Santerpaws Bulgarian Rescue Reviews 

I have adopted many rescue dogs over the years and my recent experience with Santerpaws has been very good. From my initial contact to discuss the type of dog that would be suitable for our home through to adoption was very supportive. We were updated regularly when our dog travelled to the UK and were given very detailed advice on what to expect in the first few days and weeks. There is also a very supportive owners page on Facebook that we can all share how our dogs are getting on and it is wonderful to see all the dogs in their forever homes. The work this rescue does is wonderful and I have nothing but admiration and thanks to them.

I got Bowie in January this year & fully recommend Santerpaws. We were told he was child, dog & cat friendly which was more or less true, he has made loads of doggy friends & is slowly making friends with their owners, he loves my grandson & they have a lovely relationship; he's not too sure about other children he sees when we're out or other people but I'm not too bothered about that as it means he can't be stolen, he loves the cats wants to play with them but they're not too keen! and he treats my 13 year old collie with the respect she deserves.
He did need extra worming but that wasn't an issue as it can take a few doses to completely clear any eggs.
He is a lovely caring dog & I wouldn't change him for the world. When my Molly goes over rainbow bridge I will certainly use Santerpaws again for another hound.
Thank you Santerpaws for letting him come to us.

Brilliant rescue who truly love the dogs and support them and their new owners long after the initial adoption and help with the transition period which is a very stressful time and process for most of the dogs. I now have the best little dog I could ever have hoped for!

After being turned down by other rescues as I had a 4 year old , animal friendly I may add! We tried here absolutely amazing rescue transport arrangements over here were faultless very organised and great communication so much so we went back to them this year to get another doggy

I had a fantastic experience adopting our doggie with Santerpaws.

Originally called JoJo, JJ was advertised in July 2021.

After applying to adopt JJ I had a couple of video calls and several emails back and forth to ensure both sides had all the information they needed to make an informed decision before finalising the adoption and paying the fee.

On the day the transport departed I, along with the others adopting dogs on the same transport were sent several videos of them being loaded up and we received regular updates of their progress as they travelled across the continent, heading for the UK.

Once we picked JJ up and got him home there was regular support for the 3 months that followed and it's a credit to Santerpaws to say that they have built a fantastic owners club page full of other doggie adopters that are always willing to share updates and advice.

We adopted our dog from Santerpaws around 18 months ago and he's settled in brilliantly. The whole process was really smooth with lots of contact and straight forward collection of our new addition.

Highly recommended and planning to adopt from Santerpaws in the future.

Adopted 2 dogs in April 2021 and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Santerpaws to anyone. Always there to answer questions and queries. They do fantastic work. My pups aren't perfect but the love they give is unconditional and I wouldn't be without them. Thank you Santerpaws for all the hard work you do.

Santerpaws is an amazing rescue centre. My bear 🐻 came from santerpaws and he is adorable. Everything told to me about Bear was great and helped me to settle bear in. Any problems they support you x highly recommend 👌

We rehomed our dog from Santerpaws and they
experience has been excellent. They do a brilliant job

Absolutely fantastic charity. All rescue dogs come with issues , people expect something perfect from the get go. My dog came to us so nervous but with love and care the years have been amazing. He jumps on me every morning for a big hello cuddle ❤ the support and safety of this small charity is always there for us . I highly recommend this charity . When we get a bigger house we will be getting a new friend from them ❤ thank you again for giving me my best friend in the world

I don’t recommend Santerpaws as a rescue from which to rehome dogs. Whilst they may have good intentions to find these poor animals a better life, they are rushing the process and in doing so not rigorously assessing these animals physically or behaviourally.
My experience was not good. I took ownership of a dog described as fully vaccinated, neutered, dog, child and cat friendly.
The charity hadn’t realised she wasn’t neutered so had this done just days before a 3 day journey in a small pen. I was only advised of this once she was loaded and on her way. The charity reinforces the importance of the need to decompress the first 3 days, we were asked not to walk them, not to introduce to non family members, even not pet them if they seem nervous, and to carefully introduce to the household and resident pets. However, they expected me to physically drag and carry a 15kg terrified dog, into a vets surgery, where she had to be muzzled and restrained to get her stitches removed. I wasn’t even consulted if I was ok with this or would rather delay her travelling.
The dog then went on to make 3 attacks on our cat, all were unprovoked, the cat wasn’t even making eye contact, just minding its own business. Santerpaws were dismissive and their ‘behavioural specialist’ advised I keep the cat and dog separate and introduce carefully. This is the same behaviourist that advised another adopter their dog may have shown unprovoked aggression to a small child as it had sensed it was Easter and the child had probably had too much chocolate! reinforced I had been cautious with introductions and also I pointed out they had described the dog as ‘cat friendly’ therefore why on earth was I being told the behaviour was only to be expected!?
I went on to contact other adopters who had struggled with Santerpaws dogs to find they too felt they were being blamed, dismissed and unsupported. I had to drive the dog at my own expense several hundred miles to a foster.
Not once did the charity enquire after the welfare of my cat, despite sending a photo of it’s nasty neck wound. They did not inform the foster of the attack on my cat. They readvertised the dog as having shown a ‘little unkindness’ to a cat, but, still claimed she could live happily with a cat again.
Irresponsible and not fair to the dogs or owners. If you do adopt via santerpaws please ask lots of questions, ask them to evidence their statements such as ‘cat friendly’, ‘gentle’ ask how they have assessed this, if they can’t or won’t, or give the standard reply ‘we know our dogs’, be cautious. This is a big decision to make and it has to be right for the dog and the new owner.

I would never in my life use this adoption service again. They advertised a dog as being good with children and other dogs; this was not the case. The dog we adopted attacked our senior dog; when we requested for the dog to be rehomed, they took no responsibility for their misrepresentation of this dog. I sent them a CCTV video of the dog attacking my other dog, to which they disclosed that the event was "minor". I have shown this video to 3 vets, and each one has said the event was not minor. My elderly father was there at the time of the attack, and if he were not there to intervene, the dog would have seriously injured my senior dog.
After having the dog for two days, I had to take it to the emergency vet for a nose bleed. The vet said the dog had a parasite that was transmitted via a tic, and the parasite is only found in that area of Europe. When I mentioned this to them, their tone was accusatory – at one point, they questioned how my vet could come to the diagnosis they did.
The correspondence after this from Santapaws was nothing short of disgusting, if not negligent. After being informed of the dog's reaction to other dogs, they readvertised her as being good with other dogs, even though they had been told this was not the case. I notified them that I needed the dog to be removed from my home for the safety of my senior dog and my child; they did not act quick enough for this – I had to email them four days later to make them move faster, in the meantime I had to find temporary accommodation for my senior dog. They do not have provisions for such events, even though they are clearly common. I ended up taking the dog to a local kennel which they had recommended. When we arrived, there were four other dogs from santapaws whose owners could not keep them. When I mentioned this to santapaw, they blamed the adopters – taking no responsibility for this themselves. Their email correspondence was aggressive.
As an institution, they fail to prepare their prospective adopters – not providing them with the complete information they need to be adequate adopters. In addition, their support and aftercare need some work.

Absolutely amazing. I got my doggy from them and hes better than I could ever imagine. Hes my best friend and i couldnt thank the charity enough for all the hard work they do ♡♡

Our dog Bentley came to us in April 2021.

The process was extremely simple and the the organisation for the transport was second to none.

Bentley came absolutely fully vaccinated and wormed. He was shy at first but after 3 weeks he was just like a massive ball of energy in our lives.

In the New Year we are going for a 2nd dog and it’ll certainly be through Santerpaws.

Santerpaws does incredible work and we are lucky enough to have had our gorgeous Santerpaws rescue for nearly a year.
She is wonderful. She is also a rescue and needs much more love, understanding, dedication, attention and experience than our other dog did, because of the start she had in life.
I am so grateful that Santerpaws saved her from that and bought her to us, so that she can learn what it is to be loved.
The wider Santerpaws Community has been amazingly supportive and encouraging and Santerpaws themselves promise lifetime rehoming, should it be needed.
We won't be taking them up on it though. We are fully committed to our wonderful pup and understand that rescues can need that bit more.

After being turned down by local rescues for a dog due to children ages we looked into adopting from abroad and found santerpaws we spent months following them.
Right from the start they were very informative and truthful, they asked about what we want, our life style and lots of other questions relevant to owning a dog.
They guided us through the process and gave their honest opinions when choosing our new family member, they sent options they thought would work for us as a family as well as the dogs themselves.

We often looked at the cute fluffy puppies and was basing our wants on the cuteness overlooking the more suitable dogs, however santerpaws helped us realise it isn't about the looks but the dog itself and its personality.

We adopted our 6 month old dog in October and my god he has slotted into our family like he has always been here and was supposed to be here all along. He is now 8 months old, growing like a weed and thriving!

No behaviour problems, no illness just 100% perfect. We put the time and effect into making sure he grew confidence and training daily.

Amazing charity, I cannot recommend enough! We rescued our beautiful pup from Santerpaws in March of 2021, we’re so glad we found this charity!

It’s important to remember that these are rescue dogs, they will be nervous. If you’re not willing to put time and care into your new arrival then a rescue is not for you. Our rescue pup was well looked after by the charity, we gave her space and love and she has fully settled into our home.

Good transport from Bulgaria, Anya (Ayer) is now living her best life with us and we can't imagine life without her. Thank you Santerpaws!

We are very happy with every aspect of the adoption process of our wonderful Sasha. They test all their dogs with cats which is what we needed as we had a mature rescue cat already. The pup we applied for first was already allocated but they offered another very similar pup. The whole process of applying, home check and arranging transport only took a few weeks and was open and thorough. I recommend joining their owners group first so you know what to expect if you've not had a rescue before and it's also a great source of peer support when your dog arrives. Communication during the transport was excellent. All adopters are added to a messenger group with several of their staff who give lots of updates on the journey and drop off points and advice on what to do when you get your dog. Including posting videos of dogs on the buses before they set off and at rest stops They leave the messenger group running for a while afterwards so all us new owners supported each other through the first few weeks. Sasha is very sweet tempered and good with dogs, cats and children as advertised. Adoption fee is very reasonable and covers neutering, all necessary vaccinations and documentation for transport. Really happy to be part of the Santerpaws family.

I adopted a dog from santerpaws and she is the most loving, happiest dog ever. At first she was nervous but of course she would be as she is a rescue!! But with lots of love she has come out of her shell entirely!
I also fostered a pup from santerpaws for a couple of weeks who was the sweetest girl, was very sad to see her go, if I had a house big enough, I’d have them all!
Would definitely recommend adopting to those who understand that dogs are for life and these are rescues who have their own issues, big or small but with love and time will become your bestfriend