Ros11

Hi thanks for coming back to me anyway - I didn't use kevin Kenna in the end I was going to, then I told him we weren't taking her, then we did manage to take her but it worked out better for us to send her from the UK as PetAir included more of the vet work, and my parents were going over to the UK anyway and they were looking after her so they just dropped her off. Still cost a small fortune and I don't think I'll ever live it down either, still she's here now just waiting for her release from Quarantine on Friday!! Glad it all turned out well for you and yours in the end!

Just wanted to update this thread ... Stella arrived in Melbourne last week, safe and happy not bothered at all by the flight. A fantastic service provided by PetAir - Thank you!! In the end she was driven over to the UK by my parents and stayed with PetAir before her flight last Monday. We visited her in quarantine last week, it was great to see her after so long. I would highly recommend PetAir to anyone thinking of bringing their dog over they were excellent.

Hi Zoe Yes we are staying at the airport tourist village in Melbourne for a couple of weeks when we arrive, didn't want to book into a hotel with two kids and found all the apartments to be quite expensive, so we have booked a villa there and we'll see how it goes. How are your kids feeling about the move, my boy who is six is not lookigng forward to it much doesn't want to leave his friends in school, my daughter is 3 so she doesn't really understand. We're living in Dublin at the moment, but I'm originally from Essex, my partner is from Nottingham - how about yourself - are you looking forward to the move. Where are you staying when you arrive?? Ros

Thanks everyone for your responses - good luck to everyone moving!!

Hi Just wondering if anyone could suggest some reasonable short term accomodation (preferably a house) for a family of four (kids age 6 and 3) we arrive in Melbourne on 1st Jan 2013 - appreciate it's holiday season so most places are already booked. My partners job is based in Oakleigh ... although the accomodation doesn't need to be that close just roughly around the same region as we will hire a car first off. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Many thanks Ros

That would be great thanks for that

Hi Alice2 - I've read a few people have said that Oakleigh is a bit run down, whereabouts in Oakleigh did you look at the house - we have looked up Mentone either as an alternative - do you have any idea on that area - where are you looking?? Thanks for the info !

Hi, thanks for the reply - how long have you lived in Oakleigh for. That would be great some info on kindergarten, I have made an enquiry of Oakleigh Primary School for my son and the principal has been very helpful, it also has a kindergarten on site, which would be handy for my daughter, makes the move from kindergarten to school a lot easier I think. Thanks again, hope the family are settling in well!

Hi I was just wondering where you ended up going, we are moving to Melbourne at the end of the year - we have two kids aged 6 (nearly) and 3 and a half - we were looking at Oakleigh and have just come across Mentone on the internet - also wondering what you found out about schools, I have appointments to see Oakleigh Primary and Oakleigh South Primary - do you have any recommendations at all?? Many thanks

Thanks for that clarification Bob I would be interested in getting a quote from you if possible, I think I submitted an enquiry on your website, dogs name is Stella thanks again

Thank you!

Thanks Jill I contacted Airsea but found them much more expensive than the other two companies - and they gave me a quote to send her to canada instead of Oz first off!!! If you do end up flying Sandy PM me and I'll let you know who I used to get Stella out and how it went and how much. Our last staffy sounds more like your Sandy she was long legged, and I'm not convinced she would have got in to Oz, I know what you mean though about missing Sandy when our last dog died we were devastated, she was only four still miss her now, it's hard for you to know what to do for the best, how is she getting on at your daughters? We don't really have anyone that would rehome Stella and my two kids would be devastated if we had to - as would I, so we're going to try our best to get her out for them. Thanks for the info though really appreciate it - if I can help you in the future if you do decide to send her please get in touch!!

Hi Bob I submitted an enquiry on your website anyway - I was told my a shipper over here though that I wouldn't be able to bring her over to the UK and fly her out of there as the AQIS rules state that she's got to be exported from the country she has resided in for the last 6 months - which would be ROI - I am well and truly confused now!! Stella is a short and stocky staffy so I'm not worried about her not getting in just where is the best place to send her from!! Thanks Ros

Hi Jill Thanks for the response - I tried looking up Pet Air in dublin but couldn't find any details, have only managed to find a handful of companies over here - but I've emailed their UK office as I presume they could still arrange the flight for her to go from Dublin. That must have been tough leaving her with your daughter - we'll be leaving Stella with my parents for around 6 weeks am not looking forward to it, my kids will miss her so much. I kind of anticipated the problem with the renting whereabouts in Oz are you? We rent our house in Dublin we were lucky our landlady loves dogs, has five her self so had no problem at all with us having a dog, I'm hoping she will do us a good reference which might help out. When are you hoping to fly your dog out then - thanks again for the response.

Hi Chuckles I've had various quotes, Airsea quote around 4k for flight only, Multi cargo quoted 2.8k and Kevin Kenna at K freight international quoted around 2.9k it depends on the size of the dog, I also had a quote from Airpets in the UK and that was around 2.8 thousand pounds, then there are all the blood tests etc. my vet quoted around 600 - 1000 euro for that, and then there's a minimum stay in quarantine of 30 days which is 39AUD per night, also I believe there are vets fees to pay there and you have to pay for an import permit - basically it costs a fortune. My dog is a staffordshire bull terrier, she's quite petite for her breed, weighs 15.5kg and is only around 40 cm high - your best bet is probably to have a good shop around and also have a look on the AQIS website, that gives you all the info that you need. Good luck!