Labradoodle at the vets

It has been a really tough week and a half in Phuket for our little family. Bella has unfortunately been to the vets twice in 5 days, initially due to ticks and then unfortunately due to the incompetence of the vet we trusted.

We had no clue how bad the ticks were here in Phuket until we arrived. The place we were staying had 2 dogs, one of which had short hair and this meant that you could really see the ticks. We checked Bella regularly and got a spot on treatment to try and help with the problem. The groomers we went to was at a vets and they offered an injection that would also help fight the ticks off, so we did that too. Anything that would help we did.

After having been in Thailand a month we noticed Bella didn't want to eat, hadn't been to the bathroom and was just not playing like she normally does. I took her to the beach and she didn't even get excited by the 6 horses or tiny crabs that she normally sprints after, the crabs not the horses. There is a vet really close to where we live called "Horse and Dog Vet Hospital", it's clean and the staff speak good English.

Bella had her temperature taken and showed a fever. Her blood showed two types of blood parasite were in her system and her white blood cells were practically non-existent. Bella was prescribed a huge amount of steriods, antibiotics and a liver supplement as well as having an injection to reduce her fever. Returning home Bella quickly made her way to the dental chew she had ignored for 2 days and then picked up a toy. We were really hopeful.

Fastforward to Thursday night and Bella is not wanting to eat, has become lethargic and is having some bathroom issues. I met a future colleague and they mentioned a concern that they had following using the vet I went to. They had taken their puppy to be de-sexed and when they returned the puppy they suggested that the she might have a heart problem and gave them some medication. They weren't too happy with this and went to another vet who ran an ECG, did not find a heart problem and recognised the drugs they had been given as human medication usually given to athletes to build muscle and burn fat. I then went on line and found the most horrific reviews of the "vet" I should not have trusted. I say "vet" as from other reviews it would appear that they have people without qualifications posing as vets, prescribing medication and performing surgery.

We were given a recommendation for PAWS Phuket. The place wasn't as sparkly as the Horse and Dog Vet, but they do charity work and have a good reputation. The vet called the previous vet to get the blood test results and told us straight away that there is no way Bella should be taking the amount of steroids prescribed. They took another blood test and found that her white blood cells were too high as was her liver function and gall bladder. The vet was concerned that Bella was at risk of septicemia and could potentially have long term liver damage. We had to leave Bella overnight on a drip in a crate in the OR surrounded by crates of kittens. Not her happy place at all.

The vet allowed us to bring Bella home the next day as she was eating. Unfortunately she can't take the antibiotics that are meant to be fighting the blood parasites and we have to wait an entire week to find out if there is permanent liver damage. 

Labradoodle Shanghai to Phuket - One Way

There are lots of things that I could write about following our first few days in Phuket, but I think Bella our Labradoodle is probably the most important. That's definitely what she believes anyway!

When we moved from NZ to China we paid a pet transport specialist to move her via Hong Kong so that she could avoid quarantine. I don't think that we would have been able to organise this ourselves and so it was worth the exorbitant price that we paid. When looking for a new job checking the quarantine for Bella was top of the list. Did it exist? What were the conditions like? How long was it? How much did it cost? Could we organise it ourselves?

Thailand was perfect as there is no quarantine for dogs coming from a rabies free area and that have their health certificate, microchip, pet passport etc. We got a quote from a recommended pet moving company and crazily it was more than we paid to move her from NZ and that involved 2 flights, a car over the border and return airport transfers for her. It just didn't make sense. We decided to do it ourselves and this largely fell to my husband, Adam, as I was fairly stressed at work. 

So, to get a pet from China to Thailand there are a few things that you need to do. About a month or so before leaving top up the vaccines and get anything that you are missing, there is a very specific time frame to stick to for this and we used a website for clarifying and getting hold of the appropriate documents. You can them a small fee to get everything you need and you can ask questions too, but I think that cost extra. You have to do a final health check 7 days before the flights and 2-3 days later you pick up the official certificate from an office on the Bund. You then have to email the health certificate along with everything else you have to the Thai quarantine department and wait for them to email you the import license. You can get the import license upto 45 days before you travel, but you can't get it withouth the export health certificate. 

Bella was really over driving to Shanghai by the time the flight came around. We got in the car and she decided to sneak onto Adam's lap and spend the entire 2+ hour journey asleep on him. Adam was thrilled, especially as he was already really hot! At check in we were feeling confident as we had everything that we needed. We were certain. We started having doubts though when the number of staff looking at our documents rose from 2 - 6. They all spoke in Mandarin and really spoke to us. It was pretty scary! In the end it was decided that we had everything and that we had booked her on the flight. We just needed to get some tape wrapped around her box for 20RMB and then pay for her ticket at which point Bella was whisked away from us and only had 90 minutes until take off.

From reviewing the airline's policies we knew that we would have to pay per kg for Bella and as Adam was taking his bike as an extra piece of luggage we would need to pay the flat fee of 1000RMB for it. At the counter one person passed the papers to antoher and then nothing happened for 15 minutes. Great. I politely asked what was happening and the guy shot out of his chair to find his supervisor. He gave me a price and then decided that this wasn't for both items. The new price was crazy and I mentioned what I had read on their website about additional pieces of luggage only being 1000RMB and the supervisor disappeared again. On his eventual return my new bill was the flat fee of 1000RMB for the bike and 1000RMB for Bella. I was not going to look this fabulously discounted gift horse in the mouth. I speedily paid and sprinted to claim our boarding passes and get to the gate as we had less than an hour to boarding. I'm not stating the name of the airline just in case they come after me for more money!

Funnily having Bella on the same flight was almost more worrying than when she flew alone. Was she on the right flight? Did she have enough water? 

After 5 worrying hours and clearing immigration we headed to baggage claim and I was torn between getting my camera ready and rushing to find Bella. I was highly disappointed that Bella wasn't cruising round on the conveyor as I'd been led to believe. Instead I found her lying down in her crate chilling next to Adam's bike. She still had a few drops of water left and she was fine. We called our horel, got outside and proceeded to find water and scissors. Once free Bella happily strolled up and the pavement gaining as much attention as possible.

The following morning we went to the quarantine office to finalise everything. Not the easiest office in the world to find, but we got there. It was empty. 4 desks and no people to work at them. A lady who worked in another office went to find someone and we began processing the paperwork and waiting to find out just how much this was going to cost us. From talking to other colleagues that have moved dogs abroad your fee can depend largely on how nice you are. So, I tried out some Thai, played charades and was the friendliest I can possibly be. 15 minutes and 100baht later and we were free to go. Ironically at 2am I had to pay 100baht for a bottle of water at the airport.

In total Bella's vet visits, paperwork, cars to the vet and flight cost less approximately a quarter of what we were quoted by the pet moving company.

Bella has been unable to believe her luck that she is back living on the ground floor and get out really easily. She has 2 new dog friends where we are staying and several cats to consider chasing, or not. The beach has been one of her highlights, but the fact that she now has a car to ride in is probably her favourite thing. 

Bella's first time back at the beach.

Thanks Adam! Bella wouldn't be here without all of your hardwork.

P.S. Bella just fell in the swimming pool....

Counting Down and Moving On

In less than 40 days we depart China and start our next adventure. It's a lot easier this time as we don't own an entire house of posessions, a house or 2 cars. Impressively we are only taking one cubic metre more than we arrived with and most of that is probably my mid 20th century hand made and painted chest with a revolutionary poem on. I may happen to love this item of furniture a little more than you should. It came from a little shop known as "Frank's". I fell in love the moment I saw it sitting on top of a wardrobe. I then saw the price and assumed it was wrong as it was so cheap. Apparently it was right and included free delivery. Who doesn't love a bargain?

I don't know if moving gets easier. This is our 3rd overseas move and we are hoping that my wandering feet and I can put down some roots for a few years this time. It should be easier for me to settle living by the sea, but the surf may impact on my ability to stay. 

As this is my second international school I had some things I was really looking for in my move and I also had some expectations for what I would receive support with. Juggling flights and shipping between two different companies in two different countries is difficult. I am a little concerned that the shipping company gave me boxes when they are the ones that do the packing... Working with countries that have very different work speeds is not particularly easy either. The perfection levels of the visa paperwork also seems to vary a little. I'm used to jumping hoops these days and apparently I may not have to jump quite so perfectly through the centre these days.

We are doing things differently this time. We aren't using a pet shipping company. My husband has been organising all of this and it is literally saving us thousands. It does make you wonder what the pet shipping companies are charging us for. We are flying with an airline that offers more luggage allowance and my husband's beloved bike is coming along for the ride. We don't get picked up at the airport. We don't get school accommodation because we have a dog and we apparently miss out on the welcome pack because we aren't going to school accommodation. We don't get a housing agent to look after us, but the Principal is giving up his first weekend of the holiday to look after us. 

We're still arriving early to take our time with house hunting. We're looking forward to no longer haveing to live beneath people that roller blade in the apartment when we are trying to sleep. We have seen a rather nice complex with a gym, swimming pool and hot yoga studio and that's where we will start our search. So many rental properties are beige, understandable, but I had an extreme reaction to our current beige apartment and brought ridiculously bright soft furnishings. Considering I've never really gone for bright colours it was a bit of a surprise. I somehow need to restrain myself this time.

It seems funny that in 8 years I have set up home in 3 different countries. Starting again can certainly be expensive, but the adventure is worth it as are the amazing people. 

So, over the next few weeks we are hoping that we will get the correct documents to get our visas, Bella's export license from China and her import permit from Thailand, our belongings packed, we'll spend time with some great people and get the bond back for our apartment.

Labradoodle with a passport

I know that there are many mixed opinions as to whether you should move with a pet or not. For us leaving our Labradoodle, Bella behind was simply not an option. With our first move from NZ to China we used an agent as it all seemed so difficult, we were both working and to avoid quarantine we sent her via Hong Kong. There is no way we could have done this on our own. This time we are working without an agent and we are trying to juggle this along with the other highly exciting things that need to be done to move country.

When considering a move we only considered countries with minimal to no quarantine, that also offered us what we were looking for. The Doodle is a top priority and she likes it that way. It is often difficult to type as she has a tendency to lie across the laptop if she believes that she is not getting enough attention. Any activity that may be taking your attention from her and she will try and get in your line of sight.

For our move we have about 12 weeks remaining. We bought the paperwork with instructions from an internet based company and it cost a mere $25. Bella has taken a private car to Shanghai and had a couple of shots for $75, transport included. One more vet trip required and we are nearly there. Our destination want to know when we are arriving, easy. Booking a flight for a dog, difficult. 

We've only found 1 airline that will fly direct from A to B. There is technically another airline, but they code-share with the other and that puts it to just 1 choice. It is not my favourite airline at all, but it is my only option. So, we did some research on the website and no real answers. Phone the call centre 6 times and try to get answers. The final answer is: "Go to Shanghai and ask at the office as we don't know". What an excellent company. 

A rainy tomb sweeping festival and we find ourselves heading to the airline office. Spend 15 minutes asking questions and the result is that we need to book our flights, return to the Shanghai office, to complete a form and then go back with the export certificate 2 days before the flight. I'm not quite sure why the call centre employees were unable to tell us this. Interestingly we received a quote from a pet transport company and for them to do everything for us would be around $4000, whereas for us to do it ourselves we are looking at $500. You have to question whether these pet removal companies care about animals at all or just profits.

In a few weeks we'll be able to see Bella back on the beach, kicking up the sand and avoiding swimming at all costs.

Countdown Take 2

In around 3 months we will be leaving China behind and heading over to Phuket with our labradoodle to start another adventure. If you follow my blog you'll know that we've known about our change of location since November, but even that advance knowledge doesn't prevent the avalanche of paperwork that magically appears and needs completing in seconds.

March is known affectionately at my current school as a month of madness. Moderation is due, we have had parent - teacher conferences and I'm not quite sure what else has been happening. What I do know is that it has been excessively busy and full on for everyone. Everyone is looking ahead to next year. With 11 teaching weeks left I'm trying to perfect units, tidy documentation and do everything that I possibly can to make the handover to whoever replaces me as smooth as possible. At whole staff meeting we have been shown the faces of our successors. A brief bio was given for each newcomer and it appeared as if we were sitting in some form of weird dating agency presentation as the marital status was almost the first piece of information to follow the name. There were definitely some excited singletons eagerly awaiting August. I'm wondering if my new school also does a "Blind Date" esque introduction for all of the new staff. Just replace the principal with Cilla Black and insert some add breaks for some light entertainment.

Preparing for our move we have to deal with competing shipping companies, vet appointments, gaining import permits from Thai quarantine, working out flights, getting local police checks, vaccinations, visas and whole host of other documents and organisation that I haven't thought of as yet. I am very thankful that my husband is dealing with the vet and import permits, but it is very scary and so much of the information is contradictory. There is a lot to do and with little opportunity to do these things due to work hours and many of the places we need to go are in Shanghai.

I have the email for my new school already set up and have been asked to take a survey about my IT abilities. Thank goodness I am going from one apple mac environment to another, but having been in China with its "Great Firewall" I need to get used to google docs fast. It is very hard to be perfecting and working on the curriculum in one school with the knowledge that you  have a new challenge up ahead and it is rare that your existing resources will be used. I personally am still tweaking units as I want the best for my students, but the thought of creating new resources is both exciting and daunting. Being in conversations at 2 work places you begin to feel very torn.

There are so many things that require your time and attention that can't wait. Despite all of the paperwork you really want to be making the most of the time you have left with friends and enjoying where we are. Walking down our favourite alleys, running around the lake, going to our favourite restaurants and our favourite sites in Shanghai. 

We've moved country before. We can do it again, hopefully!

Flying in China

My husband and I feel we have a reasonable amount of experience with domestics flights in China as we will have been on 5 flights in the last 3 months and our doodle has been on 1. The majority of our experiences have been with China Eastern and we have learnt a lot.

Technically our first "Chinese" flight was from Hong Kong, but I feel it still counts. The flight was delayed and kept getting delayed. The time of departure just kept getting later every time we looked at the screen. Eventually when we got on the plane we were then delayed further as we were waiting for a late passenger. I'm not being funny but the plane is already delayed, surely this idiot has had time to make the flight? So, sitting waiting for take off and I notice a really strong smell of petrol. Is this normal? Should we really be on this flight? Do I need to call a Priest? In the air and we hit the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. The person across the aisle is throwing up. This is just delightful and it gets even better when they bring my Vegetarian meal. Aeroplane food is bad at the best of times, but this took it to a whole new level. Lesson learnt.

A couple of weeks later, school hadn't started yet, the temporary accommodation is in the middle of nowhere, we have found our apartment. Perfect time to go to Xi'an and see the Terracotta Warriors. I went on CTrip and booked some flights and accommodation. Only problem turned out to be not hearing my alarm and missing my car to the airport. This has never happened to me in my life. Completely embarrassed and I don't think I will ever get over it. Amazingly if you call Ctrip or the airline 2 hours either side of your flight time to cancel you get something like 80% of your ticket price refunded. If you call more than 2 hours in advance you get 90% refunded. So, not everything was lost. I got a different flight, raced to the airport, the flight was delayed and we made it to Xi'an following yet more turbulence and inedible food.

On return from Xi'an things got rather interesting.  I was expecting a delay. Experience told me to be prepared. I had my Kindle fully charged, comfy clothes, plenty of snacks and water. I kept the screen with the gates on within my line of sight and was ready for whatever would happen. Unsurprisingly time approached to boarding and there was no plane insight. I asked the person behind the desk and was told to go and wait for an announcement. Wait, wait, wait, wait… The flight was moved to another gate right on the other side of the terminal. A mass exodus from our gate ensued as we all dragged ourselves and our belongings to the new gate. Surprise, surprise we are still delayed, even at the new gate. Once again there are turbulence and once again the food is inedible.

About a week after we returned from Xi'an our Labradoodle was arriving. We couldn't wait. We organised transport, new toys, new food, new treats, new bed, new bowls. We were ready. It came to the evening and we checked her flight. She was due to land at 11.30pm. Only problem was that her flight was so delayed she did not take off until 11.45pm. Great. We were majorly concerned as we had no clue what conditions she had been in since being checked into the flight and not everyone in China is a dog person. Eventually after much waiting. stress and more waiting we were told we could collect her. There she was in her crate on a pallet. She was lying down not paying much attention but didn't look in too much distress. We said her name and Bella jumped up started wagging her tail furiously against the side of the crate so it was making quite a noise and whimpering furiously as we struggled to untangle the picture wire that had been wrapped around her crate.

Currently I am sat in Pu'Dong Airport as I write this. We are waiting by Gate 7 hoping to board a flight that leaves in an hours time for Guilin. We are near the display board in case they change the gate. There is a bag of nuts and seeds in my purse for emergencies and we are near a Family Mart so we can stock up on other snacks, just in case. However, there is a plane that appears to be in the right place...

Trying to negotiate public transport and the roads in Suzhou.

Well, we had every intention to learn Mandarin prior to arrival and we are making a little progress, mainly thanks to the Chinese girl I met on the subway. It turns out that it does take some work to get around despite numerous current members of staff saying that practically everyone in Suzhou speaks English. I'm not sure where these staff go in Suzhou or what they do, but I am really glad that they are finding it so easy!

The relocation agent gave us some taxi cards. They have English place names with the address in English and then in Mandarin. You'd think this would be quite a fool proof system, however sadly not. Apparently taxi drivers in Suzhou don't necessarily know where things are in Suzhou and don't read maps. The number of times we have got in a taxi shown the driver the card and he has then made 3 or 4 phone calls to get directions from friends is unbelievable. This even happened when we were going to Tiger Hill, which is often referred to as the no. 1 tourist attraction in Suzhou.

The taxis are certainly cheap, but the buses and metro are even cheaper. What I really love about the metro is that it is so clean. There is no food or drink allowed to be consumed in the station or on the trains. Also, no spitting. It is probably the only place in China where spitting is not allowed. Heaven. The metro also has signs in Mandarin and English so it is really easy. The buses are more of a risk. Hop on and hope for the best!

As I mentioned in a previous blog I purchased an e-bike from a person leaving my new place of work. They are such a great way to travel. They charge via the electrical mains, come in a variety of styles and colours and are super easy to park. Apparently parking on the pavement, in an e-bike lane, blocking a door... The challenge is how many people you can get on an e-bike and how bizarre an item or collection of items you can take on one. I have seen families of 4 on an e-bike and 3 adults on another. Water is delivered via bike and I think at most I've seen about 13x18.9l bottles on one bike. Ladders are another classic, but I'm still waiting for the one item that makes me stop and stare.This is about the craziest I'm getting with my e-bike.

Driving, cycling, walking and crossing roads are all things to be careful when doing. Road rules are there to be broken. I am always wonderfully grateful to be uninjured at the end of a journey. Listen for the beeps and look in every direction a million times, then look in very direction a million times again!

Maps are essential or a friend who knows how to get there as asking for directions is not great considering once again that my language skills are really not good. We have used google maps and have often tried preplanning a route before going out. Sadly our success rate is somewhat lower than we would like it to be. I blame it all on the "Great Firewall of China" limiting google maps access to the actual roads, streets and transport in China.

Labradoodle in Transit

The most gorgeous girl in my entire world is also moving to Suzhou, China. Meet Bella Roberts. Bella is a 3 year old Labradoodle descended from a NZ Labradoodle and an Australian Labradoodle. She's 3rd generation. Her eyes never finished changing colour and she is my real life teddy bear/child replacement.

I've never had a pet, unless you count some Goldfish named after cartoon characters at the bottom of the garden in a pond. I wasn't even sure I wanted an addition to the family. My husband took me to pets shops to coo over the adorable puppies and cuddle the little bundles of furry love. He persuaded me. The saving began and the search for our perfect match began. We did our research and we found our breed and breeder. We asked questions and as we saved and bought one item per week towards preparing for our family addition I discovered that the girl we were looking for was ready before we were.

Nearly all of Bella's litter were the same colour as her. They were expecting some variety and so Bella and one of her siblings were left behind and needed a home. We checked for medical reasons as to why she was still waiting for adoption and there were none. She was literally the wrong colour. We fell head over heels for our little girl and she came home with us despite us not having her bed, the grass wasn't ready and a myriad other things.

When making the decision to start teaching internationally Bella was a large part of our decision. We don't have children and she is our child. We love her without exception. It was time for us to move on from NZ and we made sure that any country I was looking into working in would be suitable for Bella. I also had to make sure that my new employer did not have an issue with the fact that I would wish to house a dog.

A lot people act shocked and horrified that we are taking a dog to China as they eat dogs there. We did a lot of research and spoke to a reasonable number of people living in China with dogs to ensure that we really were doing the right thing. We made sure that we can get quality food, medical care and toys. We also ensured that there weren't regular cases of dogs "disappearing". We checked out where we can take Bella for walks and if there were places that she can be let off the lead to run around and have fun.

A major issue for me in particular was quarantine. Bella is a very affectionate girl and the thought of her being in a sterile, clinical, loveless environment where we couldn't see her was not ideal. It became even worse when we saw an expat thread discussing the Shanghai quarantine facility. What I read left me in tears. There was no way that Bella was going there. Thankfully there is a simple way around this that any good pet transporter will know. We are fortunate to have found a good company called Dogtainers. Bella has been measured for her luxury crate, we are looking at flight dates and she has had a visit to the vets for a couple of extra shots.

You may still be wondering why we would take Bella to China with us, but from the people we have spoken to we have been led to believe that she can have a life that is just as good as she has now and that China really isn't as unfriendly to dogs as we have been led to believe.