about......x

[wolf63]

agardener, I don't think that people are intentionally being unhelpful. People are just passionate about animals.

I don't think that adopting from abroad solves the problem in that country. But I may be wrong. It is a difficult and emotive subject.

You have a few good links, hopefully the rescues are honest and well run and that you can find a dog(s) that suit you.

Best wishes and good luck to you in your search.

[woofgang]

agardener, if you had shared that info with us, you might have got a more helpful response. I don’t think at all you are being too fussy. I do have secondhand knowledge of rescues who bring in european dogs in that I know people who work for some of the reputable ones. Its rare indeed that its as easy as bringing in a dog and adopting it and you should be very wary indeed of any rescue who says that it is. There are also legal requirements that must be complied with to protect the health of dogs (and people) in the UK and these are more easily dealt with by a rescue than an individual. It would help if you would state the type of dog that you want, approximate age and if you have a preference over country of origin.

[Baldric]

I agree with the first two answers, there are more than enough UK dogs needing rescuing without importing another one.

[webbo3]

Did you not look at TheChairs and my answer before your reply, I thought they were both very useful.


Dave.

[viv41]

I think it's commendable that you want to help an abused dog from abroad. I'd love to know how you get on if you do. Good luck.

[tamborine]

I know of pedigree dogs from EE countries selling at less than half price than home breeds. All good afaik. Adoption from afar could be frought with medical problems.

[woofgang]

tambo I would never ever BUY a dog, and it would be a puppy, unless I knew its breeding, had met the breeders and at least the dam of the dog and knew who the sire was and knew that the parents had had all the relevant health checks and passed them. Dogs brought in from the EU must pass health checks and be vaccinated against rabies, the earliest the vaccine can be given is 12 weeks, then the dog must wait for 21 days before travelling. Its one thing to adopt or rescue a dog from abroad, if that is what is best for the dog, which it may not be, and another to buy what would very possibly be a farmed badly bred animal from a setup where the animals are bred for profit and probably badly mistreated.

[AlwaysConfused]

agardener, what dog and where are you looking at getting him from? There are a fair few people on AB with good knowledge and/or live abroad, so finer detail may help. I know a few people that have adopted from overseas

[jourdain2]

Ours is a little dog from the SPA at Limoges. There is also an SPA at Poitiers whom we also tried to help. Both have websites. He does have his problems, but is very affectionate, tries hard and is now bi -lingual. We returned to the UK with him last March and when you do find your dog I will happily go into the detail of how it is done. It is more down to precision of timing than anything and is easier than it used to be.


All dogs from SPA are neutered, chipped and have their basic injections. So that is the majority of things covered. You would need to get a rabies vaccination, but the waiting time after being injected is now a lot shorter, it used to be 6 months and lots of tests.

The other association I would mention is Hope, which operates supporting Phoenix (already mentioned) in the Vienne/Charente/Deux-Sevres region. When we moved I gave them 400 books for their huge annual book fair.

Hope this helps.

[viv41]

ag - there is an organisation called 'saving romanian strays'. I've just googled it and been looking at their dogs for rehoming. Maybe you could give this a try ?

[jourdain2]

^^^ PS Both SPA sites have English versions, done by Anglophone volunteers and they feature the available dogs at the time.

[linedancer3]

Only just seen this thread and I also disagree with adopting a dog from abroad when our rescues in the UK are full of needy dogs, some of which have been there for years. Our dogs get cruelly treated, neglected and abandoned and are there to visit so you can see exactly how they are and the rescue staff can give you some further information. There should be some rules about importing foreign rescue dogs when our own situation is so desperate. Sorry to go on but this is a subject I feel strongly about!!

[naomi24]

I don't think agardener is asking for personal opinions - simply for information. Sorry, agardener, I know nothing about bringing dogs from abroad to the UK so I can't help.