Let me back up. I am a dog person. I've had multiple dogs sleeping at the foot of my bed my entire life. My family are dog people - not crazy, "Best in Show," type dog people - but real dog lovers, quasi crazy. When I met Mark I had my precious, sweet, once-in-a-lifetime dog Sam. Having a dog clued him in that I was a dog lover, but it wasn't quite spelled out on my "resume" just how much I loved dogs. He didn't get the whole picture until he met my family; parents, grandparents, brothers, and 3 aunts whom each had at least 2 dogs of the same breed running the house like children; that was evidence enough for him to realize there would be more than one dog in our future (I thought). I even agreed to give up the notion of a 3rd child for a 2nd dog, lucky him considering he already knew that was going to happen - I should have thrown in some diamond earrings with that compromise. So you can imagine how shocked I was when 12 years after we started dating Mark suggested we, "find a new family for Bodi" before moving to Australia. It was one of those moments when time slows and you (Mark) hear yourself saying the words in that long, deep, drawn-out voice, but they've already excited your mouth and it's too late, your mouth is still moving, they're out there floating in the universe, and you can't travel back in time and just say nothing! D'OH! I'm sure the look on my face was a mixture of shock, pain, and "you-did-NOT-just-say-that-to-me!" Needless to say, Mark tiptoed around the rest of the night and never spoke of leaving Bodi behind again.
Now that we've established where this post is headed - doggie love - and my dog status, I'll move on. For the sake of this blog post there are 2 types of people: dog people, and non-dog people. You pretty much know which camp you're in. If you're unsure, take this little quiz... 1. Was Eddie your favorite character in the sitcom Frasier? If so, you're a dog person, if not, you're in the other camp. 2. Does the thought of the Old Yeller movie bring tears to your eyes? (Be like Bill Murray) If so, dog person. If you answered, "Who's Old Yeller?" non-dog person. 3. If you read Marley and Me and never cried harder than you did at the end of that book (my eyes are welling just thinking about it), or if you saw the movie and had to turn it off and not watch the end - but still cried anyway - then you're definitely a dog person. If you dismissed both the book and movie as a lame dog movie then you're a non-dog person. Now that you know which side you're on, read on with caution.
After our initial phone conversation with the pet relocation woman - where Mark had to be on the phone with me because I couldn't talk through my tears - we began the process of getting Bodi to Australia. Fortunately Australia has recently changed their import laws and animals don't need to be quarantined within Australia for 6 months, but can stay in their home country for 5 months after the first clear blood test, but must be in lockdown within Australia for 30 days, making the entire process 6 months, or 180 days. But the kicker was that we were leaving in 6 weeks! Enter the Song's. Bodi would stay with Katy and Ho Shin for 4 months until he was able to enter Australia on April 30th - exactly 5 months after his first clear blood test. We also learned in the initial phone conversation that dogs cannot be drugged for the flight - who doesn't want to be drugged for a 14 hour plane ride?! We were relieved to have a loving, happy home for Bodi for the home country quarantine, but knew the flight and 30 day Australia quarantine would be 32 days of unease.
You may ask, why is Australia's animal import law so rigid? Australia has never had a rabies case reported; it doesn't exist on this island. What's the first thing you think when you see wildlife in the US?, "Stay away, it could have rabies!" When we were in Tasmania hanging with our nocturnal visitor, the brushtail opossum, I wasn't afraid to get close to the furry guy because I knew he didn't have rabies. Granted he could have scratched or bit me, but I wouldn't have had to get 20 shots in my stomach (is that still what they do?). Nevertheless, I respect their process and desire to keep their country rabies free.
Departure day arrived. Bodi was picked up by the relocation transit from Katy and Ho Shin's in Mill Valley at 3pm on Monday, April 30th. He was transferred to an animal station at SFO where he spent the night and awaited his first of two vet appointments the following day. His first vet appointment, and blood draw, was the morning of May 1st. His final US vet appointment was at 3pm on May 1st where he was given a complete check and "sealed" in his crate. "SEALED," which means he couldn't get out until he arrived overseas! So, his plane left SFO at 9pm on Tuesday, May 1st and arrived in Auckland, New Zealand at 10am, Thursday morning May 3rd, which would have been 5pm Wed afternoon - screw the time change, it's a long fucking time to not pee!!! He then had a vet check in this hemisphere before getting on another flight to Sydney where he was picked up by quarantine staff and taken to the quarantine facility on the afternoon of Thursday May 3rd. I endured Bodi radio silence from Tuesday morning until Friday morning. It was an emotional time. Visions of Bodi being anxious, alone, scared and jostled to and fro in the belly of a plane haunted me. I'll never know what he experienced, and I'm sure he has forgotten, cause he's a dog, and dog's aren't smart. Regardless, during this process I began to question our decision to bring him to Australia. Katy was sad, I was sad, Bodi was sad - who was happy?! What would have been more selfish, having Bodi make the trek, or doing what Mark suggested (bad Mark) and finding a new family for him?! Dog lovers can feel my pain, non-dog lovers stop rolling your eyes.
The drama will continue in Part II where Bodi steps paw in the land Down Under...
I have to comment that not only did my mom storm out of the room to not watch the end of "Marley and Me," she came back in tears to yell at me and Will about why we made her watch this damn movie.
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