Sooty and Smudge fly to Seattle

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:48 am


Everything worked out perfectly! We could tell Sooty and Smudge were happy to be back with with their mommy. It was no problem at all having them stay here. It was fun having special visitors for a night!

We're happy to have met you, too, ilumiari. We'd love for your to meet our piggies someday.

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Feylin

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:51 am


It's a little bizarre being in a new country where just opening your mouth marks you as different, huh? Even when people are being perfectly kind to you, they still let you know that they notice you're not local. All you can do is just be shameless and blow it off. Ask for help, talk to whoever you need to, go wherever you need to go. :)

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ilumiari

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:40 pm


Time for some quick photos!

Here are two from about an hour before they left my house in Perth:
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And here is a quick blurry shot of them safely in my apartment here in Bellevue:
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Their temporary home is a little smaller than a 2x3, but they are small pigs so as long as they get plenty of floor time they should be ok for a while. My apartment has plush white carpeting, so I hope they remember that they are somewhat toilet trained!

Having them in a non-C&C really reminds me that C&Cs are wonderful. I feel like I was only really using the grids to hold their water bottle (I didn't use grids on the front, similar to Momo's setup), it's so hard to have a casual scratch when there are only small openings in the lid.

They are fighting a bit at the moment which is pretty unusual for them, but they start pining if I ever try to separate them.

In all I can really only give glowing reviews of WorldCare Pet Transport and the various partners they used (I think JetPets in Australia and Pacific Pet Transport in the US), I was constantly kept updated through the whole process. I don't know what the total bill was in the end, but to give an idea the estimate I was given by JetPets was around $2500. This included vet clearance and carrier hire, but I provided my own carrier (about $50) and I opted to get them cleared by their own vet (Dr. Elizabeth-Jo Vickridge from The Rabbit Shop in Booragoon, about $300 including x-rays).

They travelled in a size 100 carrier lined with towels and fleece, but I would probably recommend a size larger for most pairs of adult pigs making a journey of similar length (Sooty and Smudge are each about 850g/1.9 lbs and can comfortably fit in the size 100 side by side). During stop overs they were taken out of the carriers and were put in larger cages (at the transport company facilities) to give them a chance to spread their little legs. They were obviously in the vicinity of other animals at the time, but as Capybara said they don't appear traumatised by the experience. Fortunately my flights were all about as smooth as flights can get, even crossing the Pacific there was no turbulence at all, and I expect their flights were similar.

When they were picked up the lady from JetPets was very friendly, and answered all my questions as well as making careful notes of my answers to her questions concerning their care. I included a small zip lock baggie with a spare set of bedding (the bedding they fly in with is discarded at customs) as well as a number of serving sized baggies of hay cubes, pellets and vitamin tablets and feeding instructions including a list of vegetables they could be fed. Note that the vegetable feeding was handled by the transport company, if dealing with the airline directly they will generally only use the food provided and ensure that water bowls are filled before the flight.

I couldn't have afforded using a pet transport service if I were paying for it myself, but even though I was stressed about them being around so many strange people, animals and events, it really made the moving process a lot easier. This is especially true since I had the long unexpected delay - animals weren't allowed in the hotel the airline put me up in. It's correct that the transport company didn't check with me before delivering the pigs to Capybara (They may well have tried - I was on a long haul flight at the time) but as she said she knew enough details about the situation to make it obvious that she wasn't just a random pignapper.

That's all I can really think of concerning the transport, but I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:37 pm


They look happy!

It is wonderful to hear that WorldCare Pet Transport took such good care of Sooty and Smudge.

This will be so helpful for others in the future!

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Amy0204
We miss our sweet Oreo

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:08 pm


I love stories with happy endings. Welcome to the U.S. - all 3 of you!

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Feylin

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:22 pm


I"m glad it all turned out so well, even if they did let the pigs go to the Capybaras without permission!

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ilumiari

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:21 pm


I went to Mud Bay and bought a larger water bottle for them. They must still have been somewhat thirsty because they both had a really good long drink when I fastened it to the cage. So just because they are used to drinking from a bottle doesn't mean that they were happy drinking from a bottle with a smaller tip.

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:03 pm


Sorry they hated the little bottle so much! :( It is a pretty weird size for adult pigs. I wish we had had another larger one to spare. I hope that with the veggies we had given them they weren't too thirsty. Poor guys!

I hope you were able to get the other supplies you needed at MudBay. If we can think of anywhere else to look for grids, we'll let you know. Maybe a hardware store like Home Depot might have them in the home section?

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JudiL-MetroGPRescue
Poop Obsessed

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:08 pm


Wow! Just catching up on GL and saw this. Capybara, you and your husband really are angels and lifesavers! This is definitely a happy ending, and can you imagine where we would all be without GL?

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:31 pm


This might sound very odd, but our local grocery store, Fry's Marketplace (owned by Kroger), sells the right-sized grids in their home organization section.

Are there any Kroger stores in Washington state?

capybara
Supporter in '13

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:11 pm


Hey Tracis, that's a good suggestion! We have a grocery store chain out here, QFC, that is a Kroger affiliated store. I believe Fred Meyer is, too. We've never looked for grids there, but maybe either of those stores would have them?

Thanks, JudiL! It didn't cost us anything other than a little time that we were happy to spend. Mr. Capybara and I really appreciate the GL community and we were happy to help.
Last edited by capybara on Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:14 pm


So happy they arrived safely and that you are all together now! Cool that a GL member could help!!

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