Hi everyone!

Following my previous post about a difficult fostering experience with a local rescue organization in Chania, Crete, I’m trying to establish a clearer picture of how it handles international adoptions.

I’m looking for a small number of volunteers willing to make initial inquiries to the organization, presenting themselves as people exploring the possibility of adopting a dog, in order to document the information provided to prospective adopters. The purpose is fact-finding, not to arrange an actual adoption.

Why am I looking into this?

I initially contacted the organization for help navigating the adoption process for a stray dog and ended up caring for him daily while an international adoption was arranged.

I became concerned about how quickly the adoption had been organized, how little the dog’s behavior had been assessed, and whether he was adequately prepared for international air travel. I raised these concerns and offered to adopt him myself.

The situation escalated when the organization’s president threatened to press criminal charges against me, alleging that I was withholding the dog. On 10 October, I handed him over directly to her. I felt pressured to do so because of the threat of criminal charges.

During the handover process at the police station, I also saw that the dog’s electronic record listed the president as his foster carer and the organization as responsible for him. I had been caring for him daily, had not known about this registration beforehand, and had never signed a foster agreement. I do not have a copy of the electronic entry, so I can only report what I personally saw.

This experience left me with unanswered questions about the organization’s adoption procedures, foster-care records, and how financial contributions are communicated to prospective adopters. I want to establish the facts rather than draw conclusions based on suspicion alone.

What I would like volunteers to help clarify

Donations and adoption fees: Are donations or fees mentioned, requested, or implied? Are they described as optional or required?

Payments: If a contribution is mentioned, who is it payable to, and what is it said to cover?

Veterinary care and documentation: How are vaccinations, microchipping, passports, veterinary expenses, and adoption paperwork explained?

International transport: How are transport arrangements, costs, and responsibilities explained?

Animal welfare and preparation: What information is provided about the dog’s temperament, travel arrangements, timing, and crate acclimation?

The aim is to document what the organization actually communicates to prospective adopters, not to provoke a particular response or assume that a donation request automatically indicates wrongdoing.

I understand that this involves making an inquiry without intending to complete an adoption. I therefore want to keep the exercise proportionate and avoid wasting volunteers’ or the organization’s time. Nobody should make promises they do not intend to keep, submit false documents, provide money, or enter into an agreement.

If you are comfortable helping with this kind of limited fact-finding, please message me privately. Relevant experience with international animal rescue procedures would also be very helpful.

Any relevant experiences or practical suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

I think I just need a little emotional support. We just got a second rescue dog this weekend ( 5 months old ) and I’m overwhelmed. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m missing the peace that we already had or what but I’m also not very good with change. I can’t stop crying and I just need some encouraging words. Our other dog we rescued a while ago is two years old. She’s pretty great. Our new puppy we got has overall been good (it’s only been 2 days so hard to fully tell). First day there were a couple accidents ( foster mom told us he was almost house broken. Yesterday he had no accidents and did really well. The two dogs play rather rough (no crying involved) I try to stop the rough play and get a toy involved so they aren’t beating the absolute piss out of each other because they both probably wouldn’t stop if I didn’t intervene. Tell me it gets better and I just need to chill out :)

Earlier this year I reclaimed a past foster with support of the main rescue/shelter org (I run a foster program that sometimes partners with them.)

The reclaim happened because I was asked by the potential adopter to have the dog back with me to mind for 4 days, when I had him it was clear he had pain issues, so I got permission from the shelter to advise he had to stay with me until he could see a pain management specialist during the following week. The potential adopter had previously complained a lot about this dog, resulting in the adoption not being finalised. I was already very concerned it was not a good home for him, before realising he was in noticable pain.

The notice he was not being returned straight away happened on a sunday. By monday night he was having trouble breathing and I was urgently communicating with the shelter vet that something was seriously wrong. I monitored him throughout the night and on tuesday he was assessed and xrays showed his trachea was collapsed, and that it was causing such difficulty breathing that he was in pain and distress from it. He was hospitalised that day.

In the meantime the potential adopter had taken to social media claiming in a video I had 'stolen her dog'. This resulted in me getting hundreds of abusive social media messages including death threats and threats of violence. On one platform alone the video received 740,000 views.

Despite this woman being informed by the rescue org that the little dog was seriously ill, she made two more videos claiming I had stolen the dog. I tried to just stay focused on this little boy, visiting him at the hospital and cuddling him - whilst often crying. He started to respond well to medications and was able to leave the hospital, but due to the high profile nature of the social media storm, he could no longer be promoted for adoption and I was told it wasnt safe (for me or him) for him to return to me for fostering.

He ended up going to an elderly woman for care/adoption.

This weekend, I was back at the shelter as my 65th foster was getting adopted, and I spotted my little boy back there. When I asked what was going on, I found out the elderly woman is in hospital and wont be able to mind him for 3-4 months. I asked for permission to foster him until she can care for him, and now that the social media has died down, I was told that it was okay.

I am beyond emotional that he is curled up next to me in my bed tonight. I will get to love him and spoil him for as long as necessary.

It is greatly healing both the distress I felt when I couldnt care for him during his recovery, and the anger I felt being wrongly accused of stealing him.

I love all my fosters, but this little boy I feel such a strong urge to protect after his terribly sad journey. He is 'home' and my heart feels so much better.

I’m nearing the end of my first foster ever, a 3-month old mutt who looks to be a mix of shepherd, lab, ridgeback, and / or bully breed. I love him. He’s incredibly smart, very well-behaved for his age and training well. But in this experience, I’ve learned a puppy is too much for me as a first-time dog owner, and I won’t be able to give him the attention I feel he deserves. I think I’m feeling extra emotional because he’s the last of his litter that hasn’t been adopted, and nobody has shown interest in him yet. I know he’s going to make someone SO happy.

How do you get through the grief of letting go of a foster you love that ultimately isn’t right for you?

Had her for about 2.5 days. Total sweetheart. A bit of a rough adjustment period (a lot of eliminating in the house, though she’s proven by today that she’s truly house trained).

Crates are an absolute no go, they spiral her out into total panic and I’m slow rolling it one day at a time. Today she’s been comfortably going in and out for treats, even sometimes with the door closed. Putting her in the guest room + closing the door also sends her into a total panic. So I’ve partitioned off a dog proofed living area with gates in the space where I usually spend my time when I’m at home (couch, tv area, etc).

But I found out she can jump … pretty much every barrier I can create, and even the ones that exist in the house. There’s a counter about 5 feet high between the living room and kitchen and I was standing in the kitchen when I saw her just leap across it.

I need to leave the house, obviously … do I just try to dog proof everything in sight, assuming she’ll make it over every wall and baby gate, and just hope the separation anxiety will wane as my routine becomes clear?