Playing Blog Catch Up

Hello everyone out there in Blog Land. Things have been a little hectic lately and the blog has suffered. Now I will attempt to get it back in shape. Thanks for your patience.

At the end of August, Ron went back to Richmond to collect Jackie, Jacoba and Ruby and bring them to Germany. It was supposed to be a relaxing week visiting friends and sleeping late, but it didn't turn out completely that way. We did have a good time with our friends, but forget the relaxing part and the sleeping late part...

Our awesome neighbors threw us a cul-de-sac party as a going away, since we were leaving somewhat abruptly. It was terrific to get to see some of our Richmond friends before we left.

Since we were bringing our pets with us (Frosty, the dog, and Poncho, the parrot), there was some paperwork to deal with. It ends up that the dog was no trouble (no quarantine - just verification of rabies and a vet's clean bill of health), but the bird continued to be a nightmare.

The bird's visit to the vet was to get the final paperwork signed within two weeks of departure. This is the paperwork that Jackie had been on the phone for two hours with the German consolate to obtain. The vet signed off the paperwork because they had been to our house to observe Poncho's living conditions and to verify that there were no other birds living close enough to pass off bird diseases like avian flu. We're not going to even mention the gender determination test, the microchip implantation and the bird flu testing that were required to allow the bird to travel to Germany. After having this companion animal for almost 25 years, we now know that he is a she!

After the vet signed the paper, we were off to the USDA to get an export certificate. This is where the fun started. Not only had the German consulate given us the wrong form to complete, but there was another government form - USDA - that needed to be completed - and it normally takes 6 weeks to get it through the bureaucracy. Somehow we got all the paperwork completed with only hours to spare - thanks to our terrific vet and a very sympathetic USDA team.

Then Ron had to drive him (her) to DC to get an inspection on Friday, because we were leaving on a Saturday and the USDA doesn't work on Saturday, but the animal must be inspected by a USDA agent prior to departure.

Because of a domestic embargo on airline transportation of pets, we had to hire a limo to take Poncho and Frosty to DC again on Saturday (departure day). Ron rode in the limo and Jackie and the girls flew from Richmond and we met at Dulles. The pets were on Jackie's airline ticket and it was fun trying to get them onto the plane in DC when Jackie originated in Richmond and the pets were originating in DC.




The pets in Dulles airport in Washington DC waiting for our flight.

Our "stuff" in the hotel room - 16 bags plus a dog crate and a bird cage.

The flight took off on time, the pets were on board and we landed many hours later in Frankfurt. From the gate area in Frankfurt, we saw Frosty in his crate under the plane. Then we flew to Dresden - had a somewhat stressful few minutes while the German customs agents looked over the 16 suitcases, laptop bags, carry-ons and activity bags we brought along - as well as the papers for the pets - but we were cleared for arrival (PHEW!) and we walked through the customs gates to begin the next phase of our life adventure.

Next...GERMANY!