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I heard about this for the first time on the radio this morning. I found an older article about it and a current website. This really doesn't sound too safe. The radio this morning said these dogs are being imported with rabis and other diseases.

http://www.saveasato.org/

Shelters import strays
Bringing dogs into U.S. called 'harebrained idea'
By Tom Vanden Brook

USA Today
Feb. 2, 2003

Marianna Massa wanted to help solve the problem of stray dogs in her "own little way."
So she adopted Peluso, a three-legged mutt.

She picked him out of a crowd at a Salem, Mass., shelter. But Peluso was no
neighborhood stray. The terrier mix had been shipped 1,700 miles from Puerto Rico
because Salem doesn't have enough strays to satisfy demand.

Peluso is part of a trend: Animal shelters in the United States are casting a wide net from
Puerto Rico to as far as Taiwan to fill kennels.

Critics say many shelters have solved the stray problem in their own areas, but rather than
shut down, they become "de facto" pet stores. Some charge more than $200 per adoption
for imported dogs.

"Nobody's been watching this because nobody would have imagined that a hare-brained
idea like this could ever get going," said Patti Strand, president of the National Animal
Interest Alliance, a group that represents breeders, pet shop owners and others interested
in animal welfare. "That's why there are no laws on the books."

In the past seven years, one organization in Puerto Rico has shipped more than 14,000
strays to the States for adoption. Shipments from other countries also appear to be
increasing. Most imports are small- to medium-size dogs popular among adopters.
Advocates of imports say their mission is to save street dogs, no matter where they are
found, and to assist U.S. citizens who want to help homeless dogs.

"We're sending more to the States because there's more demand for them," said Chantal
Robles, founder and president of the Save a Sato Foundation, based in Guaynabo, Puerto
Rico. "As soon as they get there, they get adopted." Sato (SAW-toe) is the term used in
Puerto Rico for a mixed-breed dog.

The drive to have dogs spayed and neutered in the United States has cut down on
unwanted litters. And adoption campaigns have helped empty dog pounds.
"It's a success story," said Gary Patronek, director of the Tufts University Center for
Animals and Public Policy.

But people who want to adopt dogs increasingly find aged dogs or undesirable breeds like
pit bulls at shelters, Patronek says.

That's where imports like Peluso come in.

He lost a leg after being run over by a car in Puerto Rico. Massa, 29, found him at
Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, which is one of the pioneers in importing satos.
Last year, the shelter received 390 strays from Puerto Rico, says Betty Bilton, the
assistant director. Bilton says the shelter's mission is to find homes for strays and whether
the dog is from downtown Salem or an ocean away is not important.

Strand says it's OK for shelters to take in strays from nearby locales if they encourage
spaying and neutering programs from donor areas. But she believes taking dogs from
overseas, where population-control programs are limited, perpetuates a problem.
"Bringing more dogs in from other countries and territories increases the total number of
dogs needing homes in the United States and increases disproportionately the number of
ones with temperament and health problems, the poorest risks for permanent placement,"
Strand said.