SloJan2

I am looking for some ideas. I live in Portugal and there is a huge problem here with abandonded dogs. Apparently, the summer of 2007 was one of the worst in recent history. About 3 weeks ago, I saw 2 dogs abandoned by the road. I saw them every day for about 1 week and then, saw someone pull over and felt relief b7c I thought that person was going to take them to a shelter. But, unfortunately, that was not what happened. I saw the dogs about 6 days later. They had lost weight. This time, I could get close enough to see them. Both were females and one was about 5 months old. I think the older one is maybe 3 years and looks like a pure bred portuguese pointer which is very popular here (and lovely! She is gold.) Her daughter has the same bone structure but is brindle. Mom was extremely skittish and I couldnīt get her, but I picked up the daughter, am getting her vaccinated and am looking for a new home for her. I would prefer one closer to here, but I have found one in Canada! Life in Canada is definitely better than the alternative and I absolutely canīt keep her as I have 2 already (one rescued 3 months ago).

So, I have been checking out reasonable ways to get Brambles to Canada and have found out that a dog traveling with someone is very reasonable.

So, any dog lovers out there willing to help with a rescue? There is a little patch in Heaven for people like you and I would cover all the fees for the dog.

Or, does anyone else have an idea or any of our European readers interested in a lovely portuguese pointer /boxer mix??

If you are, please feel free to email me at slojan2000atyahoodotcom. I also can send pics of Brambles. She is slowly learning manners and is loving playing with my kids and 2 dogs, one of which is cat sized.

SloJan2

Oops, forgot to add that Brambles ultimate destination is St. Johnīs, but the new owners could have her met in Toronto.

If anyone in Europe is interested, we could discuss travel arrangements...maybe meet in the middle??

Thanks again.

hetismij

Slojan can I suggest you get in touch with www.refugiodosburros.nl. Although their main aim is to help abandoned donkeys, they also help with rehoming stray dogs, and have links to some rehoming organisatons, mainly in Holland but maybe also elsewhere in Europe.

There are plenty of organisatins that offer to rehome strays from Southern Europe and Turkey.
One of my own dogs is a Garafiano, found as a puppy on La Palma and adopted by me via stichting AAI, another Dutch charity. My son has a Samoyeed from Spain, also an abandoned dog, adopted through PAWS Nederland.

It is fantastic that you have taken these dogs in. I hope you are succesful at finding them new homes.

SloJan2

heti,
They are right down the street from me and have no interest in taking and rehoming these dogs. I have also just found out that they were contacted about the mother, as well. So, that was 2 calls into them on the same animals. Apparently, they are full, as is the Goldra and Mexiloeira shelters.

I havenīt contacted any of the other international rehoming shelters though so thanks for the personal stories. I will follow up on some of those organizations.

cheers,
Jan

hetismij

Oh what a shame that they are full. Can they not help you with rehoming organisations, even if you hang on to these lovely dogs?
I know Nora through a forum for people in Holland with dogs from abroad, I have never met her personally.
Good luck!

SloJan2

I am going to go speak with them this week. Hopefully, they will have some ideas.

I just took Brambles to get her shots. She received a clean bill of health and she is not a boxer mix, but a portuguese pointer instead.

Travelnut

My pup is a reject from Puerto Rico, where they do not have the level of shelter systems we have in the US. It was nigh impossible to find a small adoptee for a working person from our local Humane Society or city pound. They go out the door to people who have time to sit in the office and claim them as they come in. Found her on a shelter site on the internet posted by a retired lady who flies with crates to P.R. and brings them back for adoption, following full veterinary updates.

AnselmAdorne

SloJan, you've got me thinking ...

I'm trying to picture getting a dog from Portugal to Newfoundland and end up wondering about the logistics. How does one go about doing this? And in a related question, are there any border restrictions on bringing a dog into Canada, or is it simply a matter of having all the right vaccinations?

Sudden thought: too bad the Portuguese white fleet isn't still afloat. They used to dock in St. John's all the time. That pointer could have kept the dog watch on the way over. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Anselm

SloJan2

Hey Anselm,
Like the US, Canada is very reasonable about bringing pets in. They just need a vet check for health and all of their vaccinations. If they are to be brought in for commercial processes, the procedure is a bit different.

Lufthansa allows pets to fly in baggage for a small fee. Air Canada also allows it for a bit larger fee (about 150 &euro. The only caveat is that the pet must fly with a passenger. Shipping animals alone is quite spendy.

Obviously, it is preferable to find Brambles a home here but if I canīt do that...this may be an alternative.

Like Heti said, many rescue groups come to Southern Europe and take animals back to Germany, Holland etc. I am trying to find some of those groups. heti, if you have websites that would be great.
Thanks.

hetismij

SloJan, if Nora at the refugio can't help then a good source of Dutch organisations is Doggynet : http://tinyurl.com/34tv46. It is in Dutch but has links to lots of organisations under Herplaatsingen.

Stichting AAI is www.stichtingaai.nl. They have an English site, though it isn't brilliant. Mostly they take dogs from La Palma, Corfu and Turkey, but they will occasionally take them from other countries. Try contacting Lydia - her e-mail is on the site. It may take a while before she replies, as she is a busy lady.

The only German sites I know specialise in La Palma and other Canary Islands, so they aren't much use to you.

Zeus

I admire your efforts and completely commiserate, but it seems such a Sisyphisian task. There are just so many strays running around all over Southern Europe. Everytime I've been to Pompeii I've wanted to adopt all twenty dogs that seem to follow us around. And a scurvy-looking lot they seem to be! Especially the little ones missing limbs. So many are covered with painful hotspots. At least within the archaeologic site I spotted well-hidden bowls of water and food, but loving out in that intense heat all summer long has to be hell for the animals.

We've visited Rhodes on ship excursions both in July 2006 and June 2007. On the first visit I saw the sorriest looking old mutt moping around near the Grandmaster's Palace - he was malnourished, full of sores and was missing parts of both ears. I could feel tears welling just looking at him. I mentioned to some of the high school kids on our tour that I doubted he had much time left. Of course the kids immediately went over to pet him and console him. One kid spent some of his parents' money on a gyro to feed the sad looking mutt. The display of concern by these usually self-concerned kids finally did cause me to turn away as the tears began to flow.

Fast forward to this summer...Same cruise, back in Rodos and walking through the same shady area atop the walled-city. Guess who was back out there skulking by the garbage bins. He looked only slightly better with less red blotches and maybe a few more pounds on him, but those half-chewed ears were still the same. Later when this old man had to take a break from the heat and sit under a shady tree, Fido waltzed over and gave me a sniff hoping I might have a spare gyro on me.

hetismij

Many of the Dutch organisations not only rehome strays but finace neuter and release programmes in areas the y active. AAI supports such a scheme in Turkey and in Greece. Sadly the autorities are not always coperative and regularly poison strys in these two countries. Thousands of dogs died a slow and painful death in Athens to clear it of strays before the Olympics (something similar is going on in Beijing as we write...).
Neuter and release works. The dogs can't breed, and no new un neutered dogs move into the area. Eventually the numbers drop and in some cases the strays vanish.
They also spend a lot of money on educating the locals, especially the children.
In Spain they work tirelessly to stop hunters hanging their Galgos (Spanish Greyhounds) when they get old or can no longer hunt. The woods in Spain used to be hung with the carcasses of unfortunate dogs at the end of the hunting season.

AnselmAdorne

Thanks, SloJan.

I hope this works out for you. If I were going anywhere near you I'd offer, as I live in Halifax. It's an easy drive to North Sydney, and then the dog would be on her way to Newfoundland.

AA