importing rescue dogs is one hell of a hot topic these days, I know any dog rescued is a dog rescued so I have no issue with it.. but the rescue groups locally that are up in arms about the fact that they can't get their dogs rehomed and the SPCA here definitely does put down healthy dogs on the regular (they just aren't saying so to the public and sue the pants off of organizations that try to spread the word) while fluffy the poodle ends up flying in from LA and getting a BC home because heartstrings are just that much more yankable when the story can be sensationalized about the horror of a "high kill shelter" isn't in your own home town... I see their point.
Yeah, importing rescued dogs is an issue about which it's hard to decide what I think. Our local SPCA has a no-kill policy for healthy and adoptable dogs. Since I support that policy, I think I would feel obliged to go to them or similar local shelters first, if I were to look for another dog.
The dog we have now was taken in by the SPCA at a shelter in northern B.C. when she was a puppy. It was hard to find a home for her there, so the SPCA shipped her from shelter to shelter, until she ended up down here at an SPCA shelter in southern B.C., where we found her. I guess in a way that makes her an import, but I think it was great that the BC SPCA made the effort to move her to a place where they could find a home for her, rather than just euthanizing her once they realized they couldn't find a home where they first took her in.