A Bit Cheeky

You know nothing of my life circumstances. There's a lot of judging and second guessing here. Thanks for any good info. I'm done .You may now talk amongst yourselves about me.
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christmasoompa

Except the OP works from home. And these days with all the doggy daycare, dog walkers that are everywhere, I don't think it would be an issue even if he did have to go out to work sometimes.

Personally as a dog owner/breeder, and previous fosterer too, I would never give up a puppy because of an international move. It may not have been the best timing, but I understand the need for a new friend after losing a much loved older companion.

But I do think the OP needs to adjust his expectations, and be prepared to be in short term more flexible accommodation until he's got some UK credit history, payslips, a reference, etc, and is a more attractive tenant to a landlord. I would also consider leaving the pup with a friend just for the first month or two, until the OP has settled a little bit. If he's never even left the US, then it may be that he hates the UK and wants to return, so personally I wouldn't risk putting the pup through two journeys and would want to be sure I was definitely going to stay. Or plan a visit for a month or so, and move further down the line - hire a car, travel around, check out areas, and then be a little bit more sure of the move rather than moving sight unseen to a country you don't know.

OP - you need to think of BE as a pub (you'll get to know those in the UK!). You'll wander in, grab a beer, sit on a bar stool and find lots of people to chat to. Some of those people you'll get on with and have lots in common with, others will give you an opinion that you don't agree with. You'll find Brits a lot more direct than Americans generally. But there's no need to walk out of the pub entirely, you just learn to ignore those people you're not keen on, and focus on the ones you do get on with. BE is a forum with lots of different people, they won't all agree with you all the time, but that's ok. As long as people give their point of view politely, then are you free to also ignore it politely if you choose to do so.

Best of luck to you.

dunroving

Have to say that in the approximately 8 years I had Suzy in the UK, dog-sitting and doggy day-care was a constant hassle. I think if you find a good person and they stick with you, it's great. But for me it was like handing over my child to a stranger who (unlike child care) is not regulated. A few times, I had to leave work because the dog-sitter's teenage daughter (or her friends) left the door open and Suzy was playing with the traffic. Another time, I left Suzy with another dog-sitter at her home on Caerphilly Mountain for two nights and on the second night, the dog-sitter's teenage daughter (a different teenage daughter!) left the door open. On that occasion, I was out on the Welsh mountains on a snowy, freezing winter night looking for her. As it turned out, she somehow made it the 4 miles back to my rented house, a route she had only done once, two days before, in the opposite direction, in a car.

As you say, working from home is a different situation entirely. I hadn't caught that in the OP's messages (I didn't realise working remotely meant WFH).

christmasoompa

It is regulated. Anybody doing it should (I realise that's *should*, and not always the case!) be licensed, insured and registered with their local council, just as a childminder should. I think the lesson from your experiences though is never leave your dog with a boarder that has a teenager, regardless of whether they're licensed or not. So glad Suzy was ok.