Jet Set Pet

Kirby has arrived at his new home in London!

Getting Kirby here was not easy… The UK is one of the strictest countries to import pets into. Rabies doesn’t exist here, so authorities have to make absolutely sure that your pet is not infected before they travel. They used to quarantine dogs but now they just give them a 6 month waiting period after their rabies vaccine. We found out we were moving in April, which was less than 6 months before our move date in early July. So since Kirby could not move with us, my parents were kind enough to watch him. My dad even drove him down to Houston a few weeks ago to hand him off to us before our flight home to London! He called his journey the “Grandpa/Kirby Road Trip!” :)

Sleeping through the long car ride... that doesn't look comfortable!

Sunday after Katie and Dave’s wedding, David and I were reunited with Kirby! After thanking Dad profusely for taking care of our baby, we headed to Kirby’s final vet appointment before our flight on Monday. And Dad got a treat by getting to visit NASA while he was in Houston for the day. He definitely needed a break before getting back into the car for the return trip to El Paso!

Transferring Kirby was one of the most stressful parts of our move. First we had to make sure that Kirby would even be allowed in our new home. So before our trip to London in April to find a house, we had to make a resume for Kirby, which we then turned into the relocation agent, who passed it onto the landlords of the homes we were interested in. Luckily Kirby’s resume was so exemplary that our landlord changed her mind about her no-pet policy and welcomed Kirby into the flat, so long as we clean up after his “fouling” (which is seriously a clause in our lease agreement).

So once we had figured out a pet-friendly place to live, we returned home to Austin and contacted the vet to start the paperwork. Before this ordeal, we had no idea that pet relocation agencies even existed, but they do and they charge outrageous fees to handle your paperwork and logistics! We decided to save some money and do everything ourselves. We figured we were competent people and it wouldn’t be that difficult. But it was much more difficult than we ever imagined.

After months of vet appointments and growing stacks of paperwork, we finally dropped Kirby off at Continental Cargo for his flight. I have to give a huge shout-out to the pet agents at Continental Cargo in Houston. They are really knowledgeable, wonderful people in charge of shipping thousands of pets a year. Right away they put us at ease. They reassured us that as long as the paperwork was stamped by the USDA, we would be fine. We should have opted for the Xlarge kennel, but again, they said it would be fine and if for some reason it didn’t get approved, they had kennels for sale on-site so we wouldn’t have to make a last-minute dash to Petsmart. Last week, David and I received our annual Onepass Member Continental Xmas card. And featured on the card was the agent who shipped Kirby! She definitely deserves the recognition. We are very thankful, Continental!

While we were waiting at cargo for all of the paperwork to go through the system, I noticed an enormous crate outside. After I asked, the agent told me there was a mastiff inside that would be headed to Brazil later that evening. I always wondered how they ship Great Danes or Mastiffs. Well now I know… with custom-made, giant wooden crates! The agent said mastiffs are very popular in South America and they ship a few each year. I can’t imagine what it cost to ship that dog... Doggy plane tickets are based on weight. Kirby had lost so much weight swimming and going for walks everyday in El Paso that he was a mere 60 pounds (80 total including the crate) when he was shipped. And yet Kirby’s ticket was more than both mine and David’s roundtrip tickets combined! You could probably buy groceries for a year with what it cost to ship that mastiff!

When we landed in London, we took a black cab to the pet reception center near Heathrow. We checked in and were told that Kirby had a great flight. He had already been taken outside to do his business and run around. There was one other family from Cyprus waiting for their Dalmatian in the center. After about an hour and a half, one of the customs agents came into the waiting area to give the family some bad news. Apparently they did not get a letter from their vet (signed in blue ink) stating the dog’s UK microchip had been implanted before the rabies vaccine was administered. See how strict the UK is?? You have to do the simplest things in a very specific order or you get in trouble. Until they could produce a fax or letter from the vet, customs would have to hold the Dalmatian. At that point, David became so stressed that he left the room to take a walk outside. He couldn’t sit still and wait any longer. I tried to focus on my book, confident that our vet’s letter was in our paperwork, but it was difficult to concentrate. Those two hours were nerve-wracking. Finally the agent came out and told us everything was fine and Kirby would be released to us in about 10 minutes. YAY!!

He won't be needing those shades again for another couple of months!

But now how to get him home??

We don’t have a car in London and Karen was working… so I called my trusty cab company that I use for all of my Dell travel needs. Sure enough, they could send a van for us. So we said hello to Kirby (who was thrilled to see us again) and then had to put him right back in his kennel. We put him in the back of the van, shoved the suitcases in the back seat next to me, and headed home.

And then Kirby slept… a lot! I was afraid that he would be uncomfortable or turn into a “pupsicle” in cargo because it’s always about -50 degrees outside at those altitudes. But the cargo area was climate controlled and the weather was fairly mild when we landed. I think he must have just slept most of the time, but he was still exhausted after a long weekend.

Who knew back then, when he was just a pup, that Kirby would become such a world traveler?

The next day we took him to the park and he ran around and made some new friends. All of the dogs were so curious about this new guy with his American scent and accent. He seems to be adjusting very well to the new house and climate. He has a big garden out back to run around in, but we often catch him sleeping in his dog house when we get home from work.

When he's not hanging out on top of his doggy cabin, we can usually find Kirby sleeping inside.

The Fujitas (our upstairs neighbors) came down the other day to help us rake the backyard. The Fujita’s older boy absolutely LOVED Kirby. He played fetch with him for about an hour and a half while we raked. So now Kirby has a new best friend living right above us!

Kirby's second-favorite hobby (after fetch) is chewing on bones.

This past week David and I were both back in Austin for work, so we left Kirby at Karen’s house after Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving evening, we packed up our bags and headed to the tube for Kirby’s first public transportation experience.

The entire walk to the tube station, Kirby kept jumping up on the cars parked on the street, thinking he was going for a drive. We tried to explain he wasn’t going on a car ride, but he didn’t get it. We got to the tube station (which he was never allowed to go in before) and entered. He wasn’t really afraid of the tube, which is surprising since he is not a fan of the big, noisy double decker buses. In fact, he’s terrified of them. Every time one drives past us on our walks, he shrinks away and runs to the other side of the sidewalk. Kirby jumped right onto the tube, though, and sat nicely between David’s legs for the first part of the journey. When we had to switch lines, however, he began to get more confused and restless. We had to stand the whole time because of the rush hour crowd and Kirby kept wanting to pull away and say hello to everyone. He started to whine too. From that point on, I don’t think he stopped whining until we actually got to Karen’s.

We got to the train station and I paid for our tickets while David headed to the correct platform. The trains are much larger than the tubes, so the gap between the platform and cars is much wider as well. Kirby did not “mind the gap” here and instead, kind of fell onto the train. He lay sprawled across the floor for a few moments before he picked himself up and tried to wander around again. This time David let him have a little more freedom because the people on the train seemed to be friendly dog-lovers. David found an empty seat and sat down with Kirby. I remained standing by the door with our luggage. When a tall man wearing dark clothing came through the adjacent car into ours, Kirby got a bit spooked and barked at him. He was only trying to protect his mama, but dogs barking on trains is apparently not good etiquette in Britain… There was a very audible gasp throughout the car. David clamped Kirby’s mouth shut with his hand and after Kirby realized I wasn’t in danger of being thrown off the train, he proceeded to tug at his leash to wander around.

All in all, he did a pretty good job. And now that he knows what to expect, I think he’ll be less whiny on future trips.

Kirby looks like one happy commuter!

Karen and Jeff have had a wonderful time with Kirby this week. It’s been snowing like crazy in England, but Kirby doesn’t seem to mind. He still wants to go outside for walks, or to play fetch. Jeff has been a very responsible uncle and taken great care of him. We’re very lucky to have supportive families that are willing to dog-sit for us… even for months at a time!   

We love having Kirby in London. The house isn’t nearly as clean as it used to be and it’s a bit more difficult to relax after work when the dog’s eager for his evening walk, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! With the scent of hot chocolate in the air, Kirby curled up on the couch between David and me, and the Christmas tree glowing, London officially feels like home now!