Quarantine Centre

[Kanga]

I have had a very bad experience with the Melbourne Quarantine Centre and although this is my own personal view, others who are thinking of sending their pets to Australia should take note:

Dog went to Australia after being seen by Government Approved Vet in UK and given all clear including eyes (mild dry eye)

He travelled with his medication and instructions on how to apply

Was in Quarantine for 10 days and then flown by Dogtainers to Brisbane and collected by my friend who has experience with dogs and runs an animal business of her own

Dog was in great discomfort and taken immediately to the emergency Vet in Brisbane. He had ulcerated eye, scratch in other eye, green/yellow mucus in both eyes and couldn't open either eye. Seemed in great discomfort.

In view of bad condition Emergency Vet said had been bad for a number of days

After a series of treatments and many drugs my dog is now recovering but will need monitoring. I contacted the Quarantine Centre to complain and they said their Vet had inspected my dog and he appeared to be okay.

It worries me a great deal that animals go into Quarantine and owners do not have any contact with the Centre at all, unless they are run by the facility itself.

I am very unhappy with what has occurred and the ordeal for my dog. Happy to say he is getting better. He was shipped by PetAir UK who did a great job and many many thanks to Catherine for her help and kind comments.

Don't know what happened with Dogtainers, in my opinion they should not have put him on the plane in that condition.

If anyone else has had any experiences with Quarantine I would be interested to hear. It seems like a very closed shop. I would add that my dog came from Australia to the UK just over a year ago and arrived very happy and healthy, looking far better than I do getting off a long flight!

[maryannen]

I have had a very bad experience with the Melbourne Quarantine Centre and although this is my own personal view, others who are thinking of sending their pets to Australia should take note:

Dog went to Australia after being seen by Government Approved Vet in UK and given all clear including eyes (mild dry eye)

He travelled with his medication and instructions on how to apply

Was in Quarantine for 10 days and then flown by Dogtainers to Brisbane and collected by my friend who has experience with dogs and runs an animal business of her own

Dog was in great discomfort and taken immediately to the emergency Vet in Brisbane. He had ulcerated eye, scratch in other eye, green/yellow mucus in both eyes and couldn't open either eye. Seemed in great discomfort.

In view of bad condition Emergency Vet said had been bad for a number of days

After a series of treatments and many drugs my dog is now recovering but will need monitoring. I contacted the Quarantine Centre to complain and they said their Vet had inspected my dog and he appeared to be okay.

It worries me a great deal that animals go into Quarantine and owners do not have any contact with the Centre at all, unless they are run by the facility itself.

I am very unhappy with what has occurred and the ordeal for my dog. Happy to say he is getting better. He was shipped by PetAir UK who did a great job and many many thanks to Catherine for her help and kind comments.

Don't know what happened with Dogtainers, in my opinion they should not have put him on the plane in that condition.

If anyone else has had any experiences with Quarantine I would be interested to hear. It seems like a very closed shop. I would add that my dog came from Australia to the UK just over a year ago and arrived very happy and healthy, looking far better than I do getting off a long flight!

 

 

 

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

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I have had a very bad experience with the Melbourne Quarantine Centre and although this is my own personal view, others who are thinking of sending their pets to Australia should take note:

Dog went to Australia after being seen by Government Approved Vet in UK and given all clear including eyes (mild dry eye)

He travelled with his medication and instructions on how to apply

Was in Quarantine for 10 days and then flown by Dogtainers to Brisbane and collected by my friend who has experience with dogs and runs an animal business of her own

Dog was in great discomfort and taken immediately to the emergency Vet in Brisbane. He had ulcerated eye, scratch in other eye, green/yellow mucus in both eyes and couldn't open either eye. Seemed in great discomfort.

In view of bad condition Emergency Vet said had been bad for a number of days

After a series of treatments and many drugs my dog is now recovering but will need monitoring. I contacted the Quarantine Centre to complain and they said their Vet had inspected my dog and he appeared to be okay.

It worries me a great deal that animals go into Quarantine and owners do not have any contact with the Centre at all, unless they are run by the facility itself.

I am very unhappy with what has occurred and the ordeal for my dog. Happy to say he is getting better. He was shipped by PetAir UK who did a great job and many many thanks to Catherine for her help and kind comments.

Don't know what happened with Dogtainers, in my opinion they should not have put him on the plane in that condition.

If anyone else has had any experiences with Quarantine I would be interested to hear. It seems like a very closed shop. I would add that my dog came from Australia to the UK just over a year ago and arrived very happy and healthy, looking far better than I do getting off a long flight!

Sorry to hear your little one is unwell. I'm hearing a few bad reports about the quarantine from breeders and vets. Let's hope it picks up, people pay a lot of money to ship their pets over. In regards to Dogtainers they would go off what the releasing vet said, if they said he was fit and well then Dogtainers aren't in a position to argue with that.

[Dogtainers Pet Transport]

Hi Kanga, Management at Dogtainers are aware of the move from quarantine in Melbourne through to Brisbane and are continuing to look into situation. It is a concern to Dogtainers that a dog could be released from the quarantine facility after the necessary government checks for the release had been done and then emergency treatment on arrival into Brisbane be required. Dogtainers are making their own independent enquiry as this situation has brought into question the welfare Dogtainers has over pets we transport. Dogtainers have a proud history of operating in the animal transport industry in Australia for over 40 years. Welfare of the animals in our care is our highest priority. Following this situation we have further heightened our systems and processes for collecting pets from quarantine to ensure our animal handlers take even further steps to ensure the condition of the animal already inside the travel crate when we arrive to collect the pets matches the condition as prescribed by the government facility.

In this situation we wish your pet a speedy recovery and are absolutely glad to hear that he is on the road to recovery.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Dogtainers Pet Transport

[Kanga]

Many thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. I am happy to say my dog has improved a great deal but Brisbane Vet says will need to be monitored in a few weeks time in case ulceration in eyes has left any scarring. I did get a response from PEQ which basically said even though my dog's eyes had a green discharge their Vet considered him to be okay and to keep using the Viscotears. Money is definitely not the object here, but it has cost me nearly a $1,000 in Vet bills which shows how much treatment he required.

 

Thank you Dogtainers for following this up, much appreciated. When you are the other side of the world trying to sort this stuff out, it's pretty hard and emotional. I get back to Australia 24th July, so will be in a better position to find out what happened.

 

Thanks also for your response Mary-Anne. Yes, my dog did travel with his medication and instructions from PetAir UK Vet on their usage. We know he had them at the Quarantine Centre because the email from PEQ refers to the drops. My friend who collected my dog in Brisbane, had spoken to PEQ and said that if his condition deteriorated then she would be happy to give permission for an outside Vet to take a look at him. I know this happened because she rang me in the UK from Australia in the early hours of the morning in question to explain what was happening and to clarify with me that I was happy to go ahead. I told her to tell them do whatever was necessary.

 

I am glad your dog has recovered and is settled. I will be pleased to see my little one.

[maryannen]

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