We made it too!
 

Hi All,

Sorry to be away for so long but only got internet access today. Well we have done it! We are in Calgary. I started my new job on Wednesday, moved into our rental house on Saturday and spent much of the first week in Ikea. Furniture is sparse at the moment until our shipping arrives (at least 5 more weeks). Bought a car - very easy. exchanged driving licences, got mobile phone. All in all the move has been a success. Even our dog did not get too perplexed by the travelling experience. When I have more time I will detail everything for those interested. However, please post any questions that you might think off that I may be able to answer while the process is fresh in my head.

All the best,

Phil :)

Re: We made it too!
 

Well done, Phil. Good luck with everything.

Re: We made it too!
 

I thought moving to Canada was supposed to be difficult!!? ;)

It sounds like you are off to a flying start, Phil....and long may it continue. I look forward to your next posts. I am sure that there will be 1001 useful little snippets of information you can share with us!!

All the best,

Scouse.

Re: We made it too!
 

Welcome to Calgary! The best city in the country (in my 'umble opinion)! ;) :D:D

Re: We made it too!
 

Well done Phil!!!

We have made a provisional booking for a rental in Midnapore from Sept 1st! .... let's hope we get there!!! :scared:

Let us know all the nitty gritties, especially about how you took the dog, cos we are still prevaricating about that! Who did you fly with? what company did you get to move your stuff and how much did you take? .....I want to know EVERYTHING!! :D

Re: We made it too!
 

Congrat Phil!

I am interested in Calgary too...what made you move there? I hope everything works out for you and that you are enjoying yourself out there!

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Well done, excellent news! Re questions - I'm interested in the ins and outs of the dog's immigration experience, so if you have time to relate.....

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[QUOTE=h_henry]Well done, excellent news! Re questions - I'm interested in the ins and outs of the .

A number of questions regarding the dog so here is the low down. We flew with AirTransat (London Gatwick direct to Calgary). The dog needs to be booked onto the same flight - interesting process -(1) book your own tickets (2) ring up and reserve a place for the dog. Hopefully they don't say the flight is full else your in trouble (only so many animals per flight). THe cost is 150 canadian dollars. We bought our transport cage a month in advance (www.doggiesolutions.com). We went one size larger than actually required. Before going to the airport we took our dog to our local vet to get a certificate of good health (as far as I know they did not look at this) it also cost us 40 quid for 5 mins of dog stroaking!! We did have to have a certificate of rabbies vaccination. At the airport we just walked the dog up to the checkin desk. As we had the dog they allowed us to checkin at the Club desk (as near to first class as they get!). This was great except the baggage allowance was only 20Kg each so we had to pay for excess baggage! Anyway after checking in we went and walked the dog for one hour and then took him back to the chechin desk in his cage where he was taken off to a quiot area to wait for the flight (about 2-3 hours). On the plane I asked the Canadian stewardess to confirm that he had been loaded and was O.K. She kindly spoke with the captain and he confirmed that the dog was on board and was doing fine. After the flight (dog in hold no contact with anyone) we got of the flight went to immigration - after showing my work permit documentation we went through to the immigration office. After 10 minutes the work permit was printed and we went through to collect our bags - which came off first!. Our dog was then off loaded last and came through the oversized baggage area. He was very happy to see us if a little tired!!! Everybody that we had been chatting too came over to see the dog. We then went through customs where the formalities of checking the dog was O.K. from the flight took place and our goods to follow list was looked at. We then had to pay for the inspection - about 30 dollars and then we were off!! It was that simple. We just walked accross the road to the rental car place got a free upgrade (originally to a convertable!!!! which we were unable to take due to having the dog and all the luggage) so we eventually got a luxurary car which we still had difficulty getting the dogs cage into. In the end we had to dismantle it and just put the dog in the back seat. After a few days in a hotel (dog friendly not a problem at all - except the lifts which our dog didn't like) we moved into our rental house with a garden and the dog is now very happy. All in all it was stress free.

I hope this helps. P.M. me if I have missed anything.

Phil :)

Re: We made it too!
 

Webgirl,

THe answer is very simple - the Rocky Mountains. We did originally look at Vancouver but did not like it. Too built up, and expensive. Reminded me of London and I am not really a city person. Calgary is totally different and still only one hour drive from the mountains - mountainbiking, snowboarding etc.

Phil :)

Re: We made it too!
 

Thanks Phil for recounting the dog's experience! It all sounds pretty straightforward but that doesn't stop me from worrying. Really glad your dog came through fine!

Re: We made it too!
 

Well done Phil you must be on cloud 9. Enjoy every thing :)
Love Debi x

Re: We made it too!
 

What breed of dog do you have? I guess it must be fairly small. I can't imagine doing what you did with my dogs. I currently have a Honda CVR and can only just squeeze my two in. If I had cages like you I suppose they would get left behind? BTW my two dogs are an Akita and an Alaskan Malamute. My main worry is in taking the dogs. Although, I have heard of companies that collect from your home and do all the necessary and even kennel them the other side to wait for your collection.

I hope my eventual trip goes as smoothly.

Re: We made it too!
 

I know the feeling. My biggest worry is my dog, the kids you can explain things to, but not the dog. I have a 3 year old German Shepherd who is quite lively and although i have been assured time and again i still worry. If and when the time comes she will come on the flight with us and i think probably my husband will deal with putting her through check in coz he doesn't want me blubbing in the departure lounge. How thoughtfull! If thats the only real worry i have i will be ok

Re: We made it too!
 

Congratulations to you!

Please could you explain how the landing process was? I am hoping to land on or around 18 July next month.

What area are you staying in?

Re: We made it too!
 

...blubbing in the departure lounge - yep that'll be me too :( , though I'll have to try and be calm - don't want to transfer negative vibes to the dog!

Our airline crate is huge and will also have to be dismantled. Even then it probably won't fit in a car, so I expect a people carrier or van will be in order.

Re: We made it too!
 

Hi,

Alison, our dog is a collie cross, I would say mid size definately smaller than yours but just above knee hight. As Phil mentioned we got a larger crate size than we were required (he would probably know the exact dimensions), and it fitted intact in our UK hire car which was a vectra estate (I would say you could have probably fitted two dog crates with the seats down, but no lugage!ha). We were upgraded to a Chrysler 300 (not an estate) in Calgary but the problem here was that the crate was too high to fit in the door, luckily this crate comes apart in two peaces top and bottom so we took the top off and slotted the bottom into the top and it fitted, so did our lugage just. I would recommend hiring a small van, these are available, as I could see no way of you fitting both your dogs and your lugage into a normal car.
Personnaly we didn't want to be away from Pepper for a long period of time, also we got him from a rescue home and I think going on a plane then straight into kennels without seeing us would've been alittle too taumatic for him, so our only option was to have him come along with us plus I don't think we really could have afforded the extra cost of hiring a company to do it for us. Hope you find a solution, taking one dog was stressful enough for us, good luck!

Majj, as Phil said above landing was very straight forward, we just went through passport control and showed his work permit letter from CHC they pointed us towards immigration, a room behind passport control that looks like a post office with clerks sat in a row. You get called forward (there was no wait when we were there) hand over your letter they print off a permit and out you go to collect your bags. Then into the something to declare lane if you have a goods to follow list (we didn't need ours apparently 'cause we only had the work permit) or an animal then off you go. Simple as that, for us anyway.

Currently we are renting the main floor of a house in the Banff trail area, seems quite nice so far. Its on a quiet tree lined crescent, two blocks away from the LRT and Northland shopping centre. We have two big bedrooms an open plan living dining area and a large bathroom and kitchen. Included we have a fridge/freezer, cooker, dishwasher, and downstairs we share a laundry room (2 washers and 1 dryer) with the downstairs tenant who just moved out so we have it all to ourselves for the moment. We're renting this for $1000 per month.

Any more questions don't hesitate to ask,

Helen (Mrs Phil)

Re: We made it too!
 

Thank you very much for the information. It will come in very helpful in our planning.

Majj.

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What sort of dog do you have?

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A big hairy Belgian Shepherd :) .

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Where are you heading? Sorry, i am rather nosey. Its interesting to talk to people trying to achieve what we are. We are hoping to go to Saskatchewan. Hopefully we should know one way or t'other in the next few weeks.

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We're not hundred percent where to go but it's a toss up between the Columbia Valley (BC) or southern coastal part of New Brunswick.