Mei is one of Taiwan’s unwanted.
The attractive, two-year-old Formosan Mountain Dog is friendly, up-to-date on all her shots, and spayed.
In Canada, she would be an ideal candidate for adoption. But in Taiwan, the former stray spent months bouncing around shelter-to-shelter, unable to attract the interest of
potential new owners. Adoption rates in that country are low, making it nearly impossible for mutts and dogs with disabilities to find new homes.
So in March, the Animal Rescue TeamTaiwan (ARTT) put Mei on a flight to Vancouver, where she was surrendered to the Dogway Dog Rescue Society in Mission.She is just one of more than 2,000 Taiwanese dogs who have been sent to Vancouver and
the U.S. through ARTT’s Overseas Adoption Project, which began in 2005.It is not uncommon for animal welfare societies to transfer dogs between shelters within Canada. And, increasingly, animal welfare societies are taking in dogs from overseas.
Each year, strays from Greece, India, and the U.S., among others, find new homes in Canada. British Columbia is no exception.Since November 2012, Dogway Dog Rescue has taken in about 60 dogs from other countries, many of them from Taiwan, said Cherry Latour, founder of Dogway Dog Rescue and Mei’s foster owner.
A Better Life Dog Rescue in Surrey has also taken in dogs through the oversears adoption project.Meanwhile, many shelters are experiencing a glut of Canadian animals looking for homes.
In 2012, the BC SPCA rescued 28,973 animals, but only adopted out 16,363.
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