Santerpaws Bulgarian Rescue Reviews 

I got introduced to Santerpaws in 2021 and started following them. Decided that I would adopt a dog - turned out to be two. Santerpaws have been nothing but professional and helpful pre and post adoption when I had lots of questions. I decided I would like to visit them last year so loaded the motor home with 800 collars, 1100 worm tablets, 700lbs of dog food along with various other supplies like Domestos for Parvovirus and typical ex pat supplies. Arriving at Santerpaws I was truly amazed. As I expected, ALL funds go to the dogs welfare. NO dog is put to sleep and everything is given the best possible chance to recover from some truly horrendous treatment. Two puppies being hand reared by Justine at home [along with about 30 other dogs not at the shelter ] had been thrown onto a bonfire . They both survived and, although will carry scars for years to come, are now happily homed in Germany and the U.K. I was up at 3.am when my little dog needed to go out in the night and there was Justine loading the van ready to start the day. Every day starts like this. What they do and with the little they achieve it with is nothing less than miraculous. Every time, the well being of the dogs is first hence having re homed over 7000. My personal experiance was started with a home check, reserve my dogs and wait for the next dog delivery . The vans do the trip in two days which is phenominal. I drove LONG [15 hour days as the only driver] and still took me four days. The distance is nearly 2000 miles. I met the van at Chobam services on the M25 as it meant the shortest time they were in the van. People who are insistant on the dog being delivered to their door and complain otherwise may need to consider this. I have just had a visit from Justine and Pete who are over here on their annual trip. They also delivered 5 dogs. One was a dear little chap who was 4 [Yes 4!!!] kilos. He had been 2 kilos. He'd had Distemper whch he was nursed back to health from only to contact Parvovirus. Both should have killed him. He was not put to sleep. For the 5 weeks he couldn't/wouldn't eat he was hand fed through a syringe . 5 weeks. He was at my house, full of life, growing his coat again as it had all falled out and playing with my Malinois size dog Dusty and having a ball! Good on you Santerpaws. This is what it is about. For the arm chair critics, go take a look at what they do and with how little. As a foot note, with all that I took over on my trip - and I am aware that it's a drop in a bucket- the 700 lbs of food would last for FIVE days. Please support them, they are wonderful people doing a wonderful thing. It's more that a job ; it is a vocation.

I don’t know where to start… Santerpaws have been amazing with helping get our lovely Balkan and Malinor to their forever homes here in the UK. Not only have they helped with the adoption but they have also ensured that any questions that need to be asked regarding any help afterwards and once they get home have not been too much or too much of an ask. Each and every person involved with Santerpaws down to the Transport team have been very good in keeping us informed and have made sure we’re well advised on what to expect of each individual dog (as they have a group chat of the people expecting their pup on that transport) once they get home and what they’re like, also any potential ways of helping with any teething problems. What they do is truly amazing and if it wasn’t for them my uncles home wouldn’t now be full of love.

Leah x
(On behalf of me and Craig Toon)

I have just collected my 2nd dog from Santerpaws and I can't recommend the charity enough. From the moment the transport communication group is opened the volunteer admin staff give advice, tips and guidance. They have been quick to respond to questions and give support - even before I collected either dog and this support reassures all the group members. By following their advice, keeping relaxed and not expecting to be doing 10 mile hikes within the first day my first dog (March 2023 age around 2) is a happy and wonderful family dog. The 2nd dog is approx 7 months and within a few days I am already seeing her cheeky, crazy self and getting lots of snuggles. I can't wait to add to her journey to become a happy family dog, showering her with lots of love and patience. Both dogs are very different and have had very different experiences in Bulgaria, but they were both lucky enough to be picked up, loved and nurtured by the Santerpaws team enabling them to become amazing family pets. Thank you all of the Santerpaws team.

Avoid....shocking attitude, absolutely disgusting way to talk to people, supposed to be a charity! This place needs to be shut down!

I’ve always had my dogs from Santerpaws, the whole process is smooth from contact to home check virtually, all
Dogs come with rescue back up, and plenty of support from the admin, and the dogs have always settled in and been a pleasure to have within my family home , I highly recommend anyone to adopt a dog from the rescue

* Poor Doug & others, sent over to homes with very young children, only for it to not work out! Please Santerpaws, be more responsible! You are causing such distress to people & their families, & of course the dogs having to be moved on.

Please adopt from the UK, meet the dog, have proper checks to save your family heartache & another dog the distress of having to be rehomed!*

Do not adopt from here!
I had NO home check, no ID check, not even a phone call. Happy to take my money then lied too.
Lied to from the start re accurate age of the dog, passport not even correct.
Please read other genuine reviews (the one star ones), sadly our experience of being dismissed & finding this 'buisness' really awful is not a one off,rushed & shambolic!

Sent a very ill sickly dog, FULL to bursting of worms & a double layered bacterial cough on arrival. Told lies numerous times, inaccurate information that cost us dearly, both emotionally & financially.
The worst experience ever! The dog was very ill, severely underweight & highly reactive.
The dog (Stan) was & i am sure is a lovely dog. We loved & took great care of him!

He was highly reactive due to being very underweight & starving. He arrived larger in frame than my Springer but weighed 11.1kg.
No wonder he was reactive, he also had a very serious cough that took a lot to nurse him through. A lot of vets visits, two lots of anti bios & lots of lost sleep for us all.
The rescue were notified & sent videos, so despite their opening lies in the reply here, i can prove they knew & i can prove how ill poor Stan was.
He was too young to travel & too young to be castrated (he arrived with stitches left in him) but that is another story!

His worm burden took a long time to fix. My vet had never seen such a young dog with such a burden. The wormer (if wormed in Bulgaria) my vet said was not effective & likely outdated.
Sadly he was very aggressive re food.

We would loved to have kept Stan, having spent over £1200 on him, having taken him multiple times to a behaviourist with over 25 years experience we realised it would be selfish to keep him.
The behaviourist did tests & being a large guardian breed he was naturally reactive to small dogs.
Having a small dog ourselves that he would not stop picking on we had to make the heartbreaking choice that was right for everyone. The behaviourist told us we were not a good fit for Stan because of our other dogs ages & size.
Sadly if proper checks had been done we feel this heartache could have been avoided.

In uk rescues other pets & kids are always highly considered over money!

The owner of Santerpaws said what an amazing job we did with Stan. We got him well & we took him to training classes, we loved him. So it not a shock to read he is happy.
We broke our hearts in order that he would get the RIGHT home. Not just a home!

Sadly Santerpaws' 'secretary' could not ever find any empathy for us, or thank us for what we did for Stan. Instead we have been treated in a really unkind way. We were blocked & prevented from knowing he was ok. Luckily we managed to find out he is ok. This time he has the right match. We are really proud of the part we played in his life.

The 'secretary' has a very odd way of communicating when faced with the harsh realities of a genuine experience, an awful experience at that! I have in writing that she realised i hadn't had a home check prior to the poor dog leaving Bulgaria. Instead of putting his needs 1st, she decided to still send him! I guess because money comes first! If his needs came first the very minimum check would have been done once she realised . Shockingly awful!
I have messages from his foster carer (who lied & pretended she was adopting him) asking for support re his behaviour. A specific one saying, Stan was clamping on to her dogs leg so hard & not letting go when her dog yelped. So, please take the rescues reply to this review with a pinch of salt.
Also nobody i know is 'known' to this 'rescue'
They cocked up but cannot say so on here, luckily i have it in writing described as just that.
Keep the lies up guys, i expect nothing else!

Stan was lovely, Stan was a handful & should not have been matched to us! Totally inappropriate home, but as with Doug mentioned at the start of my writing, they dont care, so long as it is a home.
Adopt uk.

Decent uk rescues ensure the dog is a good match for the home, that dogs are not rehomed with young children etc. Adopt UK!

Update... you cannot help yourself can you!
You are the one engaging, this was written in the summer after you lied created a deception & tried to stop us from knowing Stan was safe. A basic human kindness.
My honest review is just that. Sorry if it bruises your ego. Sorry you have no empathy for what we experienced.

Final update...Luckily i have evidence to back up all i have written, i sent you the messages showing the 'foster carer' seeking support re his biting.

We adopted Buttons two years ago this month
She is the most amazing, gentle, sweet and loving dog . Thank you so much to Santapaws for our beautiful girl . She brings us joy every day.

I have been fortunate enough to have not only adopted 2 dogs from Santerpaws, but also to have additionally fostered several more.

All of the dogs that I have met have had different needs, some you would think had been in loving homes for their whole lives, and some have more behavioural needs. You must be honest with them about your experience & capabilities so you are matched with the right dog.

All of the pooches take a little while to desensitise, which when you think about the journey they have had (street dog to shelter dog, to transport, to living in a home with new smells, people and other animals) is totally normal. But once they come out of their shell and start to relax it is the most rewarding experience!

I can't rate Santerpaws enough for the work they do. They service I have received has always been 100%, they communicate well, provide aftercare and support if needed, and are all round lovely people!

Quite simply, the best company. From start to finish, the level of care and compassion for the dogs was amazing, making sure it was the best fit for the humans and the dogs. Mr zorro is now living his best life on skye, healthy and happy.

Hey you guys so I have been privalledged enough to foster for Santerpaws and could not be more proud to be part of a group of volunteers that speak up and help out for the animals as they can't themselves. I have nothing but praise an admiration for the team and together we do make a difference. Where would these animals be without us ... probably dèàd. It's that simple. SanterPaws team we got this... you can't please everyone but everyone doesn't matter... its the animals. Thank you for all your work love and support for these animals and your fellow volunteers. Big Up SanterPaws... Keep up the good work, these animals need us and are truly grateful for everything we do for them. Haters gonna hate... carry on... that's a them problem not a us problem. #TeamWorkMakesTheDreamWork #SavingLives #MakingADifferenceWithWhatWeDo #SanterPawsGotThis 😉🥰 xxx

caring and helpful, team of volunteers relayed erica halfway across the country to me, without asking for a penny

What a fantastic charity santapaws is
I adopted Bella nearly 3 years ago, she came to me as a foster with a view to adopt as she was in foster here already
Since then I have fostered 8 other dogs from santerpaws, either because they have been rejected from their “forever home” or because they needed to come over to make space for all the other dogs that need rescuing
The people who work for santapaws do it on a voluntary basis, they are not paid for this, they do it for the love of these dogs.
They will always try and place the right dog in the right home as they don’t want to have to keep moving the dog as this can create more issues for the dog, every dog I have looked after has been lovely and I’m always so happy to see them on the owners page and see how well they are thriving
I would definitely recommend santapaws if you are looking to rescue a dog, they really can not do enough for you, even when the dog is in your home, there is always someone on hand with any questions or problems that you may be having

I reserved my dog and applied to be a foster too for this charity, the communication and support are really good, there is a dog Behavioural specialist that will be on hand to advise and give support, my foster arrived as she had had a rocky experience and was said didn't like cats ( for my sins I have 10 plus cats ) the dog didn't mind the cats, admittedly she would chase...but that was when they ran, so a perfectly normal dog response as she wanted to play , they all ended up at the end of the day asleep together either in the open crate or on the sofa, it was said she wasn't toilet trained in the nearly month I had her she had two accidents, which is what is expected, I was her second home straight from the rescue, she has now moved on to her forever home and I've heard from the owners, first night she slept right through no problems and us a delightful little girl. Which is truly was when I got, she just needed attention to her needs,patience and understanding.
My dog arrived and guess what, she's a puppy, puppies nip, they play they have accidents and they are just like having a baby, you wouldn't leave a baby with marbles, you would approach a baby you never knew in a manner of shoving your face, hands, all things that would be overwhelming, wrestling to put collars or leads and forcing them to do something, dogs need patience especially rescue ones, they need time to adjust and they need peace, quiet and understanding, it is new, they have travelled far and away from what they know and they are in a strange place so they need to settle, yes they might need a bath and bit extra food, I have found this charity to be supportive especially with help with training and its lovely to see they are helping these dogs, it just a shame that some people want to do the right adopting but don't fully understand and appreciate it can sometimes require you having patience and putting in a lot of effort. As it stands my dog is nearly toilet trained do I get cross nope one I made a commitment and two having tiling helps 😆

I am now on my 5th Santerpaws dog, they have a good setup now of help and advice for the people who don't know what they are taking on, because no mater how they are over there the trip over here is a big change for them and some take it better than others

We have just adopted a dog with Santerpaws, the communication and support we have had is great. Our dog is gentle, sweet natured, and it feels like we have had her forever. She is not our first foreign rescue but our third (the first two were not from Bulgaria) its not always easy, you need to put a lot of work in but it's worth it long term. Would do it again in a heartbeat!

I was lucky enough to volunteer for Santerpaws at the end of last year, absolutely amazing charity, when you get out of bed for a glass of water at 3 am and see that the main 2 working there are already up and about cleaning and feeding dogs you realise this is dedication. Thankfully loads of tea breaks, but who can blame them.
Every dog there is cared for with love and dedication, every dog they know inside and out and they spend every hour ensuring that the dogs come first. Fantastic experience and if you never get a chance to go over do so.
Unsure of the negative comments on here, just remember guys that people write negative stuff cause they have not had the experience they have wanted, many that have do not write because they do not feel the need to. On a personal note, you will not find a better rescue they are honest throughout and totally awesome. Thanks you Santerpaws you rock xxxxx ZL xx

I have adopted 2 from Santerpaws. Both arrived thin and undernourished but with love and Tlc and 3 years on the doggies and I have a positive relationship.

I have now broken contact with the charity. Initially I made a monthly donation but got no recognition or thank you. Then contacted the charity to adopt a 2rd dog. But living I'm the NE of Scotland I asked for a delivery to Scotland rather than England but no communication or negotiation..

Just the answer that it woukdc ost too . Santerpaws needs to reflect on their answer. As a charity it employer they need to keep the public interest a listen to what tge public wants. Meanwhile might be a minority will make no more charitable donations to Santerpaws. Therefore not even1 star 🌟 .

Caring company for what they are doing! They love the dogs. Not just numbers. Recommended.

I don't usually write reviews, but just had to for Santerpaws. I came across this little gem of a charity and thank goodness I did. They were so thorough in regards to the welfare of the dogs under their supervision and to the help and advice they gave me. Now that my adoption is complete, the wonderful people at Santerpaws are still on hand to assist me with any queries I may have. Dedication, care and attention to detail, such as that shown by this charity, is very rare today. Thank you all very much.

We have adopted a super clever little dog. The people at the charity were and still are superb, if we had a problem we can contact for advice.