Pets

[Canuck Carrie 1]

I won't be able to bring my JRT with me when I move and figured I'm not alone with this hard decision.

If anyone wants to share their experiences, wisdom, advice, anything that might help get me through feeling like a bad 'mom'.

[Welshcookie 17]

I know how you feel.....I had to give my dog away last year she was quite nervous dog and I was worried about how well she would take the journey. We ended up not leaving but decided not to have her back as she had got settled in her new home and the time would have eventually come anyway. Yeah, it was a hard decision but the right one I think for us.

[almaty 19]

i understand this from my past and moving....it is sad...

[KarenCee 3]

Joel will not be bringing his kittie Zoe...she's 10 years old, pretty old in kittie years. She wouldn't survive the journey so he's leaving her with his mom. It makes me sad, but we're going to adopt once he gets here.

[gabby4ever 1]

i will never ever leave my cat anywhere....he's my baby and ive never left him alone for more than one day for over 9 years now. and that was during the day when i had to go to college....in fact wednesday im taking a trip back home in romania and Sam is going with me. in the cabin

one thing ive noticed in the states is that people treat their pets like object and i totally disagree with that....fix them, declaw them....or even abandon them when they want a new pet or who know why....depends on the mood.... that is cruel....i wonder if they would do the same with a child....

[Canuck Carrie 1]

I know how you feel.....I had to give my dog away last year she was quite nervous dog and I was worried about how well she would take the journey. We ended up not leaving but decided not to have her back as she had got settled in her new home and the time would have eventually come anyway. Yeah, it was a hard decision but the right one I think for us.

Almost twins!

Mine too has issues, and this is where I'm having the troubles. JRT rescue won't take her, the Humane Society has a 4-6 week wait for her to go thru 4-6 weeks of temperament testing and there is no guarantee they'll take her.

[poppy33usa 0]

I couldnt bring my cat with me as he was too old for the journey - he will be 20 years old next month!! so my mum and dad look after him - well actually they spoil him rotten, and he couldnt be happier which I am so glad about, as I think I worried more about him than me when I came to the US...

[dollface41601 0]

hubby and i are having the same problem with our baby kitty we have had for the past 7 months......we love her soo much but just cant bring her with...we will find a nice family to take her in but it will be hard!

[Ameristralian 0]

I'm worried about my aussie shepherd, she is only 2 now and we have like a 7 year plan on staying here before moving back to Oz. Maybe less. I doubt I'll be able to afford to ship her over. We'll see at that time I guess!

[KarenCee 3]

i will never ever leave my cat anywhere....he's my baby and ive never left him alone for more than one day for over 9 years now. and that was during the day when i had to go to college....in fact wednesday im taking a trip back home in romania and Sam is going with me. in the cabin

one thing ive noticed in the states is that people treat their pets like object and i totally disagree with that....fix them, declaw them....or even abandon them when they want a new pet or who know why....depends on the mood.... that is cruel....i wonder if they would do the same with a child....

having an animal fixed is a responsible action....cuts down on unwanted animals on the streets. those same animals are, most of the time, taken to shelters and euthanised...or if they dont make it there, they are ran over by vehicles. declawing...that's a personal decision made by the pet owner. i have no opinion there. as for not bringing a pet...if i thought for ONE moment that Zoe would make it, would survive the journey, I would want Joel to bring her. He's doing what he feels is best for her and I think that shows an incredible amount of love for her.

As for children...you don't read the news, do you.....babies are abandoned a lot here in the USA.....

[Welshcookie 17]

in the cabin

..

You take an animal in the cabin with you on a flight??

Karen....I agree....I would be distraught if my dog suffered in any way on a long flight....I just didn't want to take that chance.

[Girona40 0]

in the cabin

..

You take an animal in the cabin with you on a flight??

Karen....I agree....I would be distraught if my dog suffered in any way on a long flight....I just didn't want to take that chance.

Just curious as to why you can't bring your Jack Russell with you? There are so few restrictions to bring a pet to the USA, I find it hard to believe that so many of you are leaving your animals behind.

10 is not old in "kitty years' at all. I have had cats that have lived over twice that long. I have moved house several times and my last cat moved to a different location every few years with no problem at all. Oh, and de-clawing an animal is a totally unecessary mutilation of an animal. That is just my feeling on it. Cats are meant to have claws, they are used for defense and also for catching prey and climbing. It is effectively removing the ends of their fingers - it really isn't nice.

Many animals, if you speak with your vet, are more than capable of dealing with a flight to the USA - I brought my dog, who was 7 at the time, and a chinchilla (and they are considered quite delicate). They can travel in the cabin with you, on certain airlines. I have been on many flights over the years where dogs are transported in the cabin of a plane. Only recently, I was on a flight and this woman had a dog in a carrier beneath her seat. The carrier was far too small, but they still let her on with it. Personally, I would like to have seen her charged for a decent-sized carrier before she were allowed to board the dog. The animal section of the Cargo department were wonderful with my dog, Sam. He was treated so well and they walked him after he had been checked in, made sure he was comfortable and didn't board him until the very last minute, to keep the time he was on the plane to a minimum. When he got off the other end, he was absolutely fine - didn't phase him at all. Now, if we were talking about a smaller dog, I would have had them in the cabin with me, but Sam is a medium-sized dog.

Some people, who are concerned that their animals will get stressed on the flight, can take their animals to the vet's first and get them a mild sedative, but to be honest, they often don't need them.

My son is a Vet Tech. and his dog means everything to him, he would not have come here if the dog didn't come.

I know that some airlines charge quite a bit to take animals, but they are taken good care of and I didn't think it was that exhorbitant. I think the cost of the flight for the dog and chinchilla. combined, was about the same as I paid for my daughter's ticket.

[Peggy 1]

I took my small dog with me to the US. She is 11. I had her with me on the plane under the front of my seat. She never made one noise the whole way here. When I was getting off the plane, the pilot and the crew, were like "we didnt even know we had a dog on this flight". Noone on that flight did, cause she was so good. I thought for sure she might bark, or get really scared. But she did just great. I gave her nothing to make her drowsy either. Just put some water and food in the little carry on cage, and she was fine.

I did leave my ####### cat at home. She was only 4, but we were staying at my parents before I moved here, and she got attached to my dad, big time. He loves that cat. Plus she has this huge yard to play in, and a big field next to my parents house. No streets that she can get hit by a car. So my dad said to leave her there. They just sent me pictures of her last week. I thought if I brought her here, that she would be confused about her surroundings, get struck by a car. Just at the end of our road is the main drag, so I didnt want her to come here and run somewhere and get lost or killed. I paid $60 to get my dog here on the plane. Thats pretty good coming from Halifax, Canada to Atlanta.

[Sister Fracas 5]

One of the reasons we chose to have my husband move here was because of my kitty, my little buddy. We didn't believe he could easily make the journey at almost 19 and for me, I feel that once I agree to be responsible for a furry companion's life...I do so for his/her ENTIRE life. I couldn't leave him with anyone, even my parents, who adored him as much as I did. I just felt that strongly about it and thankfully, I'm married to a man who totally understood AND felt the same way.

Sadly, my little buddy, didn't make it until my husband moved here. He died just 4 short months of the move. In addition to the obvious grief I had at losing my little buddy, it made me so sad that they never got to live together, because they got on real well. I had pictured the three of us so many times as our little family.

[KarenCee 3]

One of the reasons we chose to have my husband move here was because of my kitty, my little buddy. We didn't believe he could easily make the journey at almost 19 and for me, I feel that once I agree to be responsible for a furry companion's life...I do so for his/her ENTIRE life. I couldn't leave him with anyone, even my parents, who adored him as much as I did. I just felt that strongly about it and thankfully, I'm married to a man who totally understood AND felt the same way.

Sadly, my little buddy, didn't make it until my husband moved here. He died just 4 short months of the move. In addition to the obvious grief I had at losing my little buddy, it made me so sad that they never got to live together, because they got on real well. I had pictured the three of us so many times as our little family.

Sigh....how sad. I'm glad you have pictures though. HUGSSSSS