Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hey everyone im wanting to hear from people who have left their pets behind for whatever reason do you regret it? I have two staffies, one is coming up for 10years old and the other will be 8. They have their good days and bad days where they act like a pup and other times act like they are 20 lol. We want to move to oz next year if we get the chance but basically i know in my heart that eric ( the oldest one ) wont be able to come, I just dont think he would make it on the flight and quarantine. He gets stressed very easily, if he even hears a bang he goes crazy, firework night is a nightmare and he has to go to the vets for tablets. He also has a heartmurmur but its not a serious one according to the last time he got checked. Apart from that he is generally healthy. I just dont think it would be fair on him to go through all that, hes never even been in a boarding kennel. My other dog lucy is full of life, shes hyper and a typical staffy but she loves eric to bits and i think shed be heartbroken if they were split up although makes friends easily. Shes also very nosey and she has a hunting instinct but she never catches anything, i worry shed be bitten with a snake or something! I just keep thinking about it even though we havent even applied for a visa yet, I feel like a horrible person for even thinking about leaving them, i keep thinking maybe i should just wait untill they've gone but that could be a long time ( that probably sounds horrible, its not meant to! ) I just worry the day comes that dave gets offered a job and i have to make a choice of wether to go without them or stay here. Daves mum wants to take them to stay with her, they love it there. she has a big garden and she spoils them ( probably too much!) she treats them like proper grandchildren. My mum also loves them to bits but she stays in a flat and also has a elderly dog so cant keep them. Anyway sorry for rambling on, basically just want to hear from people who have left their pets behind so i can make a choice, or even from people who have brought elderly pets over cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hiya The 10 year old will be 11 or 12 by the time you go & going by what you've said I dont think would be fit enough, the other one now 8 will be also a couple of years older & you'd have to assess her fitness & general health nearer the time. Having said all that if your partners mum knows them, treats them like kids & has a large enclosed garden I do wonder if it would be far better for the dogs to be left. I currently have 2 dogs, both greyhounds (I've had 5 greyhounds now), my eldest is only just newly 10 but been sort of deformed & not right since he was a pup (hence us having since he was a pup, he was no use for racing & luckily we heard about him), he now also has a condition now where the symptoms are known as "wobblers syndrome" (more common in younger dobermans & great danes) If we were moving tomorrow then Logan would not be coming with us, he wouldnt even be declared fit enough by a vet & is already living on borrowed time, every extra week is a bonus but his time is running out much sooner rather than later. I would not however put an animal through the stress of the flight & quarantine if I didnt feel they'd have a lengthy good quality life at the end of it, of course unforseen accidents or illness can happen out of the blue & cant be planned for but I wouldnt feel fair taking an animal to the other side of the world for 6-12 months. My Maxy bear turned 4 this May (I've had him since april & got him 1 week after he retired from racing) providing he is healthy & fit which i'd sincerely hope he would be by 1 - 2 years time then no question he's coming to live out the remaining 6 or 7 years minimum of his life in Oz. I will also be sorting out the whole pet passport thing so if we did need to come back he wouldnt have to spend 6 months in quarantine back in britain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 does australia do pet passport? im sure the pet carrier man at the expo said they dont but i might be completely wrong. I definitely dont think eric would make the journey or pass the health assesment, i also dont feel he would enjoy life as much over there, i think the heat would be too much for him and he enjoys running freely through the fields here and going swimming, same with lucy. I just keep feeling like a awful person for even thinking about leaving them even though its not as if im putting them in a rescue home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 no they dont , you have to do the 4 weeks quarantine. But if you then came home without a european pet passport i think they have 6 months to do here at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 aah right i see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 im starting to think about just forgetting about australia, its just too hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tosh Mckeown Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 If it was easy everybody would do it......better to try than to wait a few years and say "what if" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummy Mann Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 im starting to think about just forgetting about australia, its just too hard Don't give up on your dream!!!! We have 2 Staffies too and originally we were going to leave them here. Unfortunately we would have a home here for the girl (stella) with family but not for our boy (Ty). They have such a special bond, I will not consider splitting them up. They will be 8 this year. Ty is a grumpy bugger where as Stella is so laid back. After alot of discussion we have decided to take them with us. If I could rehome them together with family I would rather do this! Mainly due to their age by the time we get our PR visa and I know I will worry sick about them on their journey to OZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Don't give up on your dream!!!! We have 2 Staffies too and originally we were going to leave them here. Unfortunately we would have a home here for the girl (stella) with family but not for our boy (Ty). They have such a special bond, I will not consider splitting them up. They will be 8 this year. Ty is a grumpy bugger where as Stella is so laid back. After alot of discussion we have decided to take them with us. If I could rehome them together with family I would rather do this! Mainly due to their age by the time we get our PR visa and I know I will worry sick about them on their journey to OZ. aww they have lovely names. They sound a bit like like mine, eric is a bit of a grump too but only with certain dogs! with people hes a big softie, lucy loves people too, theyre attention seekers lol. right now hes on the couch snoring like a pig!!! lol im sure stella and ty will be fine going over! I just know eric would hate the whole experience even if he passed his health checks. I sometimes think about bringing lucy but i know shed miss him loads and i hate to think of eric left behind wondering where we were, at least if lucy was with him hed still have her! I dont know why im getting myself so upset over this when theres a chance i might not even be able to get a visa:unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest37336 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 im starting to think about just forgetting about australia, its just too hard Don't give up too soon Stacey, yep I know, easier said than done and all that, but very few people get the chance to live and work in Australia, and gain citizenship. It is not all sunshine and roses, and I guess you know that by now, but for every problem you face there will in equal measure (more in fact) be many more highs and happy times. When things such as your dilemma come around it is VERY EASY to sit there and say exactly what you have said, and I understand completely. But you have youth on your side, a 'realistic' expectation of OZ, and by the sounds of it the right mindset to make a go of it. Be careful about 'knee jerk' reactions, we all have them, but it is sometimes only days after that we are able to come to a reasoned and educated decision about our futures, hang on in there, and 'normally' there is a solution to a problem, a few sacrifices 'may' have to be made, but DON'T go the big man in the sky and say, 'If Only,:no:' Just my thoughts Stacey. Cheers Tony.:wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Don't give up too soon Stacey, yep I know, easier said than done and all that, but very few people get the chance to live and work in Australia, and gain citizenship. It is not all sunshine and roses, and I guess you know that by now, but for every problem you face there will in equal measure (more in fact) be many more highs and happy times. When things such as your dilemma come around it is VERY EASY to sit there and say exactly what you have said, and I understand completely. But you have youth on your side, a 'realistic' expectation of OZ, and by the sounds of it the right mindset to make a go of it. Be careful about 'knee jerk' reactions, we all have them, but it is sometimes only days after that we are able to come to a reasoned and educated decision about our futures, hang on in there, and 'normally'; there is a solution to a problem, a few sacrifices 'may' have to be made, but DON'T go the big man in the sky and say, 'If Only,:no:' Just my thoughts Stacey. Cheers Tony.:wink: cheers tony. Some people prob think im a total crackpot for thinking of not going because of my dogs, my dad thinks im nuts lol. Eric keeps looking at me and giving me sad looks, its as if he knows im thinking of leaving him. Lol ok maybe i have lost the plot!! :goofy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 We told my mother today, she came round about something else & I said we were prob going to be putting the house on the market very soon which utterly shocked her.. we built this house & only lived in it 2 years.. I love it & cannot bear the thought of anyone else living in it, never mind owning it. Anyway when we revealed all to my mother she looked a bit shocked then quickly changed the subject, I said "you dont believe us do you" & she said.... we'll see !!!!!!!! (meaning she thinks its all talk ) I was 200% determined before to get there, now I'm about 486% determined HAHA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Must be a shock for her, shel come around when she sees how serious you are. I get the feeling everybody in my family that ive told think im talking complete rubbish and think it'll never happen. Maybe it wont but they'll get a fright if i ever tell them daves been offered a job lol if im going to do it at all then i want to do it in the next year or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 dont think she was shocked, to be selling the house soon YES DEFO coz they know how proud I am of my house. Really got the feeling she wasnt taking me seriously which has pee'd me off LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 lol i know what you mean, she'll take you seriously soon enough. Hope shes happy for you, im sure she will be! My friends think im living in a cuckoo land and that i'll never do it, get the feeling my mum n gran think the same. Sounds bad but sometimes it makes you mad and you just want to do it to show them lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 she prob wont be happy nor unhappy. We dont share emotions LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 lol ahh i see, are yous not very close then? im really close to my mum which will make it really hard if i leave. shes glad that she'll get a free holiday tho lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keily Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 one of the hardest decisions i had to make stacey was to leave behind my beloved border collie [sam] he was 14 when we left and just wouldnt have coped with the journey ...we left him with my niece who is currently renting my house ....so he was in the same enviroment and she thorughly spoiled him ......unfortunately he took not well at the beginning of the year by which time he was nearly 17 ....under the advice of the vet it was decided that it was his time ....my niece was with him but i broke my heart that day knowing i couldnt be with him at the end ...he was just one of these dogs that would sit and listen to all my problems and look at me as if he knew what i was saying ....im sure other dog owners will understand that comment .....if u know ur dogs are gona be well looked after then it would make it a bit easier to leave them ...especially if u dont think they would cope over here mrs keily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 one of the hardest decisions i had to make stacey was to leave behind my beloved border collie [sam] he was 14 when we left and just wouldnt have coped with the journey ...we left him with my niece who is currently renting my house ....so he was in the same enviroment and she thorughly spoiled him ......unfortunately he took not well at the beginning of the year by which time he was nearly 17 ....under the advice of the vet it was decided that it was his time ....my niece was with him but i broke my heart that day knowing i couldnt be with him at the end ...he was just one of these dogs that would sit and listen to all my problems and look at me as if he knew what i was saying ....im sure other dog owners will understand that comment .....if u know ur dogs are gona be well looked after then it would make it a bit easier to leave them ...especially if u dont think they would cope over here mrs keily Thanks so much. im really sorry about sam he lived to a really good age. Yeah the one thing i keep thinking about is leaving him and getting a phonecall saying hes away, i want to be there with him but obviously thats not possible. I think itl actually be harder for Dave because hes had him since he was a pup a long time before we got together, we got lucy 3 or 4 years ago together but she likes dave a lot more than me lol. I know that they'd have a brill life with their gran and shed take care of them, its just hard to imagine them not being there. Ive got to be realistic though, they wouldnt cope with the heat or travelling. I just wish i could take them, theyd make me settle much easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keily Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Thanks so much. im really sorry about sam he lived to a really good age. Yeah the one thing i keep thinking about is leaving him and getting a phonecall saying hes away, i want to be there with him but obviously thats not possible. I think itl actually be harder for Dave because hes had him since he was a pup a long time before we got together, we got lucy 3 or 4 years ago together but she likes dave a lot more than me lol. I know that they'd have a brill life with their gran and shed take care of them, its just hard to imagine them not being there. Ive got to be realistic though, they wouldnt cope with the heat or travelling. I just wish i could take them, theyd make me settle much easier yeah i know what u mean about helping u settle .....i always said that when i came over i would have another dog here ....but 2.5 yrs on still havent got one .....being in a rental and our planned trip back home at christmas has kinda put it on the back burner at the mo ....but im determined i wil have another one lol ....just have to persuade the o/h .....mind u he was adamant we werent getting sam but soon changed his mind when he seen him [i got him as a resue dog when he was 3] ...so maybe i will just surprise him again lol mrs keily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 lol im sure you'll get one soon, i hear theres loads of dogs in the rescue homes over there? id quite like to rescue a cat if i go over there, never had one before. I'll see! if i get another pet it wont be for at least a year, wouldnt feel right after leaving eric and lucy plus id want to make sure i was settled first and wanted to stay. I keep thinking maybe im just overreacting with eric, if he passed all his health tests then maybe hed be ok on the plane, i just dont know! I suppose the vet would be able to tell me that, hes fine travelling in the car and hes been on a ferry before but a plane is a totally different thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Daves mum wants to take them to stay with her, they love it there. she has a big garden and she spoils them ( probably too much!) she treats them like proper grandchildren. My mum also loves them to bits but she stays in a flat and also has a elderly dog so cant keep them. Its a hard one to call. We've not gone yet but we are leaving our whippet with my parents. For many reasons but mainly as his life as he knows it would change dramatically and I feel he would be happier remaining with my parents. He knows them well, goes on holiday to theirs when we go away, is happy as anything and has their dogs for company. He never pines for us when we leave him with them and settles into their house like its his own. The changes I am talking about for him are being in a city with only beaches and dog parks for exercise on a daily basis. Longer walks in more open spaces are a drive away and not something I could daily with him. He hates traffic, being walked near a road or being off lead anywhere near one. Dog parks I've seen in Adelaide border streets with traffic going along and it would be distressing for him. Also he doesn't cope well with more than a couple of dogs around at a time and any bouncy ones or rough playing ones he is scared of and liable to panic. His idea of a crap walk would be to be stuck in a confined space with a heap of other dogs and no green grass to run around on. He loves open fields, walks across the hills, woodland and where we are living in the UK he can do all that on our doorstep. With my parents he can do the same. I hate the thought of depriving him of his current lifestyle to have to go to a new one in Aus where he won't have that sort of thing on a daily basis. He is a much loved family pet and I will be so sad to leave him. But I know that ultimately he will be as happy as anything, much loved and will soon imprint on my parents as being his 'pack' and will adjust to not having us around. It takes a week or so for dogs to imprint on their new pack (family) and very few don't settle well (I know as a volunteer with a dog rescue or two in the UK how well most dogs settled when rehomed with total strangers so the transition is easier if they know the person/people). Whatever you decide, don't beat yourself up should you leave them here. You know they will be well looked after, much loved and also will help your mother in law (at least I am guessing she is this to you) to cope with you and Dave being gone. It might be something she needs as well, so if her offer is there and you feel it is the best thing for your dogs, then take her up on it. I always say to people with their dogs, do what is in the best interests of the dog, not you. You know them best and know what they could or could not cope with. Don't feel that taking them is the best thing if you deep down know it won't be. Look at their entire life, their wellbeing and remember you'll still get to know how they are doing and to have pics, see them on video and so on. Lots of people take their dogs and cats it seems. But a fair few do rehome for various reasons. I think the dogs ability to cope with stress and kennels is an important factor. Some dogs really don't cope with it. I had an old collie cross who didn't do well in kennels and suffered doggie depression and had terrible fears and it took 2 years to get him to learn to relax and enjoy life (and us getting a companion for him finally eased many of his hang ups). I'd never have taken them to Aus to live due to his problems. But then we were not planning to go while they were still alive. Our move is still a while away and we've had our whippet 4 years, when we got him we hadn't thought we would be leaving in his lifetime either. We had been talking ten years plus. But as we most likely will be going in 2012, early 2013, he'll be with us and so will go to live with my parents before we move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Thanks snifter. You've helped me so much, everything you've said is the exaxt same to us. They wouldnt have the same quality of life over there. I know leaving them would be best for them, its just hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn22 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Keily.. theres a greyhound adoption kennels in rockingham I believe :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 It is hard, no denying it but I think for us its often harder before it happens than when it actually does. We think about it, agonize over it, run through all these scenarios in our head and play devils advocate with our own emotions. All these months, even years before we need to really address it. The dog hasn't a clue, is happy with life and then has a bit of upheaval and then settles into a new life (and is usually as happy as before). Don't put yourself through all this now. It doesn't help. Be realistic, it could be another 2 years before you move to Aus. I know people will say dogs manage during the flight and the quarantines look after them. I'm not disputing that for most of them. But for some dogs, that small handful that don't cope with things like that, they do need to have consideration given. I know our own Eric would be petrified in a crate and in kennels at the other end. He is a true whippet and fairs badly when kept on his own and without free runs and company. He also just curls up when he hears lot of other dogs barking (he's been to kennels, I know how he does there). To say he is of a sensitive nature is an understatement. But he is the most loving dog to us, his family pack and we adore him, even with all his quirks. But would I ask of him that big move all the way to Aus to a totally different way of life? When all is said and done, deep down, as much as I might want it, its for purely selfish reasons I'd want to take him. And I know he'll be just as happy, perhaps happier here, left with my parents. They have said they will have him in a heartbeat and I know he will be much loved. Also my experiences with the dog rescue as a fosterer and so on, I know dogs settle well into their new homes 99% of the time. Good luck with it all. Feel free to drop me a PM anytime if you want to chat more about things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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