I adopted Hector (Who was then called Floris) from Hope for Romanian Strays in 2012. This was the first dog I had adopted from abroad and I didn’t know anything about the process. I didn’t ‘choose’ him but he was a suggested match for my very difficult little UK rescue dog ‘Weeble’ who was aggressive to other dogs but lovely in every other way.
Aniela felt that Hector would get on well with her as he was so easy going and sociable. She was right and I have found that she is always very accurate with her assessment of her dogs personality when helping people to find the right match for their own pets and family.
I hope his story help address any concerns you may have abut the adoption process or about Romanian dogs….
The process was so easy – I was put in contact with a reliable pet transport company, I had access to a support person in the UK who also helped me and was very experienced. There was no problem at all with communication and language. Aniela sent me lots of messages and we could understand each other and became great friends. We all kept in contact by Facebook messages in a little group and eventually Hector set off with his pet passport packed in his little suitcase.
I was able to get regular updates of his journey by road, across Europe and each day and night I could see how far he had travelled; I got an update on how he was doing, how often he had stops and walks and food. He was well cared for. The journey can take about 5 days – obviously there can be delays on the way with traffic, road closures, ferry delays just like on any journey we make. The estimated time of arrival at your home will be quite accurate.
Dogs can travel to the UK with a pet passport which has details of the microchip, vaccinations, parasite treatments, Rabies vaccination and other ‘personal’ details just like a human passport. The great thing about this is that there is no need for dogs to go into quarantine any more. They are scanned at the port to check identity and that is it!
The cost of transport from Romania to the UK (A door to door service if you like) is really affordable (under £200) and there is no legal process or paperwork for you to be concerned about.
Please have a look at this amazing video of Hector-Pie singing at home at Christmas!
When Hector arrived he was quite thin and timid but he quickly settled and my dog soon realised that he was not a threat to her and that she could certainly boss him about! He was very easily house trained and did not have any problems at all with being left in the house, anxiety or communication problems. He learned basic commands in English within weeks!
I was so relived that he was in a nice cosy warm house after living as a stray for so long, in the terrible cold and wet conditions, with very little food. It was so lucky for him that he was rescued by Hope for Romanian Strays. How amazing to end up in the UK!
Hector loved Christmas, home cooked food, especially ‘mince and dumplings’ and ‘Sunday Dinner’ he loved ice cream, ice cream vans, singing, travelling and was very nosey. He sang ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ a lot and he always joined in with the ice cream vans and fire engine sirens.
He was a real character and lots of people would come to talk to him when we were out. He travelled with us a lot in our motorhome and he visited the Queen at her house in Balmoral, he enjoyed holidays in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Scotland, Hungary and many more. He was well travelled having already made a trip from Romania to the UK.
Hector is such a great example of a lovely, loyal, grateful and gentle dog from Romania. I hope his story inspires you to really give some serious thought to adopting from this great organisation. You can see from Hector’s story that the process of adoption and transport is so easy. A lot of dogs desperately need help right now -they have been waiting a long time in the shelter. Please help them.
On this Mother’s Day please spare a thought for stray dog mother’s and their babies, born into a world that doesn’t want them. Romania is full of pregnant strays or dogs with puppies as a legacy that dates back to Ceaușescu’s days when people were moved into large city apartment blocks but were not allowed to take their pets with them and subsequently dumped them on the streets. This coupled with a tradition of not neutering dogs has led to a huge problem with thousands of strays roaming the streets. Each year sees more and more puppies born to strays, on the streets or in public shelters, further compounding the problem.
