maryannen

Bought my 3 Siberian Huskies out from England to Australia in May ....I lived in the northwest of England and went with Animal Airlines.....Mike was fantastic all the way through....would not hesitate to recommend them if you are in the north. My trio have acclimatised really well...as mentioned about the times of year .....I was very aware of the differing seasons as I'm originally from Australia....May ish is a very good time of year to move Huskies, mine went thru Dubai and escaped the very high temps there too... as they arrived late at night had a 10 hour stop over and break with Dubai Animal Centre (they were really good and it was good to let my trio have a break) and were off on the last leg to Australia the very next morning arriving into Australia in the morning....all of which helped to give them the best lead time before their first Australian summer. They are all doing fantastic and have adjusted to the Aussie climate ....just starting their big winter coat blows which tells me Spring is in the air for them Cheers

Hi Kanga, Thanks for the follow up ....I thought they would have had the instructions and medication and applied it. Sometimes these things can happen and things get lost ...that's why I asked. Very glad to hear your dog is improving and I can very much understand just how worrying it is when you aren't with them ....I couldn't wait to see my Meeka even though I knew she wasn't well I knew she'd be better off once she'd actually seen me ....as she is very much a mummy's girl and I think she was probably also a bit stressed about where I was. Quarantine's feedback does sound a bit like what I mentioned above ...as in they do try and release the animals on time and get them home ....I guess similar to my Meeka they might have felt your dog's condition was something that wasn't a quarantine issue as in the condition didn't pose a quarantine risk.... and he was probably going to be better off transported home so the local vets could begin further treatment on his eye. I do understand though your concerns ....I felt similar as for me my 3 Huskies were fighting fit when they left the UK and seemed to all be fine ...then suddenly Meeka was very ill on the last day in quarantine. I still can only put her deteriorated condition down to the stress of the move and the food she ate ....Meeka has a tendency to put her paw in her water bowl too (she sort of splashes it up and down in the bowl like she's breaking ICE to drink) and often tips it over or empties it...I do wonder if she as a result didn't drink enough water whilst having the dry food only diet in quarantine....she may have tipped half of it out ...I know my trio drink a lot of water every day and yep I do have to check their water bowls often ....perhaps that might have been a factor too as it's essential for dogs to drink water when only having dry food ....Just have a feeling that the irritation to her gut and the bleeding was linked to that. She did drink a lot of fresh water when she got home but she wouldn't eat that night or the next morning ....when I took her the next morning to the vets they noted she was by then well hydrated so they didn't have to put her on a drip. Like you though the vets bills all up were a significant amount close to $1000 too....first the vets who had to be called in to quarantine to treat her ....and then as she did stay with the local vets for a couple of nights too and had medication for the next two weeks. There was no question in my mind too about the cost not being an issue....she had to have it and she's worth every cent. It is very emotional and I was over the moon that she came through ok and is now fine. I bet your little one can't wait to see you too ....my trio are very attached to me and they went mad when they saw me again lol ....it was the same feeling a few days later when my Meeka finally came home from the vets ...it was so hard to get her home and then have to take her to stay with the vets the very next morning for another few days ....BUT it was so worth it to see her with a big Husky grin and waggy tail when they bought her out to come home. I hope your little one has no long term affects and his eyes clear up well ....good luck on the 24 th cheers Mary-Anne

In your case I'd highly recommend employing a pet transport company to bring your dog from quarantine to Perth. I lived in Perth for many years and was born and bred in Melbourne....have not long returned from 12 years in the UK .....I think that by the time you factor in your flight costs both ways, the time the flights will take, plus your dogs transport on the return leg it's going to be cheaper and less stressful to get a pet transporter to bring your dog home. Just a little note to factor in too .....Quarantine is NOT located at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport... it is located on the northern outskirts of Melbourne in Mickleham near Kalkallo ....around a 20-30 minute drive from the airport ....so you would have to have transport for you and your dog when collecting your dog from quarantine and back to the airport as well....if you have no transport or anyone who could transport you all in Melbourne...not to mention get yourself out there from the airport ....It isn't hard to find, when I'm down in Melbourne (live just over the Vic/NSW border now I pretty much drive past Mickleham quarantine on the way in and the way out of Melbourne.... BUT it is a drive from the airport and something to consider when looking at the overall cost. My trio were in quarantine in May and I used Pet Express Transport Services to bring them home by road ....they got out in the morning and were home by lunchtime. Cheers Mary-Anne

I wrote on a couple of threads in the last couple of months about my own experiences with an unwell dog whilst in quarantine so I thought I'd give you my thoughts here. I wondered after reading your post if quarantine was made aware prior to travel of your dogs need for medication? This would have had to be uploaded to the PEQ site....as well as being noted on the crate and the instructions accompanying the medication. I also wondered if the vet who examined your dog was the one who does the initial assessment in the first couple of days after arrival into quarantine .....in which case at that point perhaps there was no immediate cause for concern seen by the vet.....or was this assessment made by a vet who was called in by quarantine to look at your dog due to being notified of a problem with the eyes prior to release? I ask that because in my dog's case she was fine on arrival and for most of her time during the quarantine stay. The only thing of note that they noticed was she was being a picky eater from the day she arrived ....which is out of character for her as she is not usually a picky eater. When quarantine went to check on her the morning before she was due to come home they noticed some blood on the floor of her run and on her backside and again more a bit later. They noted she wasn't herself and they had concerns about her so they rang me and rang a vet to come in and look at her that day. This was a separate visit from the initial veterinary assessment and was with a vet they called in especially to attend to her. She did visit her gave her treatment and made an assessment of her. She rang me with her findings and sent me a detailed report. I also talked with her about whether to proceed with transporting my dog home the following day as scheduled ...I wanted to know if she felt she would be able to make the trip and if it would be better for my dog to come home and be with me rather than staying for further time in quarantine ....I was guided by the vet who felt she was capable (as in her signs were stable and she was alert and bright) of making the trip home and the vet also thought my dog would recover far more swiftly once reunited with me. My own background is that I breed Huskies and I have quite a knowledge of animal care and animal behaviour ....the assessing vet also took that in to account when recommending releasing mine ...she knew my dog was going home to someone very capable of looking after her and getting any further treatment underway. My transport company did have to make an extra stop on the road trip to look after my dog's comfort ....she had a little accident on the way and they had to stop to clean her cage. Although she was subdued she did get a lift from being home and reunited with mum. I did have to take her to the local vets the following morning as she was still very off colour and the vet who visited quarantine had recommended that too ....and she did stay with them for a couple of days while they treated her. I have no idea about the decision of Dogtainers to transport your dog and I can only suggest you speak with them to clarify that decision.....I can say my transport company which was Pet Express Transport Service or PETS were guided by the fact that my dog had been seen by a vet the previous afternoon and although unwell they knew she had been approved by that vet for transport home. They also knew the vet felt she would be better off coming home and seeing me. I can only guess that may have been part of the reasoning in releasing your dog and why they transported it home despite the eye condition. I guess I keep in mind that the primary focus and purpose of animals going in to quarantine is for bio security....as in the need to ensure certain diseases and conditions do not enter Australia. By that I mean that quarantine are looking for conditions that if they show up during those 10 days stay will affect bio security ....such as rabies ..... they also will call a vet in to attend to an animal who may have a condition that could be life threatening ....in my dogs case she had unexpected and unexplained heavy bleeding from the rear and pain in the caudal area which meant she HAD to receive urgent veterinary assessment. I can only guess that perhaps as your dogs condition was already present and perhaps the medication wasn't being as effective or the like ....they might have felt it was better to release your dog into your care so you could get it attended to....that is providing they had been aware of the need to medicate and that notification and medication had not been 'lost' of fallen of the crate prior to arrival ....that's why I asked if it the veterinary notification for medication was uploaded to PEQ prior to departure ....sometimes things do come unattached or separated from the crate in transit...however if it was uploaded beforehand there should have been an awareness of the need to continue to treat the eye. Personally I would suggest it might be worth it for your own satisfaction to re contact quarantine and ask them ...on what day did the vet assess your dog as ok? Were they aware of the need to continue medication and if so did they do that? I think you would be well within your rights to ask to see the records of any treatments applied. I would also recommend your contact Dogtainers and ask them about the day of transport. They should be able to answer you and discuss the rationale behind transporting your dog on that day. I think it's only fair to give them a chance to explain. Hope my thoughts are somewhat helpful ....My dog is absolutely fine now and I do have to thank quarantine for getting her attended to promptly. It was obvious to me that the person I spoke to from quarantine did care about the animals in their care and was looking out for her welfare. It is possible to get an update from them by ringing them on the phone ...if you look at the quarantine site there is an enquiry number you can call ... I did not feel the need to do that as I felt confident they would contact me should there be any urgent problems ....which they did. I also understand that with there now only being one quarantine facility for the whole of Australia ...the practicalities of contacting every owner with whose animal is staying there at any time with updates is simply not feasible. At any given time that would mean hundreds of phone calls or emails daily ....in order to facilitate that kind of service you'd have to put on extra staff which would of course increase the costs ....which I'd imagine would then increase the costs of any stay in quarantine. I was realistic enough to know that my dogs (I had 3 Huskies who stayed there in May this year) would not be in the same sort of condition as I keep them in ( I knew they would need grooming upon arrival home) and that yes they would lose an amount of weight during their trip and stay ( it is normal for animals to lose weight during these processes depending on the animal up to several kilograms) . Despite these things the fact that they are now here and happily settled in to our new home made it a worthwhile exercise. I guess my thoughts would be to say to people not to expect their animal to be in pristine condition upon release from quarantine, that there will be a need to spend some time returning your pets to the usual care standards you have and to their normal weight, and to understand that their animals will need some time to get used to their new surroundings and home. I'm sorry to hear your experience wasn't the best ....I hope you do follow up and get the answers you need ....it may help clarify things as to how it happened and why it happened. It's also worth it as a means to provide feedback ....if there is a need for change that only ever happens with having the feedback and seeing where some changes might need to happen. I'd be interested in hearing how you get on...my trio are absolutely fine ...just recently I had them back down to the local vets to scan my trios microchips for registration on the Australian Animal database prior to doing their lifetime pet registrations in NSW.....which is now all done and they are all registered in Australia. It was lovely to see my dog greet the vet, one of a few from the local surgery who had looked after her so well when she was sick after quarantine....as she said wow look at her totally different dog from the day they met her ....wagging tail and bright eyed and obviously happy and well with no signs whatsoever of any after effects from her illness. Yes she is fine and I'm glad it was decided to bring her home as scheduled despite her not being well ....she got the attention she needed at the local vets and she was then home within a couple of days with me ...and reunited with her pup and her doggy spouse ....that was the best way for her to recover for sure!! cheers Mary-Anne

Hi Laura, No my trio were in separate kennels as they are large dogs. They travelled in custom built and individually sized crates which were made by my pet transporter prior to leaving the UK. Quarantine do try to put them in to kennels next to each other if they are travelling together ...so mine were in runs next door to each other so to speak. Just a small observation which I thought might be helpful ...the guy from quarantine who had to ring me about Meeka was very good ....he had checked on her earlier in the morning and then again later in the afternoon was when he noticed she was unwell....that was when he rang me and the vet ...I'm grateful he was looking out for her welfare and he was very informative on the phone on how she's been during her entire stay and gave me his number to contact him ....I think there's this attitude around that quarantine is a harsh place for the pets with uncaring people ....just felt it important to say it was nothing like that in my experience they were very good and obviously do care for the animals under their care. The vet they called in was wonderful and she emailed me a detailed report plus rang me after and emailed me again later to say she hoped Meeka was doing better ....I was very grateful she did that as she didn't have to ....so I'd say to people try not to worry as they do care and will do their very best to look after your pets. I can totally understand your feelings I was counting down the days until I had my trio home. Although there was that little blip with one of mine she recovered fully ....and it's not affected her in the slightest. All 3 are so settled and loving their new home. There's not many Huskies around here so they tend to get noticed and fussed over when they are out on walkies lol For me it is great to see them so happy and yes totally worth it to have them with me and my family. As Pat said once you get the notice of the day of release you or your pet transport (if you have nominated them as authorised people) will have to go onto the quarantine site and book their release appointment, selecting a time slot. One little tip my Melbourne transport company gave me was to not panic if the new quarantine system didn't allow you to nominate a company to collect your pets on the day ....apparently there's a little hitch with the system if you have organised the stuff yourself which then won't allow you to then nominate a company to collect...that's exactly what happened for me when I went to do it....BUT it was no problem whatsoever... I just booked it in saying I was collecting them myself ...and then emailed quarantine with a signed authorisation form stating that my transport company were to collect. On the day my transport company took a copy of that signed form in to present to quarantine and they were released straight into their care...no problems ...BUT I'm glad they gave me that tip beforehand otherwise I would have been thinking what do I do now lol I mention this as you noted in your first post you are organising the transport home yourself ....just keep that one tip filed away in your brain .... and if that happens on the day you go to book their release ....don't worry ....as long as you then email a copy to quarantine and to your transport company there will be no problems with them picking your girls up and bringing them home to you on the day. Am sure your pet transporters will be on the ball too and have something similar planned for such contingencies ...from what I'm seen most are excellent and bad experiences are the exception rather than the rule.....I sometimes feel it is a sad reflection on us all that so many times people just jump on the 1 negative out of a 100 and choose not to see or acknowledge the other 99 positives. I think it's important to acknowledge that most times everything goes well!!! Good luck and hope it all goes well as sure it will...let us know how they get on. Cheers Mary-Anne

Hi Laura, Providing all goes well your UK shipper is correct and your dogs will exit on the 8th if they arrive into quarantine on the morning of the 28th. The day of entry is included. My trio were there last month for 10 days including their arrival day and exited bang on time, quarantine will not keep them any longer than they have to (they arrived in to quarantine on the morning of the 13th and exited on the morning of the 23rd of May)....one of mine fell ill on the last day of quarantine and they immediately called a vet in to attend to her...she's absolutely fine now and settled in great as have my other two ...she was still certified fit for travel by the vet the next day as scheduled and was bought home the same day as the other two. My transport company to bring my 3 Huskies home took great care of her as of course she was still off colour .... I can't thank them enough for the consideration of her and making an extra stop to accommodate her comfort needs. Quarantine will let you know within a few days of their arrival if everything is in order and they will confirm your dogs exit date. Unless there is something unforseen that would pose any kind of risk etc ...it will be bang on the 10 days which includes their arrival day...in your case 10 days stay would be ....the 28th 29th 30th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th ....then they come out on the morning of the 8th Cheers Mary-Anne

Aww bless him Yes I have to register my trio too, I have all their microchip numbers must change the details too on the register, but not in a huge rush I looked up the council rules for dogs coming from overseas and I've got 6 months after they arrive to do that. I can do it down at my local library so will get that done when I can. I am pretty damn sure as in 99.9 % that the dry food given was a large part of the problem with Meeka, the other part being the stress of the big move. I was told by quarantine that they had given her Advance Dog Food which yes is a dry diet only. My trio are usually on a mix of dry and wet food, and they are not usually on Advance, they have either Purina Pro Plan or Eukanuba dry food with plenty of water. Meeka is eating and drinking normally now with no side effects now she is back on her usual food. She is bouncing around like nothing happened and they are all regaining any weight loss. It would appear that something in the Advance dog food disagreed with Meeka's gut and caused a bleed and the problems with her rear...interestingly enough both Snowy and Asil were absolutely fine so am summising that one or two ingredient in that Advance food must have affected Meeka only and perhaps she didn't drink enough water to aid with the digestion of the food.....it doesn't seem to be something that affects all dogs ....as if that were the case all 3 would have become ill. She is still on her remaining tablets which have a few more days to run but she looks back to normal ...the vets do not expect her to have any sort of reoccurence and unless there is any change don't need to see her even for a follow up ...she really is that good ...will just make sure she stays away completely from Advance dog food !! Have seen problems can arise when weaning pups onto solid foods (have had a few calls from new owners when they were changing their new pups diets and suddenly were confronted with runny poos instead of solid....I'd always tell them to call me if they had any concerns about the pups as I'm always happy to give them some advice) and similarly with grown dogs ...any change of diet should always be a gradual process with a little of the new food mixed in with the old food and gradually increasing the amount of new whilst reducing the old. Unfortunately there is no such luxury whilst dogs are in quarantine, am not really sure what they could do about that issue ...as sudden dietary changes can cause issues with some dogs sounds like both your Ralphy and my Meeka were the unlucky ones. I think it's worth getting him checked over by the vets and do mention the change in diet as that's an important factor the vet needs to be aware of when assessing him. Let me know how it goes cheers Mary-Anne

Yes I think so too ...it appears so with Meeka she just didn't process the food well at all. Quarantine did report that she was being a picky eater ...which was totally unlike her...will be getting her back to her usual food and vets have told me they do not expect a reoccurence ...huge relief Might be worth getting a vet to have a look see at Ralphy too ...have heard the sudden appearance of something looking like piles can be a response to a changed diet. cheers Mary-Anne

Hi All, Thanks for the good thoughts ...am happy to report my Meeka is now back home safe and sound. She has recovered very well, looks like it was a gastro intestinal bleed.. probably bought on by a combination of stress and the changed food. She responded really well to the veterinary treatment and is now symptom free ...picked her up this afternoon and she's full of beans Cheers a very relieved Mary-Anne

Quick update ...apologies about the delay. Have had a couple of fraught days ...my trio came home as planned Monday. That trip went smoothly and they arrived before lunch. Pet express transport bought them home safely and swiftly ....can't thank them enough for looking after them all considering a problem had developed suddenly they were so good taking great care of my babies..... Unfortunately one of mine fell ill on the last day of quarantine and the vet had to be called in to see her there ...she was given treatment and allowed to be transported home on monday...the vet advised me to take her for a follow up once home. She was still unwell and I took her back to the local vets yesterday...she is still with them and still undergoing treatment. She has been producing bloody stools so lots of things being looked at to identify the exact problem. Looking unlikely to be an obstruction or a parasite ....of course she's well up to date on all vaccinations and more likely to be a bleeding ulcer which could have been bough ton by stress and change in diet. On the bright side she is in good hands and otherwise in very good condition ...she has no temp no vomiting and is bright alert and responsive ...she does however have some pain in the caudal area and has no appetite. All of which are being monitored around the clock ...hoping she recovers soon ...as you can imagine I'm worried sick about her. Will update when I can cheers Mary-Anne

LOL my brain is definitely not working right yet ...thank you.... yes ignore my correction I was right the first time !! Been very stressed ....one of my 3 Huskies currently in Australian quarantine needed immediate veterinary attention yesterday morning after taking ill. Quarantine were on it straight away, and rang me immediately to get permission to call in the vets to attend to her. Of course I gave it and she was seen yesterday....vets were brilliant... gave her treatment ....rang me after ...and also sent me a full report on her condition. She will be released today as scheduled with my other 2, the vet has approved her to travel home so they should all be home around lunchtime ...huge relief and lots of tlc coming up for my poorly one, as the vet said she felt it would be much better for her to come home and thinks she will recover swiftly back with her mum !! She said she is a lovely dog, I think she was quite taken with her Will take her for a follow up in a couple of days to my new vets....I hated to hear she's been unwell but knew she was in fabulous condition beforehand so she should bounce back quickly once she knows she's home and sees me. It's been quite an experience for all of them. cheers Mary-Anne

Glad it helped, your Mal is gorgeous I've been busy getting their new kennels painted (converting a former large wooden kids cubby house), getting all their gear... food bedding bowls toys brushes, etc and getting the higher fences underway. They will be home before the permanent fencing is all up but the guy doing it had a brilliant brain wave and has put up some temporary builders fencing until it's all completed. So they will be safe and sound until it's all done in around two weeks time. One more day to go until they trio arrive home at last ....can't wait to see them Cheers Mary-Anne

Apologies ...I shouldn't type when I'm tired lol ...to correct myself as I didn't want to leave the wrong information in my post above...the waiting time period of 180 days before the dog could enter Australia is counted from after the date of the Rabies vaccination not after the subsequent Rabies blood test ...so 180 days after the Rabies vaccination ....providing the subsequent blood test result (which is done around 21 days after the vaccination) show the correct levels required of Rabies anti bodies . If for any reason the dog fails the blood test it would then have to be repeated and the time period extended starting at the new vaccination date. cheers Mary-Anne

Hi Sharon, Thought I'd write a quick hello ....I'm the lady whose 3 Huskies (aged 5.5, 2.5, and 1 yr old )have just arrived in Australia ...they are coming out of Australian quarantine this monday (the 23rd) ...am so looking forward to seeing them One of mine is one I rehomed with me, I have had her since she was 5 months old ...her original owner couldn't keep her anymore. What I would say to you is it is quite simple IF you have done your research beforehand and some of the links in this thread contain very good guides. Have a look and read as it's good advice. Do allow at the minimum 7 months for them to be ready to go ...assuming they pass the rabies test on the first go ...that's the earliest you could move them. I'd strongly recommend you get the normal vaccinations up to date for both... and do get the rabies vaccinations and then blood tests around 21 days later done....it is a minimum of 180 days after the bloods are drawn for the rabies test (providing the results are positive )that they could enter australia. Of course there are a lot of other requirements but that is the first important one and will give you a timeframe to operate around. If there's anything I can help you with give me a shout ...have just arrived back in Australia so things are a bit hectic but I will reply and I'm happy to help and give you some tips and suggestions when it comes to transporting Huskies. Also give a few pet transport companies in the UK a call ...as far as I know all are very good and yes they do offer different services. It depends on what you want them to do and what you might want to do yourself ...my best advice would be to have a chat and gets some quotes. Bob from Pet Air is often on here and he's a great one to talk with. Mick from Dogtainers is also on here often and would be a great option for the Australian end should you need to transport your dogs interstate once arrived in Australia. I used Animal Airlines in the UK, they were brilliant for me, convenient to my former Uk location, I'd already got some of the paperwork underway and was happy to do that part, and suited me and the dogs. They did not have to go into boarding at all prior to leaving nor have a long road trip to London to start with ...as they were picked up from my front door and taken straight to Manchester airport that morning which was only 45 minutes drive from me....so it suited me and was better for my dogs to do it that way ...but as I said it depends on your own needs as they may be different to mine or anyone elses. Pet Express transport are bringing my dogs home on Monday so I can't speak to their handling and transport of my trio yet ...however they have also been great so far in organising their collection and always helpful on the phone. I'm confident they will bring the trio safely and swiftly on monday Cheers Mary-Anne

Happy Husky Mum ....the trio passed all their checks, everything was fine, and have been notified yesterday by Australian quarantine that they will be released this coming monday. Have booked their release appointment and confirmed their transport home ...will be pacing looking up the street to see the transport van come down the road to our new home cheers Mary-Anne