Last week I wrote about the increasing number of rescue dogs being imported to the UK – particularly from Eastern Europe.

We have just seen the first person in the UK needing to be treated for Brucella that she contracted from a rescue dog (Brucella is a serious bacterial disease that should be in UK medicine history books – not one that we are importing back into the country). Brucella is just one of the many diseases that we are seeing more of as dogs flood into the UK having not been properly tested before export.

Rescue charities vary hugely in how much pre-import disease testing they do and, although I am sure all these dogs are being imported with the best of intentions I have to ask – should we be importing them at all?

Medical conditions aside, many of these dogs arrive with severe behavioural issues, add to this the fact that our own rescue centres are starting to fill up with dogs needing rehoming (puppies bought in haste in lockdown are now proving too much for owners to manage and ending up in rescue) and there is a real case for avoiding importing dogs.

If you are looking to get a rescue dog – start by looking in the UK. If you do end up looking overseas then please check what health tests are done on your future dog before they are imported, not just for the safety of the UK dog population but for your own safety. Here is a basic list to run by any rescue charity: Leishmania, Heartworm, Ehrlichia Canis, Anaplasma, Hepatozoon Canis, Babesia, Brucella Canis – any decent charity should know what these diseases are and whether their rescue dogs are screened for them.

*Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083