FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please find the answers to our most asked questions below. If you cannot find an answer to your question, please click the button below or fill in the form at the bottom of any page to ask us directly!
WHY DO YOU RESCUE DOGS FROM OUTSIDE THE UK WHEN SO MANY DOGS NEED HELP IN THE UK?
We don't mind where a dog in need comes from and we pride ourselves on being a charity without borders. As we specialise in St Bernards and large breed dogs which are often crossed with Saints our focus is on their needs. If a dog needs our help in the UK or Romania we will offer our support. By working with many rescue partners within and outside the UK, we hopefully can improve animal welfare across Europe.
The way that animals are treated outside the UK is barbaric and there is often no euthanasia policy with dogs being left in ‘kill shelters'. Whilst there is still animal abuse in the UK, the animal welfare laws do offer some protection how animals are treated in shelters and euthanased.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR?
We are interested in people who have a genuine love and commitment to large breeds and are prepared to care for a dog for it's lifetime. A suitable home which has access to a secure outside area is vital and by that we mean a fence of 6ft with a lockable gate.
Acknowledgement of the costs of keeping a large breed dog which is actually not so much food and regular grooming but is unforeseen expenses such as vet bills. Pet insurance is important and we do recommend it but we don't force this as sometimes people prefer to keep an amount to one side for an emergency.
A daily walk routine, stimulation for the dog, space to move in the home and outside, awareness of large breed needs and commitment means more to us than say a large, detached home with 2 acres of land. We appreciate that people work or have regular commitments but we ask our dogs are not left alone for more than 4 hours a day on a regular basis.
WHAT IS THE HOMECHECK PROCESS?
We work with a team of volunteer homecheckers based nationwide and our trustees also do homechecks for other rescues.
A homecheck request is posted on our own Facebook sites first for 24 hours and if no member is available, we then ask the UK homecheckers service to help. We contact you as soon as a homechecker offers their help and your details are passed on to make a convenient appointment. Please be aware that this person is a volunteer and is coming to your home in their own time. It is important that all members of the household are at home when the check is conducted.
The homechecker will ask you a series of questions and complete our standard form which is returned to us. The homechecker does not
make the decision on suitability. We review each application on its own merit and depending on the dog you are interested in our decision may vary.
DO YOU HAVE A STANDARD ADOPTION FEE?
We have a scale for adoption fees based on where the dog is as transport costs vary hugely across Europe - Poland is more expensive than Romania for example. Some dogs may require booster vaccinations, some will require a full blood screen, vaccinations, neutering and if outside the UK, an EU passport. We may have had to pay for significant vet care depending on the health of the dog when we rescue. We also often have to pay for fosters outside of the UK to care for our dogs when they are removed from shelters and to help us prepare for their transport.
We recognise that our older dogs could be less attractive so any dog 6 years and above is given a lower adoption fee. To give an older dog a wonderful home when they may never have experienced that is a wonderful priveledge so please don't overlook them as they give a lot back.
HOW CAN YOU HELP ME REHOME MY DOG?
Please contact one of our adoption co-ordinators, Rachel or Amanda, to discuss the reasons for considering rehoming and we will explore how we can assist you. Our main charitable focus is on St Bernards and mixed large breed dogs over 35kg.
Please ensure you have already explored returning your dog to their breeder if appropriate. Please note we are unable to accept dogs who have a human bite history due to our charity's insurance.
We prioritise dogs who require rehoming due to genuine emergencies, such as serious ill health or death of an owner, homelessness due to domestic abuse, or other unforeseen life events. If a behavioural issue is the reason for the request, we will ask you to work with a behaviourist and your vet (if you have not already explored these options). We can recommend a behaviourist local to you who is a member of accredited professional associations. You will be asked to submit a behavioural assessment of your dog as part of the rehoming process.
You will be asked to complete a form that includes detailed questions about your dog's background, health and behaviour, and return this along with photographs. A signed behavioural assessment for your dog, completed within the last six months, will also be required.
If we are able to accept your dog, we will advertise them to our followers via social media and on our website. When people express interest, we send out an adoption application form and conduct a thorough process, including a home check and ID verification, before a prospective adopter is put forward.
You will be asked to speak with the prospective adopter and, if suitable, meet them to help further assess their suitability prior to any adoption going ahead. Once an adoption is agreed, we transfer ownership of your dog to the adopter and provide lifetime rescue backup and guidance.
You are responsible for ensuring that you are open and honest about your dog's history, including both physical health and behaviour. You will be asked to transfer all relevant documents, including pedigree (if appropriate), health and vaccination records, and behavioural assessments to the adopter. This is important to help us find the right home the first time. We will ask for an adoption fee to be paid by the successful adopter. As with all of our services, every penny we raise goes back into saving more dogs.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF THE DOG IS GOOD AROUND CATS?
If we have a full history for the dog, we will let you know if they are suitable around cats. Many of our rescue dogs have been starved, had to fend for themselves on the streets so may view cats as food so we will always cat test when we can.
Unfortunately if our dogs are in kill shelters it is not possible to cat test appropriately so we will always say this is unknown. Many younger dogs can be trained how to be around cats but that depends on whether your cat is dog friendly too.
