Bring the Dog or Not?

[Guest motherof4]

We are moving from Ireland with 4 kids. Our 2nd child (boy) really wants us to bring our 11 year old collie. The child has a particular love for the dog, more than anyone else in the family (he is also the child who's the most sad about leaving Ireland).

 

Everyone we know has strong feelings about the subject. Some people say: of course, we MUST bring the dog and that it'll be great for settling the kids.

 

Others say, it madness to bring an older dog on a stressfull journey, put him through all that, and then the heat out in Sydney would be hard on him. To some, it's bording on the cruel.

 

Any views? We need to decide by tomorrow!:goofy:

[eammon]

We left our dog behind and have to say it was one of the most stressful decisions we ever made. We know she went to a good home (she went to some friends) and she is really happy but handing her over was awful.

 

I think you have to make the right decision for yourselves as a family. I still feel we made the right decision by not bringing her. One of the things that worried me most was not being able to find a rental that took pets, but just because the decision was right for us doesn't mean its right for everyone.

 

I have to say though my girls are settling fine, even our eldest who also didn't really want to be here and we have agreed to get another dog once we get our own place.

 

It might be worth talking it over with your vet if you are worried about bringing her over on such a long journey at her age. Good luck with your decision, I know how tough it is.

 

Denise x

[Guest gary12]

We bought our 13yr old cat with us. He is very timid and hates going in the cat box but we couldn't leave him behind. It was expensive and I was convinced he would croak on the way home from quarantine. 18 months down the line he is sat next to me now happy as larry. He copes with the heat fine. I would say you really need to think though when you can walk your dog, you obviously want to try and do it when it is cooler so you need to commit to early morning or evening walks.

 

 

For us it felt like home when he arrived, we worried about snakes and spiders to start with but now we just think what will be.

 

We had a fit and healthy animal to bring, I think if your pet has any illness then you may want to think twice. Also are you able to rehome your dog easily?

If you can afford it and it is expensive I would bring him.

 

You son will love you even if the bank manager doesn't!

 

regards

Michelle

[Guest Jay and Kate]

Hi, we took our 11 year old akita with us to perth. We lived there only for about 5 months and he had to do 30 Q days in oz....

 

When we came back he had to do 6 months!!

So our advise is to take him but make sure you stay!

 

He's still doing well 18 months later.:biggrin:

 

Uk quarantine is ridiculous!! Go on get him booked it's so sad to leave them behind.

 

Cheers Jay and Kate.

[Guest brooksey]

If you get your dog injected for rabies in the Uk then you can return without qurenteen 6 months after the injection. As for the heat get it shaved. We have our long haird shepherd shaved every 4 to 6 weeks and it makes him run around like a puppy.

[Guest gary12]

If you get your dog injected for rabies in the Uk then you can return without qurenteen 6 months after the injection. As for the heat get it shaved. We have our long haird shepherd shaved every 4 to 6 weeks and it makes him run around like a puppy.

 

 

Good point, we got our cat it's pets passport, I think if you return to the UK within a set time they only do 30 days quarantine I think

 

Michelle

[Guest wee wen]

We brought our old dog ( age 10 when we moved ) and our 2 old cats ( 14 and 12 when we moved ) to Brisbane 2 1/2 years ago and didn't regret our decision for a minute . We simply loved them all to bits and couldn't have left them . I felt my young daughter ( 9 at the time) was going to have to leave her family & friends & I didn't want her losing her beloved pets too !! As they had got a clean bill of health from the vet there was really nothing else stopping us bringing them . They breezed through quarantine no problem & love their new life in Brisbane . Our dog is an Irish Setter & she does get a bit hot in summer but we don't walk her mid day .She enjoys her early morning or early evening walks in our beautiful area .

 

It did cost us a lot of money and a lot of people thought we were crazy but we went ahead & ignored them all .. In the end it was a good job we did bring them . I was pretty home sick when I first got here & if I hadn't brought my beloved dog I am sure we would have gone back to Scotland within the first year . Her ( and the cats ) were invaluable in helping us all settle in our new country .

 

Good luck with your decision & the move !

[Parley]

Hi, I might be in a similar position to your child in that we left UK for Australia when I was 13.

I was upset that my Mum wouldn't let us bring our cat with us after earlier saying we could.

 

I must admit even as an adult I have a little bit of resentment deep down that I had to leave my cat behind.

So I would say that if your son loves the dog and you don't take it, it is probably something he will remember and always be upset about.

[Shoeshone]

I know that any pet you want to take with you needs to be over 6months but is there an upper age limit ? as we have 2 huskies (10 & 7) that we are planning to take with us (we have to as they are our kids) but we didn't know if the eldest one would be okay.

[blobby1000]

Take the dog. If you are in two minds then you have to! And it could make the difference for your kids too. We are taking our 5 year old dor. 4k! But he is part of our family.