Dogsters, we need your help. Does anyone know a rescue group in South Africa that can help Clio find a new home for his dog, Boris?

Clio, check with some of the Dogster groups based in South Africa. They are probably you’re fastest source of information on adoption groups for dogs.

Meanwhile Clio, let’s look at your options. First of all, if you cannot take Boris with you then the next best thing is to find him a good, loving home. There’s a lot of information you didn’t bark in (like Boris’ breed or size) but I can tell you it is much better to find him a good home than to kill him. He will miss you but he will move on and love again. If you cannot fulfill the essential promise you made to him when you adopted him — that he would be with you the rest of his life — then the least you can do is find him someone you can trust to care for him. That means visiting their home, watching them with other animals, asking for references, checking references, whatever it takes to make sure you are leaving Boris in good hands.

Let me tell you what happens if you DON’T do everything in your power to protect Boris’ future. I’m not trying to scare you but I want to be VERY straight with you. Boris could luck out and find the right family. That does not happen very often. The more likely scenario is that Boris ends up being abused or abandoned or both. When you find out what has happened (and sometime in the future you will or will figure that Boris has met a bad end otherwise) YOU WILL NEVER GET OVER THE GUILT. And yes, I put that in all caps because that is what will happen.

How do I know this is what will happen? Because you sound like a good, gentle person who is honestly torn apart by this decision. That means you probably have a pretty strong conscience. If you make the wrong decision for Boris then you will suffer the tortures of the damned. I tell you this now, not to upset you, but to warn you.

All that said, I wish you and Boris the best. I hope you can find a way to fund Boris’ trip to your new home. I’m sure he would rather stay with you, even though a 6 month quarantine is a long time.

Please bark back in and let us all know what happens with you and Boris.

Clio barked in:
I have gone to the link “can we help you keep your pet?”. The reason for this is that it has suddenly become necessary for me to emigrate from South Africa to the UK. I have a lovely dog named Boris. This dog is my baby. Initially Boris would have been sent to the UK too and would have spent his six months in quarantine. Because of the suddenness I only recently realised the enormous expense attached to emigrating a dog – a price I would be happy to pay. But unfortunately, with South Africa’s exchange rate being what it is, there is absolutely no way for me to afford it without winning the lottery.

Now I don’t know what to do. Boris and I are very attached, so would it be better to put him to sleep to spare him the sadness of going to live somewhere else? Or do I go hunting high and low for someone to take him? Also, does anybody know the survival rate of dogs (aged 7) in six month quarantine (I’m still clinging to the hope of being able to take him along…)? Please, can you help me decide what is best for Boris? I am very unhappy and distressed.