Sleeping Beauty

i know that most people will have a definate answer here. you are either in the 'deffo, its part of the family, couldnt do without our dog, we brought 3 of them over' party. or, 'no too expensive, dont put her through it' party.

husband not happy at all about spending £2500.00 on bringing her over. our 3 kiddies obviously want her brought over. i can see both arguements. it is so much money, its $5000.00 (ish), and that would go towards a house.

she is only 3 (4 in november), and a really beautiful looking boxer. yesterday i nearly succumbed into agreeing that she wasnt coming, but then i got home from my parents and got upset at the though of her leaving us (or, us leaving her). she is fantastic with the kids, always has been, great temprement, can be left in the house without her getting up to mischief! i called the shippers on friday morning to arrange to get her sent over.

but now i am in such a quandry. is anyone else/has anyone been in the 'should we/shouldnt we' situation? really really dont know what to do. wish it didnt cost so much, then i wouldnt feel like this, dog would be over, no question.

please dont have a go at me for posting this thread, its how i feel at the moment

jond

We brought our dog with us and as he lays down beside me as I type this I know we did the right thing.

I know it is expensive and very worrying, but believe me the dog didn't bat an eyelid. The staff at the AQIS centre are unbelievable and the 30 days fly by. It was just great to pick him up and he is so settled now we have even brought an 8 week old pup for him to be friends with, although he hates her at the minute.

My Sister moved here 8 years ago and brought her dog with her and she is still going strong at 13.

I know everyone has a different opinion on this but in your heart you will know the right answer for you..

John

The Johnstons

I'm afraid noone can make this decision but you and your family . It wasn't a tough one for us as I knew from the start we'd bring our 2 with us despite the cost, but I can understand your dilemma. I picked our 2 spaniels up from quarantine last week and they've made our house feel like home again . We're getting out and about more, down at the dog beach most days which is glorious and have met lots of new people because of them (ie. other dog owners or just people wanting to talk to/about the dogs). They've helped me feel like a 'local' and the kids are over the moon to see them again (I think the more familiar things they have around them the better.)

It cost us about £3500 in total to bring them and if it means we have to look for a house that is £3500 cheaper to buy then in the grand scheme of things I don't think that's too bad (only my opinion though )

I hope you can come to a decision that you'll all be happy with. It's important to have as few regrets as possible when making such a big move, it's stressful enough.

Best of luck.
Tracey

Stitch

Hi,

No shooting here! But we have just picked our dog Stitch up from quarantine and that whole family feeling is coming flooding back. Stitch will be 3 in september so there's a fair bit of milage in him yet. We did consider leaving him in the UK but when it came to it we had to bring him.....

Cheers

Ginny

LesleyM

Don't worry, we also were in two minds because of the expense but couldn't bear to leave them behind either. Thankfully we said 'sod it' they are our family even though they are flippin' pains. We brought them with us and I'm so glad we did. They have setlled extremely well and I think it helped us settle too. Good luck with whatever your decision, I know it's a hard one.
Lesleym

Sleeping Beauty

thanks to the messages. have shown hubbie the replies, hoped it has helped him in some way. if he said 'sod it', lets take her' then i wouldnt have this doubt about it.

he did say, it brought a tear to his eye. thought he taking the p*ss, but he assured me he wasnt, that he meant it. if i get any more replies, i will show him them as well. in my heart of hearts. i do want her to come, she is our dog, we chose her. BUT, i can see the point of what he is saying, and i can see the practicalities of what is being pointed out to me with regard to renting over in australia etc.

i know no one can make the decision for us, except us, but if i get some more positive replies back, like the ones above, it might make the decision easier to make, especially for hubs (not that i am saying just post positive replies, all replies, good or bad are wanted).

Bella Donna

WE brought our 18mo (at the time) German Shepherd with us, and although he had to be apart from us for over 10 weeks, cost us the chance of several rentals, and a lot of money in extra kennel fees, we have not regretted shipping him over for a single second. He loves it here and is thriving. I know that if we had left him in the UK we would all have regretted it deeply. He's part of the family and he's helped us settle down no end.

Follow your heart - you'll regret it if you don't.

silversurfer

Our dog has been with us through thick & thin. Through the high and lows of life, seen the bad moods, cowered through the wife/husband aruments, got in there for the kisses & cuddles, always waited at the front gate for me to return from work, every day for 3 years.
No question for me.
good luck in whatever you decide.

Centurion

I'm sorry to be blunt but I cant see the other side of any argument at all. To leave your dog for purely monetary reasons is simply not on. Sure, some people may have alternate reasons, such as poor health of the animal and such, but for just money ??

You make the decision to give a home to a animal and then simply throw it away because it doesnt suit your circumstances.

At least your dog will always be loyal to you no matter what, unlike his master it seems. I think my signature says it all.

My apologies for my harsh tone of post but I feel so strongly about this. My own dog makes me smile at least once a day and makes my family happy. That to me is worth more than few more bucks in the bank.

Sleeping Beauty

i understand your point centurion, and take it on board. i also know how much you love your dog.

from what i have read from previous posts of yours, you sold several successful businesses as well as several houses before moving to australia (apologies if i am 'out' about the number of houses/businesses you sold). money is tight for us, and every £/$ counts for us. everybody agrees that it is expensive to take your pet over to australia/NZ, cat or dog. can we really afford it? no, not really! that is the point of the thread.

monetary reasons? too right, providing a home and food for our family, whilst one of us is searching for work (as we all know that jobs dont come knocking) is our priority. the $5000 could provide a cushion for us, (not bucks in the bank!) should things not pan out all hunky dorey, like it does for some people.

our family/children takes priority. this doesnt mean that we love our dog any less, and i am offended that you have already condemned us as bad pet owners, just because i am trying to justify the cost.

phoenixinoz

In the grand scheme of things $5000 is not a lot of money, certainly compared to all the other costs involved in emigrating. Besides, if you look at it another way, you can soon knock that off the price of a house. To be honest, if I couldn't afford the five grand to take my dog [a big part of our family]..... then I'd stay in the UK.

I understand your concerns re finding work etc, but seriously, you will find work so you wont starve. I've met quite a few Expats none of whom are earning a kings ransom and all equally able to live and have food on the table. Perhaps you are getting hung up on this aspect unnecessarily. Could you even delay your dogs departure until you are settled, have found work etc i.e leave it with a family member until you are ready?

Leaving your dog may feel like a viable option now, whilst you are busy caught up in the new life/ new adventure, but once the dust has settled, you might feel you've done the wrong thing and regret it. As daft as it sound this could make you unhappy and unsettled. On the other hand, you might not even think about your dog once you're here and might just go replace him/her. Your choice, your conscience.

Personally I can understand if people are worried for their pets health, or if they think the dog would not be able to cope in the hot weather, or age etc....etc....but cost...well....I would never condemn you but seriously, the cost is minimal compared to the whole outlay....

Anyways, the choice is yours and I'm sure you'll make the choice that best suits your conscience. No one else can decide for you.

Good luck.

Sleeping Beauty

dont get me wrong, i dont want to leave the dog. i got upset last week, when we had a chat about it, and the possibility arose that we might have to leave her in the uk. she is a brilliant dog. chances are, we will probably take her. i am just using this forum as a sounding board.

leaving her behind with a possibility of sending her onwards? mmmm, theres only mum and dad and brother and his family??

mum and dad, not very good with prodedures and organising (which is the reason i am trying to get their application to migrate sorted out before we leave for australia )

brother and family, 2 kiddies, one with learning difficulties, another one very nearly due, live in a small house with not enough room for them at the moment, let alone another child and a dog. problems already there tenfold

other than that, no one else to ask, no other family.

at the moment, its looking about 80% certain that we are taking her. wouldnt/couldnt replace her. we are worried about how she will cope, she doesnt travel well and doesnt cope too well with heat. but, by reading on here, i am sure she will be okay on the slight and sleep at lot, and that dogs adapt far better to the weather than we do

its not so much me that is deliberating over this, more so my husband. other people have also said "oohh, thats a lot of money", which of course it is.

hedgehog

Did you know when you got her that you would one day be migrating ???. When my old english sheepdog whom I'd had for 17 years died, I knew I couldn't have another as I would one day be leaving this country and didn't want to have to make the decision you are now having to make, although I know without a doubt I would of taken my dog. I don't envy you the decision but I think pet owners have to realise a pet is for life even if the owners plans change. Good luck with your choice. Whatever you decide stick with it and it will be the right decision for you.

phoenixinoz

I know it's not an easy decision SB...and I get the feeling there's a lot of pressure from your husband. Perhaps you could remind him he agreed to buy the dog in the first place so surely he has an obligation to you, your kids and the dog to take her with you?

Another point. Perhaps point out that if you can't take the dog, then maybe he doesn't get to see the cricket, drink beer or buy fags or any other activities he may be thinking of when he gets to Aus. Afterall, it's money wasted innit

You can think of many reasons why not to bring her but at the end of the day only you know the real reason. Whatever decision your other half makes, I hope it doesn't make you feel bad.

You both have to live with the decision so you need to do what's best all round. Make sure you are also happy with the outcome

Sleeping Beauty

no we didnt know at the time. had been a dream of hubbies for some years, but it was a no go as far as i was concerned until 19 months ago.

i have said that to hubbie 'a pet is for life, not just for the short term'.

dont know how i would be feeling right now, if i had a horse to take (nearly got one of those about 3 years ago )