Get a street dog - a risky project

- Some dogs I think are good. But we have seen many examples of dogs that suffer from this kind of handling, says county veterinarian Helen Haaranen Loor on the Östergötland County Administrative Board.

In Romania there are many dogs with messy history. Their owners have abandoned them or they have never had a home. Figures from the Swedish Agricultural Agency show that an increasing number of dogs from Romania, for example, are being introduced into Sweden.

The hunt for new homes for the street dogs takes place via web pages. Movies on dogs of different sizes and colors are put out to be paired with new owners, who can adopt at a cost of between four thousand and seven thousand kronor.

Some claim that it is not just about dogs caught from the street, but in fact it is about puppy factories.

- It is problematic from several aspects: partly from the point of view of infection protection and partly from the point of view of animal protection, says Pernilla Stridh, county veterinarian at the county administrative board Östergötland.

- We hear rumors that puppies are being bred for the Swedish market, says Helen Haaranen Loor.

The dogs are transported by car or by flight to their new owners. The dog is often already written on the new owner. The dog must then have a passport, be vaccinated and have the paperwork required to leave the country. But the handling is not always reliable, says Helen Haaranen Loor.

- There are studies in, among others, Norway that show that no, you can't. They have taken blood tests on dogs that have shown that a large proportion of dogs that have been brought in did not have antibodies to rabies, says Helen Haaranen Loor.

The new owner receives the dog, which is usually scared and tired. Sometimes directly in a parking lot. Many dogs can already be accommodated upon arrival and other dogs become "walking trophies", says the county veterinarian.

- They do not work in the homes, there are children in the family and they notice that the dogs are scared, so they are moved to the next place. We have even had to remove street dogs introduced on the county administrative board because they were so mentally unstable, says Helen Haaranen Loor.

Sweden's veterinary medical institution warns about the risks of adopting street dogs and the Swedish Board of Agriculture recommends not to import street dogs because of the risk of infection. County veterinarian Helen Haaranen Loor on the county administrative board also recommends, for another reason.

- Yes, definitely. You don't know what you're getting. You bring in a dog that may have been involved in an incredible trauma. You subject it to a transport for repositioning. It is to expose it to a mental illness, she says.