Friday, May 14, 2010

Introducing Defra, aka an Expat's Worst Nightmare

So, where's Vella you ask? Well, our little Vella Violet is at Camp Rosedale in Massapequa, NY until July 27th. Not only did my mother-in-law take me in for a month after I left the apartment in NYC, but she's keeping the dog for the next 10 weeks.

Why? Because the UK still has lovely quarantine laws. The good news is that you can avoid quarantine through the Pet Travel Scheme. The bad news is that it means waiting 6 months in the home country following a negative rabies test before transport to the UK. So, you're out luck either way. You either bring your dog over and put them in quarantine or leave them behind with family/friends until it's time to travel. Leaving her behind was the lesser of the two evils for us.

Vella will be transported on British Airways at the end of July. There is a special holding area under the cockpit that is temperature controlled and pressurized for live animal transport. We're basically a wreck.

Little girl also has to step up her game once she's here though! In true British form, the dogs are ridiculously well mannered and run around the parks/streets off leash. Vella off leash is a nightmare. It means we chase her, screaming our heads off. Listening and obedience aren't her forte. Doing things her way, "barking" back and lounging on the furniture, now you're talking. Needless to say, we'll be hiring a dog trainer to fix all of our mistakes.

1 comment:

Maureen said...

Oh, that stinks. I would be nervous about the flight too, but thousands do it. Our pooch goes to Long Island from Father's Day to Labor Day with my parents. As much as we miss him, it makes summer travel a tad better.