Holiday souvenirs we couldn’t leave WITHOUT

Astonishingly, 34,000 dogs were imported to Britain from the EU last year — and behind it lies a growing trend of mutt-mad tourists for whom a T-shirt just isn’t enough

MANY of us return from our holidays with a suntan and perhaps a few bottles of local vino.

Some, however, bring back an altogether different kind of souvenir — a stray dog.

After falling for these mutts, which were often malnourished or had suffered horrific abuse from foreign owners, kindhearted Britons came to their rescue, and brought them home — despite the bureaucratic headaches and often eyewatering costs involved.

Bringing any animal home from abroad, particularly from outside the European Union, can be some task, especially as the law says up to four months in quarantine is needed for any dog coming from a country where rabies is present.

Yet thousands of us have done so, after becoming utterly enamoured by an abandoned pooch on holiday.

Although there are no official figures, according to the Animal and Plant Health Agency, 34,144 dogs were imported into the UK from the EU alone last year, which includes rescue dogs for rehoming.

Doing so is not without risk — such dogs may have health problems and could carry diseases into Britain.

As British Veterinary Association Junior Vice President Daniella Dos Santos says: ‘As a nation of animal lovers, the desire to rescue stray, neglected or abused animals from other countries and give them loving homes in the UK is completely understandable.

‘Unfortunately, “Trojan” rescue dogs with unknown health histories pose a significant disease risk to the UK’s pets as well as humans.’

Regardless of the problems involved, these five devoted pet-owners stopped at nothing to rescue a four-legged foreign friend — and have never regretted it …