And Toby Makes Three

It has occurred to me that I have not written much about Toby, our beloved 10 pound Yorkie mix.  Given how stressful it was to get him over here, it seems he deserves his very own blog post.  When we started to prepare for this journey at the beginning of November, I never could have predicted how many hoops through which I would jump for the sake of transporting our little boy.  Dave and I debated whether to even bring him, given the stress of flying internationally with a pet.  We decided since we would be gone longer than 6 months, it would be fairer to him to be with us instead of staying with our family.  I started looking online at the UK “Pet Scheme”, also known as the rules for transporting a pet to the UK.  As of January 2012, the six month quarantine for dogs brought into the UK had been lifted, and all one needed was to follow the five outlined steps: (1) have the dog micro-chipped; (2) have the dog vaccinated against rabies no fewer than 21 days prior to entry into the UK; (3) obtain an EU pet passport for the dog coming from EU (European Union) countries, or obtain an official veterinary certificate with an official raised seal for the dog not coming from EU countries; (4) have the dog treated for tapeworm no fewer than 24 hours and no more than 5 days prior to entry into the UK; (5) arrange for the dog to travel with an approved transport company on an authorized route.  I clicked on the link for an “authorized route”, and found Belfast unlisted.  After some additional digging, I was eventually put in contact with Breeny Kennels and Quarantine.  It turns out that they are the only “approved transport company” in Northern Ireland.  Over the course of several emails, we were able to start getting the proper documentation for Toby’s travel.  Fast forward several weeks, and we had our plane tickets booked.  I notified Breeny about our flight details, and they alerted me to the fact that since we were arriving on a Saturday, Toby would not be able to be checked in to the UK, as the animal customs department is only opened 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M-F.  It was around this time that we realized that our work visas were not going to get mailed back in time due to holidays and an unforeseen increase in requests for UK work visas, so we paid the fee to re-book our plane tickets to arrive between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a week day.  In the meantime, I got to work filling out the paperwork for Toby and making arrangements for vet appointments to obtain their signature and USDA appointments to obtain their raised seal of approval.  Toby and I got all ready for his first vet appointment and arrived at the vet’s only to discover that the vet appointment for his physical had to occur on the same day as the tapeworm treatment (which was scheduled for a few days later in order to fall within the 1-5 day parameters).  That left us going home and calling the USDA to reschedule our “raised seal” appointment.  A few days later, back to the vet’s we went.  A few shots, a rectal probe, a pill swallowed and a blood draw later, Toby and I headed to the USDA for our “raised seal” appointment, and got ready for our last days in the US.  Up until we left Toby at the manifest cargo area at United Airlines, I wasn’t totally sure I was ok with shipping him.  Dave will attest to the fact that sometimes I worry, and I was extremely worried that Toby would accidentally get sent to Brazil instead of Belfast.  In fact, the original papers they had for Toby at United was for Brazil.  When I saw that, I made the agent make triplicate copies to prove Toby's ticket destination was changed to Belfast.  A reassurance for me throughout our layovers was that I was able to call United Airline’s PetSafe program to check on him and make sure that he was safe.  In fact, I think they started to recognize my voice because the process went more quickly each subsequent time I called.  As worried as I was about bringing him, I am so grateful that he is here.  He has ensured that I get outside at least twice a day for two good walks, and has caused dozens of strangers to stop and marvel at the wee dog with the wee red coat.  Even when I was at my most stressed out point in the hotel, I could count on Toby to make me smile by bringing me his Kong and reminding me that life can be just as simple as chasing an odd shaped piece of bouncing red rubber.  Now, Toby, Dave, and I each walk in together to Dave’s work and then Toby and I bid Dave adieu and head home to begin our day of Kong throwing and bird chasing on walks through various parks.  He is slowly starting to adjust to the new food, noises, smells, and looking in the opposite direction for cars when crossing the street.  After all of the stress of preparing for Toby’s travel, the reward has proven him as a source of light and familiarity amidst the stress and transition into a new life in a new continent.