6 January 2016

Leaving our Heart Behind

One of the problems with having pets as an expat is that they are expats too.  Sooner or later the time will come when you have to make a move and you will have to sort out the endless paperwork that makes it possible for them to join you.

With one pet (our move to KZ and many of the moves I made as a child/young adult) it is difficult but relatively doable, you just need to throw time at the problem.  I remember taking our pet dog from the Netherlands to Venezuela when I was 19 and, aside from a last minute hike in fees (thank goodness my mother had given me her debit card) and having to manhandle my case and a dog crate from my hotel to the airport with no help whatsoever we got through ok.

Two pets is a little more time-consuming as we found out on our move from KZ to Malaysia.  Each pet had slightly different quarantine requirements but at least they were the same species.

Three pets (two separate species) is really starting to get complicated and we have started to wonder if we are really quite right in the head.  Bizarrely with this latest move from Malaysia it is not the cat that is causing the problem, she is easy enough but our new country does not routinely allow dogs to enter and we have had, for the first time in our lives, to engage the services of a pet agent.

Usually when we transport the pets we rely on a combination of our vet at origin to get the export certs, a vet known to friends in the country we are moving to to advise on import and then take the pets as excess luggage.  The new host nation does not, so we are told, advise this because of the strict import rules associated with dogs.  To make matters even more complicated the city we are going to be living in is not authorised as an import location.  Finally we cannot import the pets until both Mr EE and I have full residence permits which may not be for some months.

Bessie and Perdie, our old English girl and our Kazakh beauty
As we looked at the initial quote for the agent's services we began to understand why people have their pets adopted when they move country.  Some of our friends have done that in the past and it was the right decision for them and my parents had to make the hard decision to adopt their first pet to another couple when they could not take her to Nigeria (they received regular updates and she went to a truly loving family).  We thought about it for half a millisecond but we could not do it, we just could not, at least not while there was any other option.  Bessie has been with us our entire marriage, she is now an old, old dog and we want her to spend her last years with us.  Perdie and Kismet came to us more recently but when we took them in it was on the understanding that they would always have a loving home with us.

Our wonderful vet in Ipoh agreed to board them in her home so that they would be able to stay together and have loving human company rather than being in an unpleasant and stressful kennel environment.  This is a particular relief for us as regards Bessie as at 14 1/2 we know that she does not have many years left and we want her to be in the care of someone who really knows how to take care of her (and warn us if we need to try to get back to Malaysia to say goodbye should the worst happen).  The pets will stay with her until we are able to import them to our new home.

Kismet - our Malaysian surprise
While we know that we have made the very best decision for the welfare of our animals and that we will see them again as soon as we possibly can we still miss them horribly. In the week before we left them I spent as much time as possible stroking the dogs and cuddling the cat and when I dropped them off at their temporary home I felt like Judas and cried all the way home.  (Goodness knows how we will feel when we have to drop the children at boarding school for the first time.) I know the dogs will remember us, dogs do but I am so worried that Kismet will imprint on the vet and resent me for taking her home.

I am counting down the weeks till we can see them again and let them know how much they mean to us.  In the meantime we have to be content with Whats App pictures of our furry family members living half a world away.


ANIMALTALES


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10 comments:

  1. When I was very young and I moved 3000kms I adopted my cats out. I have always regretted doing so. I hope I never have to make a decision like that again. You're amazing to keep the family together the way you do.

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    1. Thanks for your kind message. That must have been a heartbreaking decision to make for your cats but sometimes the hardest decisions are the right ones.

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  2. Oh, I feel for you. When we moved from South Africa to Greece we had a little dog that we rescued and she was coming with us no matter what. We were lucky enough to have my husband parents take care of her for a few weeks, getting the right injections and paperwork sorted for us whilst we settled in Greece. In those few weeks and even though we knew she was being well looked after we missed her terribly too.

    The day my husband went to pick her up from Athens airport was slightly nerve racking, but we needn't have worried as she was fine. On the island we do live near an airport and for a while afterwards we noticed she was a little nervous every time she heard a plane, but she got over that and lived to the ripe old age of nineteen.

    I hope your pets journey back to you is trouble free and that you don't have to wait too long until that day comes.

    xx

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    1. Thanks DEbbie - 19 what a wonderful age. BEssie is 14.5 and we are desperately hoping she will make at least a few more years.

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  3. That brought tears to my eyes! We moved from Shanghai to Singapore a year ago. The quote from the agent meant Shadow, who we adopted as a tiny abandoned street pup 4 years before, would have to stay in China for 6 months ( China has rabies although he was vaccinated) . I lost my marbles and cried over the phone to her. Our family were so worried about leaving him in China, given the lack of decent pet boarding facilities. The agent called me back a few house later to say she would fly to Beijing to get the permit, as there is a loophole / under the table way of doing it that she'd used before. Presto, it worked! Apart from marriage and babies, this was one of the best moments in my life!!! I'm sure your pups will be looked after so well, but the heartbreak is huge!

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    1. What great news that you were able to reduce your quarantine wait. Bessie had to stay 3 months in quarantine in Sarawak (Perdie only had 1 month) because despite having had an annual Rabies injection every 13 years of her life her previous one expired the day before we arrived. I had a booster done as soon as I knew it would be a problem but it left us 3 months in quarantine - luckily the vet spoke with the state vet and he noticed he had miscalculated her quarantine period. She came home to us just a few days before our third baby was born and it was such a relief to see her safe and sound and at home to greet the new arrival.

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  4. Ooh, so you are on the move again. Exciting but as you say, so difficult when it comes to moving pets as well. I am sure it will all work out fine and I am so pleased to hear you have found the pets a good home with your vet whilst you wait for the paperwork. Many thanks for adding this post to #AnimalTales and I hope soon to be reading a post about your reunification!

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    1. Thanks! - I can't wait for that day - getting them out of quarantine in Borneo was so happy and we were able to visit them regularly while they were there so this will be a gala event!

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  5. Oh gosh, that's so hard! I know if we move, abroad, which may be on the cards sometime in our future, our cats may have to face this, and it's not a nice thought, being separated from them. I am glad you've got someone nice to care for them and hope the separation ends ASAP! #animaltales

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    1. THanks for your very kind comment. Hopefully your move will be smooth and the cats won't have to be away from you for too long.

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