Thats a very typical statement from you Lynn. Please find me one person on the entire thread that has said that only dogs born here are worthy of homes.

I think money is part of the issue, lets face it, rescues struggle financially anyway. It isnt IMO the only issue though.

People keep saying that rescues from other countries deserve rescue too, but what about the dogs already here? Do they not deserve a home, or should a potential home for them be taken by another brought over? A dog somewhere is going to die through not finding a home...

In a perfect world we could save them all, but it just isnt possible.

She cant!!

I think part of the problem is that some people have a specific idea of what they want from a dog - People always seem to equate that with going to a breeder, but I recently went to a lady who scoured rescue centres looking for the kind of dogs she wanted and could not find anything to suit...so she found a litter of X's in the paper. If the rescues are bringing in dogs who are more likely to be homed (for what ever reason)....I guess that's wrong as well.

And again - that statement taps into the fact people bring dogs over on their own budget...they are using their home to help a dog that is not considered by some to be 'our' problem.

How do you feel about the situation I described at the beginning?

Who's problem is it , if its not "ours"?

Sorry - I thought people were saying that the dogs should be dealt with in their own country - not coming here for homes

I am off the opinion that dogs (where ever they are in the world) deserve help and if I can help I will.
Other people seem to not share this view.

I'm sorry but i highly doubt that someone could not find a suitable dog throughout the entire country. What are the chances that no dogs here suit, but then by some miracle one is brought in from another country... the choice of dogs here is wide, and some people even wait for months for a suitable dog to show up in their local rescue, it may take time but i am sure that there is always a suitable dog here.

The woman in your example, what makes her think the litter of crosses are more suitable than the thousands of rescue dogs?

Who am i to tell people what they should do with their personal money? Whether or not i agree with it. Also, a lot of the people i have heard about have brought dogs over that they have grown to know, and love, after spending weeks or months with the dog. They must already feel a sense of ownership. That isnt too much different to people who emigrate and take their dog with them... and that certainly isnt wrong. Some of those people may not have been planning to get a dog, but by fate, they stumble across a dog in need... so they arent necessarily taking another possible rescue dogs home.

Also, i think the number of dogs who are brought over in those circumstances are on a much smaller scale to those brought in by the masses through rescue.

It isnt about not sharing that view... i wish i could help any dog, or any animal for that matter, who is in need... the suffering of many animals makes me disgusted and ashamed to be human. But we need to be realistic and understand that we cant save them all (prevention is better than a cure!)... people keep saying we should save other dogs, but by saving them, we sentence many dogs already here to an almost certain death!

I agree that a dog somewhere in the world could die because a home cannot be found or the rescue is full. But I don't think that anyone has said that dogs in the UK are less deserving of a home, only that non-UK are no less deserving than UK dogs.

IMO all dogs, wherever they come from are equally deserving, all other factors being equal. I don't think man-made national barriers should enter into the decision if all other factors are equal. So then it just boils down to costs ~ the smaller the cost, the more dogs can be helped. But even that criteria could & should be relaxed in specific circumstances, e.g. emergencies, natural disasters etc.

But I also think that charities can alleviate the suffering & improve the treatment of dogs worldwide in ways other than just importing them to the UK, e.g. setting up rescues in other countries, educating people in the care of dogs, promoting kind treatment of animals, lobbying governments to change laws so that dogs are treated humanely etc etc. And depending on our personal views, we can, as individuals, decide to support whatever charities we want to.

Another point I've just thought about ~ I know that, e.g. in Ireland, the harsh treatment of dogs via puppy farms, BYBs, racing kennels etc is very hard for most of us to stomach ~ but what about dogs in some countries that are bred solely for fighting, or for eating, or for fur ~ dogs that are shut in small cages for the whole of their lives & suffer terribly ~ surely those sort of dogs deserve our help, perhaps even more so?

We should clear up our own mess before shifting somebody elses.