Romanian Rescue Dogs & What You Need to Know

You may or may not be aware of the dreadful situation that currently exists for the stray dogs on the streets of Romania and the thousands of shelter dogs kept in terrible conditions, so I thought I would share a little information with you here.

I wanted to write this article to explain briefly why the situation is so bad, and why The DOG’s Point of View is helping to promote rescuers alongside the UK Rescue Organisations.  You can also find information here on what the process is and how to go about adopting a ‘Rommie Rescue’ if this is something you are interested in.

Why the Problem in Romania Exists

This article, written by Friends of Homeless Dogs, explains the situation in Romania, and how it came about.

The problems started in the 80’s when dictator Nicolae Ceausescu aimed to industrialize Romania; people were forced to leave the countryside and move into cities. As there was a huge demand for more apartments, Ceausescu decided to demolish all small houses and build vast apartment blocks instead. The number of people in the cities exploded and families had no option but to share an apartment with many other families. At that point animals were abandoned on the streets due to lack of space. The dogs obviously reproduced rapidly and soon the streets were filled with homeless dogs and their puppies.

The mayor of the country’s capital Bucharest stated that the quickest way of getting rid of the strays was mass slaughter, and soon enough other cities followed in suit…. Read the full article here

Other EU Governments Are Getting Involved

This article, published in The Daily Mail in June 2015 portrays just how terrible the situation still is, but that people are now starting to take notice and get involved in changing the laws, and ending the suffering for these dogs.

End your stray dog cull, UK tells Romania:
Diplomats step up pressure after 300,000 animals killed in crackdown

British diplomats have urged the Romanian government to stop the cull of tens of thousands of stray dogs – ordered after a four-year-old boy was mauled to death.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that UK officials have lobbied leaders in Bucharest, calling on them to deal ‘humanely’ with the crisis of the million strays that roam the streets, biting thousands of people each year.

About 300,000 dogs have been rounded up and slaughtered in a crackdown launched after Ionut Anghel was killed while playing near a park. Although initially blamed on strays, his death was later found to have been caused by security dogs owned by a private company. Last month it was ordered to pay £1.7 million compensation to Ionut’s devastated family.

But that hasn’t stopped the Romanian authorities continuing with the massive cull, with reports of dogs being clubbed to death in the streets and caged in horrendous shelters. Government papers obtained by this newspaper reveal Foreign Office fears about widespread animal cruelty in the cash-strapped nation.

Read the full article here (**WARNING:Some images in this article may be upsetting)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3132979/End-stray-dog-cull-UK-tells-Romania-Diplomats-step-pressure-300-000-animals-killed-crackdown.html#ixzz422CYXaaX
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

Merlin. My First Romanian Rescue Foster Dog

Why The DOG’s Point of View Wants to Help the Romanian Rescue Dogs

Romania has very few animal welfare laws. The stray dog problem is beyond crisis point, and the public shelters are full. The shelters in Romania are not like those in the UK.  They are filthy and riddled with disease, the dog’s don’t receive enough food, puppies, old dogs and young adult dogs are all kennelled together. 

This often results in injuries and sometimes death to the puppies and older dogs because of the fights over what little food they do get and that’s if they survive the brutal methods used by dog catchers if they find them on the streets.

Unlike the UK, many of the rescuers in Romania are individuals working alone with little support or financial backing, but they are making a real difference to the lives of the dogs they save.  By helping to promote them and the dogs they have available to rehome, they are able to implement spay and neuter campaigns which is ultimately going to be the best long term solution to this problem.

Please do be careful though, as with anything, there are people who are not always what they seem to be and are portraying themselves as rescuers when they have no proper rescue set up in place, so please do some background checking if you are thinking of adopting from Romania.

Any rescuers promoted by The DOG’s Point of View are legitimate and if you are interested in adopting one of the many beautiful dogs these rescuers have available (all of them gorgeous) but have concerns about the whole adoption process, then read on to find out how it works.  You can also help by fostering, donating or simply sharing the dogs they have available so their beautiful faces may get seen by someone that falls in love with them.

Not all the dogs rehomed from Romania will be street dogs or strays,
many will also be abandoned pets, whose owners simply decided they didn’t want them anymore,
so they just turn them out on the streets to fend for themselves… or be caught by the dog catchers

Whilst it is true, and I have had it pointed out to me multiple times, there are many rescue dogs still waiting in shelters across the UK so why help those from another country? My answer to this is simple, I will and do help any dogs I can, no matter where they come from.

If I were to meet an Italian man and fall in love with him, would someone chastise me for marrying a man from another country when there are plenty of single British men looking for a relationship? Of course not! 😉

If an individual is looking for their next rescue dog and the one they happen to fall in love with comes from another country then in my opinion any life saved, is a life saved, no matter what the origin.  These dogs do not ask to be born wherever they are or treated the way they are and I will do all I can to help anyone either acquire the right rescue dog for them, or to solve any problems they may encounter with that rescue dog.

What are Romanian Rescue Dogs Like?

From the experience I’ve had, since I started working with the Romanian Rescuers, and fostering Romanian dogs, is that many of these dogs are pretty well balanced if you have a good understanding of them. They are very loyal and loving, and because they are mostly all mixed breed, they often aren’t the genetic car crash that many of the pedigree dogs in this country are.

This means they don’t tend to suffer with the predominant and recurring health issues that many pedigree dogs do, because of the narrowed gene pool they are bred from.  That’s not to say Romanian dogs don’t have health issues.  Many of them are ill treated, starved and injured from living on the streets, so there can certainly be health issues to contend with and this is something you should ensure you check out with your rescuer before you adopt.

It is important to be aware though, for as many Romanian Rescue dogs that settle in their new homes with very few problems there are an equal amount who can arrive with some deep emotional and behavioural issues.  This is something that needs to be discussed in detail with your rescuer before you adopt your chosen dog.  Most of these dogs, even if they were never actually street dogs  but instead were simply abandoned by their family (sadly a common occurrence) will have experienced life in a Romanian kill shelter.

If they were taken from the streets they could well have been manhandled by the dog catchers which can be a very damaging experience.  As dog catchers and rescue workers are predominantly men, fear of men is something that can be a common problem with newly adopted dogs and something all adopters should be aware of so they can get ahead of the problem before it develops into a deep seated issue.

Of course any rescue dog, or any dog for that matter, has the potential for issues to develop, sadly it’s a consequence of the unsettled life they have endured so far. Whether that be from their past or from something that happens to them in their new home with you.  At the end of the day they are living, breathing, feeling creatures and as such are affected by the environment around them and things that happen to them, just the same as we are.

For the most part one thing can certainly be agreed on is that the vast majority of people I have spoken to through rescuing and working with new adopters (whether they have experienced problems with their Romanian Rescue dogs or not) is that there is something ‘different’ and special about them.  These dogs have amazing characters, deep souls and intuitive natures.  They teach as much as they learn and can be the most rewarding dogs to share life with.

There is a huge variety of dogs to choose from as well, small ones, big ones, fluffy ones, short coated ones, young ones, old ones, whatever you could want, many of them with beautiful markings and unusual coats.  Unfortunately in this country, when a pedigree breed becomes popular it gets seriously over produced by breeders wanting to cash in on this popularity, and the result of this is our shelters very quickly become full of predominantly one breed.

 

What’s Involved in Rescuing a Dog from Romania

To give a very brief overview, all dogs from legitimate rescuers in Romania are transported and rehomed according to DEFRA’s regulations, they receive routine blood tests, are fully vaccinated (including rabies) microchipped, neutered (if above 6 months of age) receive flea, tick and worming treatments, and have full passports.  

You can either adopt direct from Romania, in which case you are obviously going to take on a dog you will not have met prior to adoption.  It is becoming more common now that these dogs will already be in the UK in a foster  home or rescue kennels, making it easier for potential adopters to meet their new dogs in person first. 

Personally I would recommend adopting a dog that is already in a UK foster home as this generally makes their transition to life with a family  a little smoother and less traumatic.  The foster family are usually more experienced at settling the dogs when they first arrive and are somewhat traumatised from their journey.  They are also able to do a more detailed assessment of the dog in  a home environment and therefore make a better judgement on the best type of adoptive home for that particular dog. 

When you see a dog you like, you can reserve that dog if it is still in Romania and the rescuer will prepare it for travelling, arranging vaccinations, microchips, passports etc.  The timescale for this to take place will depend on the age of the dog or puppy you have chosen, and whether or not it needs to be spayed or neutered before travelling.

All legitimate rescuers will require you to complete a pre-adoption form and undergo a homecheck to ensure you are suitable for the rescue dog you have chosen.  If your rescuer does not do this, then I would walk away at this point and continue your search with another more reputable rescuer.

A non refundable adoption fee will then be payable, which goes toward paying for all the preparation treatments, passport and transport to the UK.  This fee will vary from rescuer to rescuer depending on each individual dog.

Bonafide Rescuers will offer RESCUE BACK UP for the life of your Romanian Rescue,  and support during those early days settling your new dog in.

YOU CAN WATCH THE DOG’S POINT OF VIEW ‘SET YOURSELF UP FOR A SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION’ FREE WEBINAR HERE

Tramp & Tasha. My Two Foster Puppies from Bianca Filip. Brasov, Romania

😀 Tasha has now found and left for her forever home 😀

Tramp… Well I fell in love with him… He’s staying with me 😉