reddebz Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 We are moving over to Darwin in 11 weeks and the family that said they were going to have our dog has now changed there mind due to work commitments (they really wanted her too). It was a hard enough desicion to leave her in the first place and its just been made harder because of this. In truth I have wanted to take her all along but my husband has the sensible head and says no. She is 10 years old and we dont know how shw will cope with all the prodding and flying, then quarantine and then another long journey up to Darwin. I have been told horror stories of dogs being slumped in a corner of quarantine grieving for their owners which horrifies me to think of and I really dont know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Have you had a read of other threads on the subject in this section? There is loads of positive feedback in taking an older pet so don't rule it out. Also perhaps contact the quarantine stations to chat to them about things and also some pet shipping companies. Do your research and set the wheels in motion if its what you want and your vet gives the dog the ok to fly etc. 11 weeks doesn't leave you long to plan it all and the quarantines might be booked up, but if you are prepared to go to one further afield (they are only in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne iirc) you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TessD Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Hi Reddebz Don't rule out taking your 10 year old, we are taking our gang and the youngest will be 10 when we go. Have a chat with Pet Air UK, they are based in Cranborne, Dorset and were really helpful when I called to discuss the very same thing with them. It's a worry leaving them for the 30 days but there are companies who will visit your dog and walk, groom and play with them in your absence. The AQIS website has links to all the quarantine facilities and also the dog walking services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScotsQuine Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Very hard decision but depends on the health of your dog? We flew our 12 year old German Shepherd when we moved back from Houston Texas to Scotland, before the days of Pet Passports, and he had to do 6 months in quarantine! I can honestly say hand on heart that he did great!! We were able to visit for one hour every Sunday and although it was very very hard to leave him there, he managed, very smelly after being inside the same run/kennel for the 6 months, but after a good shampoo you wouldn't have thought he'd been gone for more than one day! But, yes a very very hard decision... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 We are moving over to Darwin in 11 weeks and the family that said they were going to have our dog has now changed there mind due to work commitments (they really wanted her too). It was a hard enough desicion to leave her in the first place and its just been made harder because of this. In truth I have wanted to take her all along but my husband has the sensible head and says no. She is 10 years old and we dont know how shw will cope with all the prodding and flying, then quarantine and then another long journey up to Darwin. I have been told horror stories of dogs being slumped in a corner of quarantine grieving for their owners which horrifies me to think of and I really dont know what to do. I use to do the vet checks at quarantines in the UK where pets had gone through 6 months of quarantine. The first few days are hard but then they are fine. The only animals we had problems with was wild animals that had been hand raised, unfortunately after the 6 months they had started to revert back to their natural instincts:no: Please don't worry as long as your dog is medically well then there should be no problems x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkio Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 We have three dogs, aged 3, 7 and 14. The 14 year old lab/alsation cross has very arthritic hips, questionable bowels, what I think is a heart condition, and is, I understand, suffering from the onset of dementia - snappy and offering to bite strangers. I think her sight is failing and she sure as heck can't hear as well as she used to. She is my baby and has been my protector over the years. It would break my heart to leave her behind. She is too old and not in a fit condition to rehome. That leaves me one option doesn't it. And that will break my heart too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wildred12 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 That's very sad! You must consider bringing her since she is your family pet after all. I think she could survive the trip but I know it will be hard for her to be left alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nickynoonoo Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I am in a similar situation with our 10/11 year old LabxCollie Bruce (or woo woo as we also call him!). We decided that it wasn't fair on him due to his age and putting him through the journey and wondered if he would cope with the summer heat in Perth. Now everyday we consider taking him as I don't believe we would ever find a home that will love him as much as we do! Are we being selfish only thinking of our own feelings? Do we take him and just hope that he isn't affected by the above things? I think my animals are really playing on my mind and I cant get excited about moving until I know they are settled in new homes. However, they are all old, one cat is 15 and has diabetes so needs insulin each day, who will want to take him on! The vet just happily mentions putting him to sleep but that would be so unfair! Other than diabetes he is totally healthy! One question on quarantine is how do you book six month ahead when you don't know when you will be going due to the house having to sell. We hope to go at the very end of the year/beginning of 2012 so could only guess a date to tell Byford. What do you guys think? I know that Pet Air would be full of help but surely at the end of it they just want your business? Your help would be really helpful in this difficult decision. I am glad I am not on my own with having an older dog to move over to Oz. Nicky xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkio Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I've spoken with my vet and she tells me that my old girl is too old to travel. She is old and ill and it would be selfish of me to even consider taking her. I have valued my vet's advice over many years now. I believe that it will stress my girl badly to be crated up and flown for 24 hours. I believe that it will stress her badly to be seperated from me for 30 days (although perhaps that's me being pathetic). On the other hand - how can I abandon her at aged 14 and trust that another person will take care of her and love her the way we do? How can I subject her to all that stress? Well - just man up and stop being so dammed selfish. I have made the decision to say goodbye to my girl. My vet will come to my house (she absolutely hates going to the surgery) and I will just have to live with my decision. My girlie will know nothing about it. She wont know it is coming or dread it. She will just go to sleep. I have to believe that my decision is the best one for her. She has been with me through some of the worst years of my life and sometimes has felt like the only friend I had. I sit typing this, and she sits beside me. For the years of hell with my ex she was with me and sat beside me. Now I have to make the phone call and arrange to kill my girlie. I know some people will hate me for posting this. But please believe me - you can't hate me more than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma2 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Hi Reddebz We considered all options for our two doggies when planning our move to Oz. My sensible head said that the best thing would be to find them a nice new home so they didn't have to go through the experience of flying here and quarantine. My parents offered to look after them in the short term whilst we moved out here and decided if we were going to stay (as we had never been to Oz before). So that is what we did. This gave me a chance to realise that leaving them behind left an enormous hole in my life. I can honestly say that missing them has been the hardest thing about being here. So after being away from them for several months I could take it no more and on Tuesday morning they arrived in Sydney! I am beyond excited about seeing them and counting the days down until I can collect them! I won't see them until I pick them up because I am too far away but I am told that they are absolutely fine. They have been eating well and are very playful apparently! When I thought about what would be best for the dogs I tried to imagine what they would want. To go and live with someone else or to have to go through a bit of an unnerving experience to stay with the family they love and I know that they would far rather be with us. My Eldest dog is 10 years as well. I don't think that this is too old unless they have underlying health problems. If you are worried about the trip from Sydney to where you live there are lots of companies who will fly them from Sydney to most airports in Australia. We are just planning to make a bit of a road trip out of it. Good luck with your decision making. Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal2 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I've spoken with my vet and she tells me that my old girl is too old to travel. She is old and ill and it would be selfish of me to even consider taking her. I have valued my vet's advice over many years now. I believe that it will stress my girl badly to be crated up and flown for 24 hours. I believe that it will stress her badly to be seperated from me for 30 days (although perhaps that's me being pathetic). On the other hand - how can I abandon her at aged 14 and trust that another person will take care of her and love her the way we do? How can I subject her to all that stress? Well - just man up and stop being so dammed selfish. I have made the decision to say goodbye to my girl. My vet will come to my house (she absolutely hates going to the surgery) and I will just have to live with my decision. My girlie will know nothing about it. She wont know it is coming or dread it. She will just go to sleep. I have to believe that my decision is the best one for her. She has been with me through some of the worst years of my life and sometimes has felt like the only friend I had. I sit typing this, and she sits beside me. For the years of hell with my ex she was with me and sat beside me. Now I have to make the phone call and arrange to kill my girlie. I know some people will hate me for posting this. But please believe me - you can't hate me more than I do. I've always thought that when you take on an animal, you have to be prepared to do the right thing by them, and you know that you have made the right decision Cal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andromeda9 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 We are moving over to Darwin in 11 weeks and the family that said they were going to have our dog has now changed there mind due to work commitments (they really wanted her too). It was a hard enough desicion to leave her in the first place and its just been made harder because of this. In truth I have wanted to take her all along but my husband has the sensible head and says no. She is 10 years old and we dont know how shw will cope with all the prodding and flying, then quarantine and then another long journey up to Darwin. I have been told horror stories of dogs being slumped in a corner of quarantine grieving for their owners which horrifies me to think of and I really dont know what to do. my sons girlfriend flies out to brisbane on friday,her dog is in quarantine in sydney doing well after her flight from the uk, 4ammyas she is called on poms today rang quarantine to ask after her macy moo , at the time of the call macy had had a meal and was on her back having her tummy tickled ha is that good enough to say no worries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andromeda9 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 my sons girlfriend flies out to brisbane on friday,her dog is in quarantine in sydney doing well after her flight from the uk, 4ammyas she is called on poms today rang quarantine to ask after her macy moo , at the time of the call macy had had a meal and was on her back having her tummy tickled ha is that good enough to say no worries think the only worry you have is the age of you dog best of luck with your decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddebz Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 Well we have decided to take the dog and feel like a huge a weight has been lifted off my shoulders! She is fit and well and we will get the all clear from the vet just to be sure. My son keeps giving her kisses and cuddles (along with wacks!) and when I see them chasing each other round the garden Im so pleased we have made the desicion to take her. Im thinking of using Pet Air at the moment, they are a little pricey but I have not heard anything bad about them and that goes along way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScotsQuine Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 That's great news Reddebz! I'm sure you have made the right decision, dogs are very resilient and 30 days in quarantine will pass so quick! It will be great to see your son giving your dog kisses and cuddles (and whacks lol) in Australia! I don't have any firsthand experience of Pet Air as we are not in the UK, but I've only read good things about them on here! All the best for your move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sorted Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We brought our dog over with no problems except for a slightly scratched nose. We did think hard about doing so and considered leaving her with family but we have not regretted the decision to bring her. We used a company call Par Air who were great to deal with and who took fantastic care of our dog. The guy that cam to pick her up spent ages with her and took is time to get to know her (she was staying with them for three days before flying). The quarantine kennels in Sydney are a pain though. You can go to visit your dog regularly but you can only arrange to walk them twice a week for 30 mins each time. We turned up three times in a row after a 1 hour drive to be told no walks today, it rained last night and the grass is slippery. Our dog coped OK though and is very happy in her new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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