B.C. leads the pack with most foreign dog adoptions
Drop in number of rescues in B.C. big factor in shift
When he was found outside a convenience store in a seaside village in Hua Hin, Thailand, the dog was a pitiful, mangy bag of fur and bones with a rusted collar around his neck. He had two mangled front legs and his days on the streets were numbered.
Today, Bones, as named by his rescuers, is a healthy, inquisitive, tummy-rub-obsessed, beloved pet, thanks to Rescue Paws, a non-profit organization that works to curb the population of strays in Hua Hin through sterilizations and adoptions.
Bones’ front right leg had to be amputated, and pins and plates were put into his left leg. The surgery was followed by six months of rehab with a foster family.
Then, on a Sunday night in April, Bones, along with about 10 other dogs, arrived at Vancouver International Airport to start his new life with adoptive parents who had fallen in love with him from afar through photos and videos.
“He’s a really sweet dog,” said Erin Berry, who adopted Bones with roommates Sophie Anderson and James Stripp.
“He’s amazing. We are super lucky to have gotten him. We are so in love.”
The fact Bones had only three legs worked in his favour: “I was worried other people might not adopt him,” said Berry, who lives in Vancouver’s West End in a dog-friendly apartment building. “That’s why I wanted him more.”
Foreign rescues on the rise
Rescues of unwanted or abandoned dogs like Bones from abroad are on the rise in B.C., with several rescue organizations reporting increasing or steady demand.
Official figures are scarce; no one tracks the number of rescue dogs entering Canada, or their countries of origin.
A non-exhaustive survey conducted by a group of private citizens provides a snapshot: 197 Canadian rescue organizations and 21 foreign rescue groups brought 6,189 dogs to Canada from at least 29 different countries in 2013 and 2014, according to a 2016 report by the Canadian National Canine Importation Working Group. That figure is likely a “significant underestimation,” said the report.
More than 40 per cent of the dogs were adopted in B.C., the most of all the provinces, followed by Ontario, which received 28 per cent. The vast majority of the dogs were from the U.S.
“There has been a massive increase in the number of rescue organizations (in B.C.) and many seem to be popping up specifically for international rescues,” said Kathy Powelson, executive director of the Paws for Hope Animal Foundation, a B.C. group that directly helps animals and also supports the work of animal rescue groups.
A search for dogs on adoption website Petfinder.com yielded several profiles of pooches rescued from the U.S., Taiwan, Mexico and Iran among other countries, and now available for adoption in Vancouver.
Kasey Pedersen, the Vancouver-based adoption coordinator for the non-profit Rescue Paws, said the number of foreign rescue groups in B.C. has increased in the past few years because demand is high.
“Vancouver has a ridiculously high adoption rate,” said Pedersen, adding it is a testament to how much the city loves its dogs.
Since March, Pedersen has placed 20 dogs in permanent homes, mostly in Vancouver, with a few in Calgary and Toronto. She also works with No Borders Animal Rescue Society in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which has sent 672 dogs to Canada for adoption since 2012, and with Thailand-based Soi Dog, which has started rescuing animals from the meat trade in Korea.
Rescue Paws, which started in 2014, has performed 800 sterilizations and close to 3,600 vaccinations of dogs in Hua Hin. It arranges adoptions for dogs that are unreleasable because of injury, because they are too domesticated or because they couldn’t survive on the street.
Critics decry imports
For many, foreign dog rescues are a noble endeavour.
But some critics say foreign dogs steal adoptive homes that could go to local dogs. However, Pedersen said that in her experience, wouldbe adopters turn to foreign dogs because they have trouble finding a dog locally.
“They just want a rescue, and it’s so hard to get one here,” she said.
In their search for a pet, Berry, Anderson and Stripp contacted five or six organizations, but didn’t hear back or were told they’d have to be on a waiting list.
Figures tracked by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies found the number of dogs taken to SPCA shelters and humane societies in Canada has been dropping.
The decrease in the number of dogs in B.C. shelters can largely be attributed to the success of sterilization programs here, according to several rescue organizations.
The low supply, combined with a growing awareness of the plight of dogs in high-kill shelters in the U.S. or in developing countries have prompted many people looking for pets to look farther afield.
“We are seeing fewer dogs come into our facilities,” said Dr. Emilia Gordon, senior manager of animal health for the B.C. SPCA. “Some of them have medical health concerns. It doesn’t mean they won’t make great, amazing pets but some people have trouble seeing past that.
“There is a potential for animals
that are imported to affect the adoptions and health and welfare of existing dogs.”
The SPCA has noticed a growing number of dogs arriving in Canada from the U.S. and Central and South America with canine distemper or other infectious diseases, Gordon said. There are also problems with dogs entering Canada without health records or with falsified records.
Some shelters report cases of owners surrendering their foreign-adopted dogs to local rescue groups because they can’t manage them and the original rescue agency is not willing to take the dogs back. This has become enough of a concern that the SPCA is considering developing new protocols about what to do in such cases.
“It’s a changing landscape we are trying to figure out,” Gordon said. “The reality is dogs are going to come in.
“It’s all of our job together, for each organization within this landscape, to make sure this is done as safely as possible.”
Rebecca Ledger, an animal behaviour expert who often advises municipalities prosecuting cases involving aggressive dogs, said she has seen a dramatic rise in the past four to five years of foreign dogs with behavioural problems or exhibiting fear or aggression.
Ledger said there is no legal requirement for animals to undergo behavioural assessments before coming to Canada.
“We need to be very cautious about the type of animals that are imported,” she said.
“The process, if done well, should bring joy to people looking to rescue a dog and help save and provide a good life for many needy dogs.”
Due diligence required
Costs of foreign rescues vary depending on the rescue organization and the age of the dog, but are about the same or slightly higher than local adoptions.
Rescue Paws charges a $500 adoption fee, which includes sterilization, vaccinations, a certificate of health, import permits, and transportation (the organization arranges for volunteers to fly with the animals, which are checked-in as baggage rather than cargo). People looking to adopt dogs from abroad should do their due diligence, say experts.
Any rescue organization — local or foreign — worth its salt will agree to take the animal back if the adoption doesn’t work out. It should operate on full disclosure, be up front about any health or behavioural concerns, and be able to provide up-to-date records of vaccinations and sterilization.
Powelson recommends using organizations that put animals in foster care for 30 days to enable proper assessments.
Gordon advises potential adopters to talk to their veterinarian, who would know first-hand which groups have good reputations and which to steer clear of.
Powelson said her group isn’t against the importation of dogs. Foreign rescues save dogs’ lives, but “from a long-term sustainability perspective, you’re not addressing the real problem.”
The politics of animal rescue didn’t factor into Eva Sereda’s decision to adopt three puppies while on vacation in Costa Rica in April.
She spotted the animals, barely two months old, abandoned in a plastic bag on the side of a remote mountain road.
She brought them to the first English-speaking veterinarian she could find in town. The vet de-wormed and vaccinated the puppies. But there was no place for them to go except back on the street.
So Sereda made a split-second decision: To find them homes in Vancouver.
Three days later, she returned to Vancouver with the unexpected souvenirs. She grew attached to the animals and ended up keeping two, now named Molly and Daisy. The third, Rico, is with her brother.
Sereda wasn’t planning to adopt more dogs. She already has a 12-year-old dog, Ollie Pants, who she describes as “the love of my life.” Molly, Daisy and Rico just happened. “It’s a nice ending,” she said. But Sereda, too, wondered whether more could be done to curb uncontrolled breeding and overpopulation abroad so adopters like her won’t be necessary.
The US$125 she spent on carry-ons to transport the three dogs home “could easily take care of 100 dogs over there,” she said. That’s in addition to the $550 she paid for health certificates for the dogs.
“Sometimes I do wonder if this could be done in a more efficient manner.”