The truth about foreign rescue dogs 🐕

I’ve waited a few days to speak about the BBC documentary ‘Rescue Roulette: Dogs from Abroad,’ simply because I hadn’t had a chance to watch it yet. Now that I have, I’m ready to share my thoughts..

As well as having 2 Romanian dogs of my own, and being a rescue-focused behaviourist, I’ve also been involved with a fantastic UK/Romanian rescue charity for many years. I’m a die hard Rommie lover, so of course I was interested in and, ultimately, disheartened by the new documentary about adoption from abroad. I was saddened by the malpractice described - which I’ve no doubt has happened - but also the very unfair depiction of these special dogs and the people who are, selflessly, trying to help them.

The claims made in the documentary - about dogs being sent to people’s homes after a brief phone call - are just not true for the vast majority of decent rescues operating abroad. It certainly isn’t true for the one I work with. If you ask ANY of our adopters, they’ll tell you that the adoption process was very thorough - some people have even accused us of being too strict!

The first step is an application form (which automatically filters out inexperienced applicants), followed by more questions from the adoption team. We pose questions about specific behaviour issues, personal experience and the applicant’s knowledge and understanding of dogs. If successful, this is followed by an in-person home check; completion of a short written test and a 1-1 meeting with myself, the charity’s resident behaviourist. We provide all adopters with written materials, online resources and support at the click of a button.

And as someone who has worked with people who have breed dogs too, and seen first hand the damage done by unscrupulous breeders, I can honestly say that this is SO MUCH MORE than many breeders are doing before they sell dogs to members of the public. I’ve worked with people who have little to no understanding of their dog’s breed specific needs; who have never even been around dogs before and are completely unprepared. People who go out and leave their dogs in a crate for 8 hours a day. That just wouldn’t happen in the rescue I work with. There is ongoing support and if things do go wrong, the charity takes over and the dog is taken to a safe foster place. Our dogs do NOT go to UK rescue organisations - adopters sign a contract stating that they must come back to us.

Not everyone is cut out to adopt a rescue dog, that’s true. Which is why we are so strict about who takes one home with them. I found the documentary’s use of the story about a vulnerable man not only misleading but emotionally manipulative. He received poor guidance from the rescue, bad advice from his behaviourist and vet, and as a result the worst happened. He should never have been put in that position - he, and the dog, were both failed. That is NOT the way that good rescue charities do things.

But to generalise about poor practice in foreign rescue is really unfair. OF COURSE there are some bad apples, as there are in all walks of life. And we, as responsible rescuers and adopters, want those people wheedled out too!

Likewise, the stuff about disease is such scaremongering, and there are specific rules set out by DEFRA about testing which all rescues must adhere to. I’m actually not even going into it here because it’s a load of nonsense and I can’t be bothered. Follow the amazing and well-informed Brucella Canis RVN for the best take on this particular issue.

There are always going to be people who think all dogs in the UK should be UK-born. I’m not one of those people. Just as I don’t think that human beings should have their lives defined by artificial man-made borders and where they happen to have been born. Every dog deserves a chance, and I hate to think that some people will be put off by this very one-sided and misleading bit of journalism. It’s already REALLY hard to bring a dog to the UK, by the way, and more restrictions will make it even harder.

Romanian dogs are my life - they are such special, loving and intelligent dogs with so much to give. They shouldn’t be condemned to a life without a family, or no life at all, just because they come from abroad. I’m loud and proud about my love of foreign rescue dogs, and always will be. If you’d like to chat more about this, and want to know more about the reasons I love and support foreign rescue dogs, drop me a message - I’d be more than happy to talk to you.

Here are my precious, loving dogs enjoying their lives to the fullest. They’re not diseased, unhealthy, unstable or inferior. They’re my family ❤️