Adopting a Staffy in the UK, and bringing them to the USA?

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right section to ask this, but it seemed like the best bet.

After meeting a SBT while I was working as a dog washer at a kennel, I completely have fallen in love with the breed. I really would love to get one once my boyfriend and I move, which will most likely be in about a year. The only issue is that we live in the USA, and getting a Staffy here is very difficult. Almost all "Staffys" available for adoption here are pitbulls or American Staffordshire Terriers miscategorized as Staffys, and few SBT breeders here charge around $1500 for a pup. Plus, we would love to adopt a dog from a shelter rather than from a breeder.
We are considering going to the UK on a short vacation, adopting a Staffy while we are there, and bringing him/her back with us. However we have no idea how the adoption process and transit process work...

Would we be able to adopt a dog in the UK if we are US citizens on vacation, or would we have to be UK residents?
If we did adopt the dog, would the adoption papers provided by the shelter be sufficient to get the dog approved for air travel?
I already was able to figure out that yes, if the dog is under 40lbs, they can be brought in a crate as carry-on luggage rather than cargo... but they do require papers.

If anybody knows the answers to these questions or anything relevant to this, please let me know. We really want to make this happen and would much rather give a UK shelter pup the life he deserves than get one from a breeder here in the US.
Thanks!

hello and welcome to the forum
one problem you will have is rescue center's like to do a home visit which would be quite hard for you

Hi &

Welcome to the staffordshire bull terrier niceboard. We are pleased you have decided to join us, and hope you enjoy your stay. We hope to see plenty of pictures of your staffordshire bull terriers or any other breed you may have in your household

If you would like to enter your dog(s), puppy(s) or another pet(s) you may have into our Monthly Competition, voting starts on the 20th of every month, if you are lucky your dog maybe placed on our Hall Of Fame page on our website.

Just one last thing before you look around could you please just have a quick look At This Poll, we would love to know how you found us.

Here are some links that will get you started with the website:-

Please read the Forum Rules before you start posting.
Here are a List of Tutorial & FAQs that will help you around the forum.
You can ask for Help here if you are having trouble doing something on the forum.
If you have any ideas to improve the forum please let us know Your Feedback Here.
We have a Website with alot of information if you would like to view it.
Make a Donate to help us to keep us improving our forum and website.

Hi and welcome.

TBH I doubt that a shelter here would let you rehome whilst you live abroad, but that doesn't stop you conntacting them yourself, here's a link with some English shelters, ask them

http://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t10833-rescue-centres-list

As stated above many shelters here would do a home visit before the dog is rehomed.

Since you say that you wouldn't be getting the dog for another year that would give you plenty of time to have a look at shelters in US wouldn't it?

We do have members of the forum from the US with Staffys so I am assuming it is not impossible to find them there.

Shelters here usually charge a fee/donation on collection you would not get the puppy/dog for free. There would be charges for veterinary checks/innoculations including rabies.

I'm sorry to say that it's highly unlikely that you would be able to adopt here.

But quite apart from the home visit the rescue centre would like to carry out, the cost of transporting the dog from here to the USA would be prohibitive. You could end up spending more on shipping than you would spend on a pup from a breeder in the USA.

Also, should the adopted dog prove to have behavioural problems you would have no back up in place.

If you are serious about adopting a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, I'm sure that your local Stafford Club (The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America can point you in the right direction...http://www.sbtca.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=12) can point you in the right direction.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

I agree that it is difficult to adopt a true Staffy here but not impossible. I have purchased one and rescued two. I did have to fly them across country, but they do exist if you know where to look. Depending on where you live, you might find a breeder that rescues as well and really wants to find a good home for rescues (this happens to be how I got my two white ones). Start with the sites above and then move on from there. It is true that many of the rescue ones are staffy x or even pit/amstaff but if you keep looking, a real Staffie will show up in there as well.

Hi and welcome from Misty and me.
Sensible advice above, especially from Ben, who has adopted his 2 girls. I am not sure of how long a foreign dog would have to be quarantined on entering the USA. A prolonged stay there for a rescue or any dog can be very stressful and not worth it, causing more harm than good.
I would strongly advise looking at home and you will be able to see if the dog is a good match before adoption. You mention working as a dog washer, but have you owned a dog before? If not please consider researching the breed characteristics fully and make sure your boyfriend is in total agreement. We failed with a dog aggressive rescue earlier this year ( see my early posts) and it is not a pleasant experience. You have a lot of time so good luck.

No need to go over seas! You most certainly can find a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the US! Most shelters wouldn't know a Stafford if it crawled up and sat on their lap, but, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of America has several Staffords available for adoption: http://www.sbtca.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=12

One problem is that the term "Staffy" is a nickname for the American Staffordshire Terrier (though I always call them AmStaffs) here in the US. Most SBT advocates and owners in the US call them "Staffods."

I rescued my awesome, purebred Stafford, Saxon, from a family that didn't want him any more. It is possible to get a Stafford in the States!

Not much point answering - they never came back online after the initial post!

Oh, I didn't see the date on the OP. I thought it was a new post.