Flip Flops & Wellies: The First Post About Lollipop

I believe most people know this, but Lollipop is our fabulous dog. She's a 5-year old terrier mix.

Lolly was found on the side of the road when she was about 6 weeks old; covered in dirt and fleas. She was taken to a Rags to Riches Animal Rescue, where Peggy nursed her back to health. How we got her is a story in itself and maybe I'll tell it later, but right now A LOT of people are asking about Lollipop (aka Lolly, Poppy, Sunshine, Pillow Princess, Miss, Ma'am, Pooper, Poop da Scoop, Monster, Bug, Sweet Girl, Love Bucket, Gremlim, hound . . . the list goes on and on) and the journey she is on.

There was zero question as to whether she would move with us or not. For us, dogs are family. Leaving her would seriously be like leaving one of our children behind which was tempting (to leave a child, not the dog), but It just wasn't going to happen. However, getting her there was one of our biggest concerns about moving.

There are several options for moving a pet long distances. It is possible to make plans to transport your animal yourself by calling airlines and cargo companies, but there were so many (too many) variables that could go wrong; especially for an international move. Hugh and I both found that option to be unacceptable. So, Hugh researched pet re-locators online, narrowed it down to about 3, interviewed them all, and chose Pet Movers in Atlanta. They are literally walking us through the process, step by step, and so far, it's been worth every penny . . . and many dollars.

Many people think that there is a 6-month quarantine for pets travelling abroad. This is no longer true for pets entering the UK. However, just like me, Lolly needed a visa or "pet passport" which allowed her to enter the UK immediately. Getting her visa, was almost as time consuming and worrisome as getting mine.

To get a pet passport, Lolly had a series of vet visits and this is where one of our glitches happened. She had to be up-to-date on all her vaccines plus the ones required by the UK. We found out 20 days to her travel date that she needed to have a rabies boost 21 days out from her travel date. We made a mad dash to the vet to update all her vaccines. Dana at Pet Movers then started working with UK customs to get her pre-accepted on arrival, 21 days to arrival instead of departure. She was approved.

Seven days from departure (it has to be within 10 days), Lolly returned to the vet where he signed off on a Health and Wellness form, confirming all vaccines required by both countries, and that she was well and healthy. The H&W form was overnighted to the USDA in Atlanta for approval, although it took 2 days to get there. The USDA then had 24 hours to overnight it back to us.

Trip number 3 to the vet occurred last Saturday morning (within 3 days of departure). She was given a tapeworm pill and the vet signed off that this was done on her Health and Wellness form. Her pet passport and pre-clearance were complete. Whew.

In the last couple of weeks, it was clear Lolly knew something was up. Items were constantly being taken from the house. She panted more often; stayed closer than normal. I often explained to her about flying in an airplane. She conversed with the squirrels and a flock of geese in our backyard about it. They laughed at her and told her dogs didn't fly. I explained again that the geese were jerks and dogs could fly, in an airplane.

When we got the suitcases out, she really knew something was up. When I brushed off her bed to vaccum seal it in a bag and then got together her toys, leash, seatbelt, etc., she got SUPER excited that her stuff was being packed and she knew she was going too. The big blue duffel is referred to as "Lolly's suitcase".

When the packers arrived, Lolly was taken to my parents house and stayed there. She was surrounded by her Aunt Brie the Cat and usually her doggy cousins, Max and Maggie, were there during the day. She had a difficult time settling in the first night we slept there, but settled in the next night.

Lolly rode in the car with us to Atlanta because it cost far less if we all flew out of Atlanta. A LOT less. If you're wondering how much it is to fly your dog internationally, I'll tell you that she cost as much as the 5 of us together . . and that was without the red carpet, door-to-door service.

Lolly settled into our hotel room for the night pretty easily. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying it a great deal; including the elevator and our room being on the 14th floor. She really LOVED looking out the window and enjoyed having all her people in one room.

Lolly's new "room" was delivered by Pet Movers to our hotel room. It is her travel crate. It was delivered last night so we could get her use to it. You can get them earlier, but our car was full enough. She was already crate trained, not adverse to it, and did explore it and go inside. We lined the bottom with a pet pad and a towel. Food and water bowls are attached to the door. Her "suitcase" included an extra pet pad and extra food.

Colleen meeting Lolly

This morning, we delivered her and her new crate to Animal Land where Colleen took over for us. She will look after Lolly until it is time for her to go to the airport. Lolly was confused and rightly so, but she's a Mont and a total trooper. She will be getting a bath while she waits. We figured it would keep her busy and out of the crate for a while. Once at the airport, she will board a direct flight to London Heathrow. She's the lucky one. The rest of us are flying to Miami and then London.

Lolly's flight on a freight plane will be between 8 and 9 hours long. The cabin she will be in is temperature controlled and pressurized. An attendant on the plane will check on her periodically. She will not be medicated. Research has proven that dogs who are given tranquilizers to help them travel often have breathing problems on high altitude flights.

Once Lolly lands, she will be transferred to the animal reception center at Heathrow (HARC) where she will go through UK customs. It should take about 4 hours, but could be any where from 2 to 7. When she's done and ready to leave, they will call us. We will pick her up and begin our drive north to Scotland.

Dana, who has coordinated everything for us, has transferred 80,000 pets and animals in 16 years. She's lovely and her voice sounds just like my cousin, Jeanne, in Texas. It helped a lot and we have every confidence in her!

Those are our pet moving details for now. I'm sure I'll let everyone know how it turns out on the other end of our flights soon!