Importing rescues from out of state and around the world

[LauraO]

I’ve noticed something interesting in my area (Puget Sound / Western Washington) lately:

More and more of my local rescues are advertising that they’ve received a new shipment of dogs from ‘high kill’ shelters in California, or ‘dogs raised for meat’ in Asia.

But I know that there are still rural shelters in Eastern Washington, that have more animals than they could ever adopt out super locally, and are often looking for shelters to transfer to.

Here’s some links to articles with various points of view on the topic. I’ve been curious how other people feel about this trend? I know it’s a fairly regional trend, mostly in the North West and North East of the US.

I don’t vouch for any of the authors of any of the articles below.

http://www.npr.org/2015/01/01/374257591/with-rescue-dogs-in-demand-more-shelters-look-far-afield-for-fido

http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/cindy-bruckart/impact-importing-dogs

http://outthefrontdoor.com/2015/01/05/the-coming-shelter-dog-shortage/

But really - what do people think about this?

[Jchambers]

Same thing happening here in British Columbia - people are bringing dogs in from California, Iran, Egypt, Asia, Texas and Mexico. Its a hard topic - dogs are still shot as a method population control in northern BC and the Arctic and if not shot, they either freeze to death in the winter or die from disease. And it’s never ending - everyday I see dogs and cats coming into rescue from unbelievably inhumane conditions in the northern parts of Canada and the NWT. On the other hand it makes me cry every time I see a picture of one of the dogs from Iran or Egypt who have been beaten almost to death and have had their ears cut off by incredibly cruel people there. So why not help ALL of the dogs in the world if we can?

[Marshfield]

In my area, the shelters wouldn’t have dogs to adopt out if they weren’t brought in from elsewhere. But, this can’t be the solution forever for the overpopulation issues in the south.

I question the wisdom of importing “meat dogs”. Many of them really aren’t going to be suitable pets for the majority of available homes.

[ryansgirl]

I’m in NH and the rescue I volunteer for gets dogs in from other states on a routine basis. One of my dogs came up from Mississippi a little over a year ago to this rescue (she had zero interest in the shelter she was at but they knew she would find a home up north so she was loaded up). She came up with 3 or 4 others. All were immediately adopted out. My girl is pretty perfect as is my other rescue dog (he sat in a local shelter for a few months with NO interest because he was big, mostly black and high-energy and he too is pretty perfect). Dogs don’t typically last long in shelters/rescues in my area. People adopt all the time which is great to see. It’s almost like there is a shortage of dogs to adopt up here because people tend to be more responsible unlike a lot of southern states it seems (not to bash southern states but it’s pretty common to see strays everywhere).

This is same rescue has four dogs coming from Texas this weekend. Her last few shipments came from Texas too and once again all the dogs were immediately adopted out. One dog in this current shipment is already spoken for.

I don’t care where the dogs come from. The main thing is that they are given a second chance at life and that’s what matters.

[ryansgirl]

@Marshfield

In my area, the shelters wouldn’t have dogs to adopt out if they weren’t brought in from elsewhere. But, this can’t be the solution forever for the overpopulation issues in the south.

I question the wisdom of importing “meat dogs”. Many of them really aren’t going to be suitable pets for the majority of available homes.

A lot of these “meat dogs” from other countries are stolen family pets so yes a lot will be suitable to adopt out. There are breeders out there that raise dogs strictly for meat so they may not make great family pets. They breed dogs for meat like cattle are bred over here for meat.

[Louise]

The Humane Society in my area has done such a good job of reducing the number of unwanted dogs around here, through education and inexpensive neutering that they have the room, and the energy to bring in dogs from other areas that may have an excess. I think that’s wonderful.

[vacation1]

I think transport is the only reason most shelters are still in business. You can’t pay people to take home pit bulls, and that’s 99% of the unwanted dog population in most places, and 100% in the East and West coasts. Bringing in non-pits is the only way to get people to come to your shelter. I’m in NJ, and transports from the south and now from outside the US (South Korea’s meat dogs, street dogs from Puerto Rico) are common. The public open-admission shelters hate it, and fall back on “fairness” to “homegrown” dogs as their reasoning. Private shelters and rescue use the handful of non-pit dogs left as lures to bring adopters in, and atone by playing Lady Bountiful with unwanted pit bulls from other shelters, moving pits from place to place like a neverending shell game. I think that aspect of it is a farce; at what point does throwing a pit bull into a van and driving 200 miles with it become abuse? The second trip? The third?

I recently read a training book written by a woman who trains assistance dogs in Atlanta. She said her program originally felt very strongly about helping rescue dogs, and used shelter animals even though it was always a bit more expensive and a bit less certain than using purpose-bred dogs. Then she realized that the same dogs she wanted for assistance dogs were being snapped up as pets. Finding herself competing with families for dogs, she realized that her ‘rescue’ wasn’t necessary. The numbers of suitable dogs had dropped so low, demand far outstripped supply. Her program now uses Goldens crossed with Labs, as do many reputable service dog facilities.

[LauraO]

Well, I do have kind of mixed feelings about the whole thing.

I do want to see all of the suitable pet dogs and cats in the universe to have good homes and good medical care and good food. That includes dogs from California, Georgia, Alabama, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Thailand or Korea.

But if animals are going to get shipped all over the universe, I also want to see efforts at reducing the supply of unwanted animals from the places they’re coming from.

Some of this may come down to: What is the purpose of a rescue and/or animal welfare organization? In the 80’s I really thought that the purpose was to get the animals that were already born into homes, and prevent more from being born that were surplus, so that the problem would be eliminated one day.

It looks like in some areas we really have eliminated the problem. There just IS NOT a surplus of unwanted dogs. So are the shelters that are partnering w/ shelters in S.Cal actively giving back to those areas to help them with spay / neuter programs, and pet owner education to eliminate the problem there too? Wouldn’t it be easier for well funded large rescue groups in my city to partner with the less well funded smaller rescue in E. WA to get some those programs going, while also accepting dogs for transfer from them? Rather than trying to get that going in Thailand? Aren’t the barriers lower? (language, borders, politics, policy, culture)

Wasn’t the goal always to have enough, but not too many, well cared for, socialized, wanted, puppies and dogs in the universe? wouldn’t be OK for responsible breeders to start breeding frequently again?

I picked up my recent puppy from a rescue in E. WA. I would also have been just as satisfied with a puppy from an even semi competent back yard breeder, or better what I really wanted, a rare breed puppy from a good, well educated, responsible breeder. I just didn’t have the patience to wait on the rare breed breeder and fill out multiple applications with multiple breeders. (that’s another story)

[Foxtrot_s]

Education - get away from the macho culture of not neutering males and females. It would reduce the need for re-homing a little.

[french_fry]

As someone has been extremely involved in rescue efforts in one of the territories mentioned on this thread, it’s always fun to see that people think in addition to saving dogs and finding them second chances, our tiny organization should also be singlehandedly solving the overpopulation problem. I’ll take that advice to my rescue’s president, as I’m sure she simply hasn’t thought of trying to implement education and spay/neuter programs that will keep her from having to constantly drive by dead dogs on the side of the road knowing she was too late to save that one. :rolleyes:

[skyon]

I hope disease is monitored as is with any other animal in import. You can’t easily move a dog/horse/cat to other countries from the US without quarantine and papers.

[LauraKY]

@skyon

I hope disease is monitored as is with any other animal in import. You can’t easily move a dog/horse/cat to other countries from the US without quarantine and papers.

It’s not monitored when it’s state to state, even though legally it should be. HSUS has a program that vet checks and quarantines and then transfers dogs from KY to several pet stores in PA where they are adopted. The northeastern states place an emphasis on spay and neuter and therefore have fewer dogs available for adoption.

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2014/11-12/pet-stores-offering-shelter-adoptions.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

I don’t know how to convince those living in the south that spay/neuter is important. Quite frankly in many rural areas, animals are lucky if they see a vet once in their lives.

[skyon]

@LauraKY

I don’t know how to convince those living in the south that spay/neuter is important. Quite frankly in many rural areas, animals are lucky if they see a vet once in their lives.

My honest opinion - once the people themselves get medical care on a regular basis, then they will be more likely to concern themselves with the animals.

[LauraKY]

@skyon

My honest opinion - once the people themselves get medical care on a regular basis, then they will be more likely to concern themselves with the animals.

I don’t know. It’s a cultural thing I’m afraid. Especially neutering male dogs.

[vineyridge]

The great thing is that eventually all dogs will be either extremely expensive pure breds or spayed and neutered. That will eventually lead to the average family not being able to have a pet dog and will further lead to more of the general public believing that dogs are essentially dangerous.

Read an article not too long ago that mentioned that exposing very young children to animals seems to prevent asthma. Human beings have evolved that way.

[LauraO]

@french fry

…t’s always fun to see that people think in addition to saving dogs and finding them second chances, our tiny organization should also be singlehandedly solving the overpopulation problem.:rolleyes:

I did not mean to imply that. What I meant to imply is that: There are some pretty well funded animal welfare / rescue organizations where I live. When those organizations transfer in hundreds of animals, they should ALSO (the rich organization that is) share some of their resources / expertise with the smaller less well funded organization, to help them reduce the overpopulation problem in their location (the location of the smaller less well funded organization)

That is what I thought I had said, but it clearly was not received as intended.

[skyon]

@LauraKY

I don’t know. It’s a cultural thing I’m afraid. Especially neutering male dogs.

It’s ethnic as well, and lots of people from the south moved north for work, bringing those beliefs. I ran into some of it in from the most unexpected places, wondering why someone wouldn’t breed - monetary to it doesn’t matter etc. .

I really do believe it gradually gets across and can stick if the message is done with common sense and does not place the value of an animal above that of a human.

That would be for the average person of all types of economics, bottom and top, not the outliers that are mentally ill hoarders.

[LauraKY]

Considering we euthanize somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 million healthy dogs a year, I think we’re a long way from not being able to afford a pet.

[JanM]

I know many people who still think that a female dog should have one litter, or others who don’t keep cats indoors, or neuter them. It’s ridiculous to me, but they still think that. Animals aren’t a part of their family, but simply something they get free, and put minimal care into.

[JanM]

I don’t know if they still do this, but a public shelter about 2 hours south of here cooperates with a group that takes small dogs to Florida, because they get homes with retirees.

On Pit Bulls & Parolees, they said that almost all of the strays or surrenders they get in New Orleans are heartworm positive. I think about 80% or so are not neutered/spayed.