In the UK we have thousands of dogs waiting to be rescued at places like SPCA etc looking for homes, but people rescue dogs from far off countries. I simply cannot understand the logic? Is it a case of one upmanship or what?
It seems strange to me. We had a rescue pup from the RSPCA back in 81. A medium size dog of many pedigrees, she was a great dog and lived to 14.
She loved going away in the caravan or out in the car as it meant lots of walks.
The vet put her on her record as lab/collie cross.
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My daughter's first two dogs were from the local RSPCA, possibly a collie/lab cross, then a collie/whippet/harrier jump jet of some sort - both lovely dogs. Her third is a collie rehomed from people who couldn't cope with him. Her neighbour has rescued two vaguely Jack Russell-types from overseas; I must ask her sometime why she did that! Possibly dogs in overseas shelters have a higher chance of being euthanised/lower standard of welfare? Goodness knows. Quite apart from anything else, it must be an expensive business.
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All our dogs have been rescues, but all from the UK. However, I do volunteer as a home-checker for a dog rescue and I know they have rescued some from abroad.
Whats even more surprising is how many people will pay well over £1000 for a "pedigree" thats been inbred to within an inch of its life and will spend a lifetime cursed by the known problems associated with such "pure" breeds.
Whats less surprising is, having spent all that money, how many of those people cant afford the little plastic bags to put the dog sh*t in.
Quote: Originally posted by Mitchamitri on 29/6/2023
Whats even more surprising is how many people will pay well over £1000 for a "pedigree" thats been inbred to within an inch of its life and will spend a lifetime cursed by the known problems associated with such "pure" breeds.
Whats less surprising is, having spent all that money, how many of those people cant afford the little plastic bags to put the dog sh*t in.
Yes you make some very good points there. Some really awful health restricting features have been deliberately bred into some pedigree dogs too.
From someone who is heavily involved in UK based Border Collie rescue, we FREQUENTLY hear 'you are too difficult to get a dog from!' - NO WE ARE NOT, we just ensure that the dogs ONLY go to the right people who can do what the DOG needs, we are NOT here to satisfy the whims of people who think they are entitled to a dog! Some get VERY indignant, almost abusive, because we deem them or their circumstances inappropriate for one of our dogs, we are not rude about our reasons, we try and assist people in meeting our terms (I for one had to change my garden fencing to make it more secure before I was considered suitable!), but some just think offering to take a rescue dog is enough!
We have a phenomenal success rate of satisfactory adoptions with very few dogs being returned or attempts to rehome elsewhere (against our T and C of adoption!), with us the dog is always welcome back into the care of the charity for the duration of it's life, that is not a claim a lot of dog rehomers can make with their much looser criteria, some poor dogs get bounced from home to home, getting more and more difficult to rehome with each move due to the traumatising effects, often these dogs end up with us, referred by Vets, Council Dog Wardens etc. as often on the point of being euthanased!
The conditions of adoption are often a lot slacker with foreign dog rescue organisations, their priority is to get them out of their originating country, but they often put them into a different kind of hell with poorly vetted UK owners! I think ALL the people I know who have adopted foreign dogs have done so because they were refused a dog by reputable UK dog rescue organisations (thankfully these are decent caring people and the dogs safe, but their circumstances are not always ideal for the dog)! UK rescues don't decline people for no reason, but they do endeavour to ensure the dog has the best possible life, and is not a commodity to be passed on or disposed of when the whim takes a fickle owner! If you work in animal rescue, you'll know just how frequently that happens!
No one who has any compassion for animals thinks the situation abroad is acceptable, but the number of unwanted, abused and abandoned dogs in the UK is equally unacceptable, and responsible rescues strive/struggle to keep that situation under some semblance of control, the problem is not the dogs, it's the PEOPLE, my charity has from time to time been forced to close it's doors to new dogs, resources being stretched beyond limits, and I'm not talking just money, we often have more dogs than people to foster and assess pending rehoming!
It really is nothing like as simple as the UK being a better place than some foreign hell hole! My charity started out stopping unwanted UK dogs being used as bait/training dogs for the dog fighting gangs, many of those dogs died horrible deaths being torn to shreds by trained killer dogs! It still goes on! My charity has broadened it's scope, but we still rescue dogs from that fate! That's the reality of unwanted dogs in the UK! We really don't need to add to the significant numbers by importing more and often putting them into the hands of irresponsible owners!
Many of these imported street dogs have feral tendencies they developed in their struggle to survive, characteristics rarely seen in UK bred dogs, they can still emerge in times of stress with UK owners and make them quite a handful to own, I've been hospitalised by one and required hours of plastic surgery to the wounds in a unprovoked attack (the ONLY time I've ever been bitten by a dog in a lifetime of owning, rescuing and mixing with them, that's many high hundreds of dogs encountered!), a friend's dog has a hair trigger for dogs it takes a dislike to and is really quite ferocious, whereas normally it's a big soppy lump. There is a great deal more to it than simply removing a dog from a hellish foreign place!
I agree with a lot of what Monty15 has said there. When I go to do a "home-check" I am as much checking out the people as checking that the home is safe and secure. If I don't consider the people suitable it will go in my report and the rescue organisation will make the final decision based on it.
If I consider everything to be ok, I will hand to the applicants a form I have completed stating that I consider everything to be in order, which they then take along with them when they go to see the dogs at the shelter. Without that form they will be told to come back once they have had a home-check. Even with a form signed by me or one of the other home-checkers, if the staff at the rescue centre have any doubts about the people, or if they can't be matched with a suitable dog, they will not be considered. The dog's welfare always comes first with them, and they never put dogs down unless it is for strictly medical reasons on the advice of a vet. There are dogs there right now that have been there for years as no suitable owner has yet been found.
As things stand I would reject me as a potential owner, which is why we no longer have a dog. Although I would love another dog I am not in a financial position to care for one should it require major medical treatment which can cost thousands. Pet insurance has also become ridiculously expensive and has too many loopholes for my liking. There are too many exclusions, like pre-existing conditions, and too many ways insurers can wriggle out of paying up. Some are better than others of course. Any decent vet would be able to advise owners who to avoid.
As things stand I would reject me as a potential owner, which is why we no longer have a dog. Although I would love another dog I am not in a financial position to care for one should it require major medical treatment which can cost thousands. Pet insurance has also become ridiculously expensive and has too many loopholes for my liking. There are too many exclusions, like pre-existing conditions, and too many ways insurers can wriggle out of paying up. Some are better than others of course. Any decent vet would be able to advise owners who to avoid.
I agree that pet insurance is now ridiculously expensive with too many exclusions or loop holes. It is probably better to put the monthly premium into a savings account over the years i.e. £30 per month in 5 years is £1800 or £3000 in 10 years time.
Many years ago when our cat fell ill, we took her to a vet in one of the pet chain stores. We were told that she required all sorts of things to check on the problem and she would need to be put under for the checks to be done. We told the vet that if it was serious then the cat needs to be put down while under the anaesthetic.
Vet said she had an issue with her mammary glands but should be okay and gave us a hefty bill. Three days later the cat died anyway!
However as our current dog is now 12 years old we are thinking of a puppy or a rescue dog however we are always worried that the rescue dog may be more than we can handle and have bad habits which is why a puppy may be more preferable to us as we are at home 24/7.
I have not read all the posts, however, as an owner of a Rommie, this is my own personal perspective.
Trying to adopt a dog in UK via the likes of Dog Trust, Battersea and RSPCA, one has to jump through a lot of hoops/red tapes.
I knew the local dog rescue organisation where I got my dog, and I liked what they were doing, and they were no less diligent in making sure the potential adopters and their homes are suitable etc...
However, they are quicker to act with a lot less hoops/red tapes/bureaucracies.
At the end of the day, I am rescuing a dog and giving it chance, and it really does not matter where it came from.
One has to ask why do people adopt children from other countries, when we have local children in need of homes, and the answer is probably not dissimilar to why people adopt foreign dogs.
The sentiment of helping our own first before helping others does not gel well with me. Yes we should try, however, a life is a life and its nationality should not matter.
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Some people may regard it as a status symbol adopting foreign dogs or children especially celebrities. They then dump the dog or the child with a nanny to look after for the rest of their natural lives or until the child is old enough to fend for itself.
The issue here is not actually about dogs it is about the cost of living crisis. Thousands of dogs are in need of homes because thousands of homes are unable to pay for their upkeep. We don't need to stop importing dogs, we need to lift people out of poverty and demand a decent standard of living for everyone.
Don’t fully agree with the cost of living argument.
Our current rescue was sold online because she was too hyper. That’s what 9 month old cocker spaniel puppies are: hyper. We have experience & weren’t put off. She’s matured into a lovely wee dog, was spayed this week.
Some people take on a dog that just isn’t suitable for their circumstances, their experience, their young children - like the woman who was a single mum living in a tower block near us who acquired a husky through some website or other. Husky attacked a beautifully behaved Springer Spaniel when they were out on a walk (we often meet the owner), it was a serious injury, police involved, Mum of young woman very apologetic but also wondered what if the husky (or whatever breed of dog unsuitable to the situation) had attacked the young child instead? It was euthanised on police orders.
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Topic: Mystified
via mobile 29/6/2023 at 9:28am
