Truffles

Truffles is a young Lagotto Romagnolo, an Italian Water Dog and was most likely used for truffle hunting in Bulgaria.

Truffles was found tied to a tree in a remote forest. Fortunately, she was discovered alive and taken into rescue.

Lagotto Romagnolos are internationally recognised as specialist truffle-hunting dogs however, they are not included within the UK's limited list of breeds for which working dog tail docking is permitted. As a result, under the current legislation, a genuine rescue dog like Truffles could be prevented from entering the UK despite her tail having been docked as part of her previous working life.

Following her rescue, Truffles was cared for in a foster home in Bulgaria before travelling to the UK, where she was successfully rehomed.

Today, Truffles lives happily with her loving family and regularly visits a local care home, where she brings companionship and joy to the residents.

Truffles' case demonstrates why the secondary legislation should include an "Exceptional Circumstances" provision for rare cases that fall outside the prescribed exemption criteria but where refusing entry would clearly be contrary to animal welfare and inconsistent with the objectives of the Act.