nz now has one more permanent resident.
gromit landed in auckland at 0605 local time.
no official update until he arrives at quarantine at approx 1300.
Tag Archive for 'gromit'
Page 2 of 2
we knew this would be by far the hardest part of our move – and so far it has lived up to expectations.
today at 6:30 pm pacific time jackie dropped gromit off for his flight to nz.
it is now 10:42 pm pacific time and gromit is on board nz 1 just off the california coast.
he is due to arrive in auckland in about 11 hours – 0552 local time. he then has a 5 hour layover before his flight to wellington. shado-lans will then pick him up and drive him to their quarantine facility. after a local maf vet has signed off he is allowed out of the shipping crate. that should be about 1 pm local time. 18 hours from now.
that is going to be a very long 18 for me and the jboss.
i would give anything to be able to explain to him what is happening and that it will ok.
i feel sick.
we’ve been going back and forward between looking for a place to rent and place to buy.
if we could find the right house in the right neighborhood at the right price that would be ideal, but a home search here in wellington is much harder than any place i’ve bought previously. there are dramatic differences from one street to the next. sun & wind exposure, age & condition of house, amount (if any) of insulation and heating (most houses have neither), type of street (some are narrow twisty routes up mountainsides), local amenities, distance to the cbd, dog friendliness, etc.
we had looked at probably 20 houses or so over the span of a month but it became clear that we wouldn’t have time to feel confident about any decision, and it was logistically challenging with the jboss in the states and me here, so we switched to focusing on finding a rental.
the initial week of the rental search was very depressing with few places that would consider dogs, and few of those that would were places that i would want to live it. the small number that passed those 2 tests were all very pricey and were gone almost immediately. there was a bit of stress since we needed to have something lined up by the time that gromit returned from his holiday in quarantine in mid november. i had seen a few places that weren’t horrible, but i was really hoping that that wouldn’t be the benchmark.
jackie passed along a new posting of a nice looking place in island bay, but it said no pets. so i wrote my nicest possible email explaining that we had a well behaved dog, and that we would put down additional bond (deposit) & have the house professionally cleaned when we left if they would consider waving their no pets criteria. i wasn’t optimistic that i would get a yes so i went off to look at other potential places.
fortunately they called me and said we wouldn’t have to give gromit away, so i rushed over to confirm the place measured up to the listing. it was actually better than the listing so i told them that i was very interested but would like to confirm with my partner back in the states. the owner was very generous and said that she would consider us first in line and allow me get back to her the next day. fortunately i was able to connect with the jboss soon after and was able to call back the owner and said we would like to take it. another bonus here was that the owner then said the place was ours pending a deposit, a lease and employment verification. most rentals here just accept applications and then pick the best from the stack.
after an exchange of paperwork (and money – once again all electronic, no dirty cheques here) we had a place to live as of october 27th.
small bonus. the owner sent me an email asking if it was ok if they left the fridge and washing machine. nice to avoid that expense for a while.
gardens (yards) are surprisingly uncommon. many of the island bay sections (lots) have been subdivided surrendering all their green space. gromit’s bedroom (with a guest bed for slumber parties with his new friends from the neighborhood). great views.
southerly view of the ocean (island bay) out the bedroom window.
25 Tiber Street, Island Bay
3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms.
Simply stunning family home.
Be welcomed into the famous Island Bay community!
Luxurious yet practical and comfortable. Super sunny, light and warm. All day sun with french doors opening front and back, and gas central heating to warm you cheaply through the winter.
Stunning polished floors downstairs, stylish new carpet upstairs. Kitchen with modern European appliances and stunning concrete bench. Open plan kitchen/dining/living, with additional separate lounge.
Two double bedrooms, one single bedroom and office/kids’ playroom. All with internet/phone connection points etc, sunny, seaviews and open outlook. Also floor to ceiling wardrobes/shelving.
Upstairs bathroom has luxurious family sized bath/shower.
Flat, sunny and sheltered backyard with swing set, sand pit and herb garden. Entertainment deck, amazing indoor-outdoor flow and wonderful entertainment options indoors and out.
Fully fenced and child friendly, located in a quiet cul de sac 200m from two good schools and 400m from kindy.
Enormous storage options throughout house.
well, not technically i guess since we still have the cabin in vt, but the house in the framingham closed today. jackie and gromit will now be moving from shelter to soup kitchen.
sadly the closing was not as smooth as it could have been – but the good news is that we expected as much so were mentally prepared. as i mentioned in an earlier post one of the things that made selling my woodshop kit easy was how grateful and excited everyone was about their items. all the sales were also nice and easy. i’ll just say that the home sale was not the same.
gromit is probably having the toughest time. he has always been nervous, and he really doesn’t like change. unfortunately almost every day for the last month something that was part of his world disappeared. the vermont cabin got all packed up, then the framingham couch & ottoman (his favourite places), then most of the the rest of the house, i disappeared, the movers came back for the bed, and finally they were out on the streets. when gromit was in vt after the house was all packed he just lied on the bedroom floor where the bed used to be (he favourite vt hangout).
i expect he’ll be better once they hit the road and start staying at places with furniture and folks to give him plenty of attention.
here he is at a residence inn post closing.
“i know i’m supposed to lie down and this is my bed, but i’m so nervous i won’t close my eyes…”
not for jackie or me – but for gromit.
after reading the nz emigration forum for almost a year now i don’t think i’ve seen a single person who has hired an immigration agency to help them with their application – but with only one exception every admits that if you are bringing in a pet that it is so complicated that you have to hire a professional. six months of test and treatments that have to be in a specific order by specially certified vets or you have to start all over again. worse if nz maf (responsible for pet immigration) determines after the pet’s arrival that the process was not properly followed then the offender either gets 6 months in quarantine or -gasp- destroyed.
so as of today gromit has his own immigration agent – diana b. escandon of international pet transportation. they are based in los angeles and all they do is coordinate dogs and cats immigrating to nz and australia. they handle about 40 animals a month so i’m confident that they know what they are doing. nothing that $2,518.82 won’t solve.
i continue to be amazed at how specialized some successful companies are. who would have thought that you could run a company that just helps americans ship their dogs and cats into nz and australia?
updated tally:
• gromit intl pet transport fee $2,518.82
• old tally $2,700.74
• TOTAL = $5,219.56
♬ ♪ ♫
welcome to the results show. i know everyone’s been anxious to hear the results. today we’ll hear if gromit is allowed to travel with his family to new zealand.
this – is rabies test.
<wild cheering>
time to meet today’s judge. let’s hear it for kansas state university laboratory!
<applause>
gromit foster, please stand up.
kansas state university laboratory has spoken and the results…
…will be announced right after this.
♬ ♪ ♫
Iam’s is dedicated to enhancing the well-being of dogs by providing world-class quality foods and pet care products that delight the consumer and strengthen the human-pet bond.
Novartis Animal Health is dedicated to maintaining and improving the health and welfare of animals, both pets and farm animals. We research, develop and commercialize leading animal treatments that meet the needs of pet owners, farmers and veterinarians
♬ ♪ ♫
welcome back.
gromit, how are you felling about today’s results? nervous?
why don’t you take a seat and we’ll move onto the results.
gromit – the results are in and… you’re safe!
congratulations gromit!
<wild cheering>
♬ ♪ ♫
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