FAQs

Yes.  Spanish Stray Dogs UK is a UK registered charity and was set up in 2012.  Our SCIO charity number is SC043486 and we are regulated by the OSCR.  The charity was set up by Amee Townsend, president and founder, along with our sister charity Spanish Stray Dogs which is registered in Spain (charity no. G93320919).  Spanish Stray Dogs UK is run by a very small group of trustees and volunteers in the UK and Spain.

We are a small virtual team of animal-loving volunteers and trustees scattered far and wide, connected by technology and united by our common passion.  Our registered office is in Scotland, however our founder Amee Townsend is based in Bromley, UK with her two Spanish doggies Dennis and Sir Pete.

We have no physical ‘shelter’ of our own, instead we dedicate ourselves to helping the dogs incarcerated in the pound[s] of southern Spain.  The main pound we support, near Gibraltar, is often open to visitors however individuals would need to make any arrangements themselves.

Some lucky dogs get offered foster homes and where this is the case you may wish to be put in touch with the foster to make arrangements.  You will see which dogs are currently in foster on our home page where this will be specified on their post.

We do understand it’s a very big decision to adopt a dog you haven’t met, and so we welcome questions you may have about a dog that has caught your eye, and can request videos of specific dogs to give you a better picture of their personality.  We can normally also request child / cat tests, etc, to give you more information.

The beautiful stray dogs of southern Spain that we help have only known extreme neglect, cruelty and abandonment.  These dogs rarely have the legal protection their British cousins do and population control is not a priority, leading to such high numbers that the chances of individuals finding help diminish daily.  With such soaring numbers, conditions in the municipal [council] pounds can be hard to imagine.

Yet the choice of breeds, cross breeds, colours and personalities is incredible.  And the gratitude that these beautiful animals show when they are given the gift of love and comfort is extraordinary.

If you want to know more about any of the dogs you have seen on our pages, please contact SSDUK through the adoptions e-mail address adoptions@spanishstraydogs.org.uk

We will try to answer any questions you may have about your chosen dog, and we can request videos for you to give you a better idea of the character of the dog.   We can usually do cat / child test videos of the dog also should you so require.

We can recommend dogs to you that may suit your household / lifestyle. We will always give you as much accurate information as possible, as a good owner-dog match is essential for everyone.  Please bear in mind that most of the dogs were found as strays and so we rarely have previous history about them before they were admitted to the pound.  However, they are all assessed individually before being offered up for re-homing, and we only advertise dogs that we feel are suitable to be re-homed.  Most of the dogs get on well with other dogs as they live in communal kennels in the pound, and 99 percent of the dogs adapt very well and surprisingly quickly to life as a family dog.

Watch our video clips here for a summary.

Since January 2012 when the UK quarantine laws changed, it has become much easier and cheaper to bring dogs into the UK from Spain.  Gone is the 6 month quarratine law and in its place is a requirement for all dogs to have a rabies vaccine 21 days before they arrive in the UK.

If you think you have what it takes to offer one of our dogs a loving forever home, then please CONTACT US for a pre-adoption application form.

Our transporter does once monthly trips to the UK so on average the whole process takes around a month.

The adoption process can be summarised as follows:

Step 1 – questionnaire and home check

We will ask you to complete a pre-adoption questionnaire. This gives us an idea about your lifestyle and suitability to re-home one of the dogs.  Based on this, we will arrange for a home-check whereby a volunteer will schedule a video conference with you and your family  to check that everything is safe and secure for accommodating a rescue dog. The volunteer will ask to see your house and garden and will chat with you and your family about your chosen dog and the needs and care of a rescue dog.  Importantly, the video conference will also give you the opportunity to ask any questions and seek advice about any issues that may be of concern to you.

Step 2 – preparing for adoption

Once we have received a successful home-check report, we will run blood tests to screen for certain Mediterranean diseases*.  We will inform you of the blood test results as soon as we get them and if you are happy with these you will be asked to confirm you want to go ahead with the adoption.

Step 3 – paperwork and fee

At this point, we will send you the adoption paperwork and ask you to pay the adoption fee £570.  If your dog was sponsored – this would have been indicated on their profile – this adoption fee may be a lesser amount.  Adoption costs to the UK are £570. This includes all DEFRA paperwork and transport by DEFRA registered carrier ( using the TRACES system) direct to your door, except London, within the M25 motorway, Highlands of Scotland beyond Perth, and all off islands (if we cannot deliver direct, a mutually convenient meeting place will be arranged).  For dogs brought to the UK by SSDUK to go initially into foster care, adopters will still be required to pay the full adoption fee of £570 to cover the above expenses.In some cases, for example a failed adoption of a dog already in the UK, the fee may be reduced to £320 where the initial transport costs from Spain have already been met. This is to cover transport within the UK, kennel fees and any checks required. For dogs brought to the UK by SSDUK to go on foster, adopters will still be required to pay the full adoption fee of £570 to cover the above expenses.  In some cases, for example a failed adoption of a dog already in the UK, the fee may be reduced to £320 where the initial transport costs from Spain have already been met. This is to cover transport within the UK, kennel fees and any checks required.  If the cost of transport exceeds £320 you may be asked to give an amount towards this.

Step 4 – booking the travel

Once the adoption fee has been received we will prepare the dog’s passport.  We will also book the dog on the next available transport to the UK and advise you of the travel date.  Don’t worry – we will keep you posted every step of the way!  You will have received an information sheet from us as part of the adoption process, please read this carefully and ask any questions you have – there is no such thing as a stupid question!

Step 5 – time to go!

When the date of travel arrives, the dogs are transported with a TRACES-registered transporter by road to Calais, and then by train or ferry to the UK.  There are normally two trips out per month and we will usually get your dog on the next available trip, often in around four weeks’ time.  The trip is usually preceded by a two day stay in a TRACES-registered kennel, and the trip typically takes two days (this is of course dependant on external factors such as the weather, transport issues, traffic).  As such, it is difficult for the transporter to give you a fixed time for the collection/delivery of your dog until they arrive in the UK and has a better idea of timings.   If you live in London, within the M25 motorway, in the Highlands of Scotland (beyond Perth) or any offshore islands we cannot deliver directly to you, but a mutually convenient meeting place will be arranged.  Your dog will be well looked after during the trip and sometimes a transport is able to give you an online tracker to watch your dog’s progress from the pound to the UK – an exciting time!

Step 6 – meeting your new friend

It is time to meet your new dog!  Please, please remember to have a strong collar [with ID tag] and lead ready, and never let the driver hand the dog over to you without them being secured first.  In fact, a harness is very strongly recommended.  The dogs can be very frightened and confused after 48 hours of bewildering travelling and in such a situation can bolt, so the handover is a time to be extremely careful.  Please also ensure you get all the paperwork and pet passport from the transporter – this vital information must be kept safe in case you are contacted by a DEFRA vet (a routine paperwork inspection) in the following days after your dog’s arrival.

Step 7 – Settling in!

The same goes for the first few days and weeks – please be very aware of exit points from your home/property.  Until your dog is used to you and trusts you, it is extremely important that you remain vigilant.  Needless to say, some handsome treats on hand are always a good idea!  Give your dog space, patience, reassurance and love, and they will usually settle down in a couple of days, some even sooner.  However the first few days may be a bit stressful, and we are always on hand to give advice and discuss any concerns with you.

Consult your information sheets about taking your dog for a check up at your local vet within the two weeks after arrival, and also about registering their microchip on the UK database PETLOG.  And don’t forget to enjoy your dog!  These dogs usually blossom very quickly in a home environment and become wonderful and loving companions and family pets.  Please don’t spoil your dog with a lack of rules – by keeping boundaries in place your dog will feel safe and secure.  Training classes can help enormously by strengthening your bond with your dog and teaching the dog how to behave, however please discuss your individual dog with the class teacher beforehand to ensure you are choosing your classes wisely.

Step 8 – stay in touch!

We love to know our dogs have arrived safely and to see pictures of them in their new home!  The change from an often sad, withdrawn, unwanted dog to a happy and much-loved family pet can be remarkably quick, and is one of the reasons we all do what we do.  We are always on hand if you ever have any issues or concerns so please do get back in touch with us if you need help or advice.  We offer a lifetime commitment to the dogs we re-home and urge that, if for any reason you can no longer keep the dog that you adopted from us, you alert us to your situation and let us find a new home for the dog.

We have a facebook page for Spanish Stray Dogs adopters which we invite you to join, where you can chat with people in similar situations to yours.  We highly recommend you join as soon as possible to benefit from the fantastic community of like-minded individuals and their shared experiences.

* Diseases that are screened for

We run blood tests to check for three Mediterranean diseases which can be quite common in dogs in Spain: ERLICHIA [tick fever], FILARIA [heart worm], and LEISHMANIASIS [a parasitic disease which is spread by the bite of sandfly in certain countries, but not in the UK as we do not have the sandfly vector here].   Should any of these tests come back positive we will contact you and discuss the implications, to see if you wish to proceed with the adoption.  Testing positive for any of these diseases doesn’t spell the end and all are very easily treatable with fairly cheap medications.  These diseases are common in Spain and our vets are used to treating them, so we will begin any necessary treatment on the dog if you still wish to proceed with the adoption of the dog. Can I stay in touch if I do adopt?

We love to know our dogs have arrived safely and to see pictures of them in their new home!  The change from an often sad, withdrawn, unwanted dog to a happy and much-loved family pet can be remarkably quick, and is one of the reasons we all do what we do.  We are always on hand if you ever have any issues or concerns so please do get back in touch with us if you need help or advice.  We offer a lifetime commitment to the dogs we re-home and urge that, if for any reason you can no longer keep the dog that you adopted from us, you alert us to your situation and let us find a new home for the dog.

We have a facebook page for Spanish Stray Dogs adopters which we invite you to join, where you can chat with people in similar situations to yours.  We highly recommend you join as soon as possible to benefit from the fantastic community of like-minded individuals and their shared experiences.

Not everyone is ready to adopt right now, but you can still definitely help make a difference!

As well as searching for forever families to adopt the dogs, we also fundraise to pay transportation costs and cover things like vet bills for the dogs.  And the cost of feeding over 300 dogs every single day is one of our biggest challenges, so you can see why raising funds is such a high priority for us.

• We run a monthly fundraising ‘365 club’ – our very own Doggy Lottery! – as well as a recently-launched Dog Parent scheme, both of which are important sources of income for our work.  If you would like to find out more, please see the details of which are in the links at the top of our website.
• ​Amazon customer?  Our Amazon wishlist is also an easy way to help with the click of a few buttons, and the much-needed supplies are shipped to the pound on your behalf!
• Easyfundraising– a great way to support us at no cost to yourself!  Simply register with Easyfundraising and select SSDUK as your chosen charity then simply shop through their site.  With hundreds of participating retailers such as Amazon, Debenhams, and Thomson Holidays, each time you shop with them through easy fundraising, they donate to SSDUK – the pennies soon add up!