A Rough Week
This may be a long entry, so brace yourself. It’s been a rough week. (Yes, pun intended — you’ll see why soon.)
On Monday, Julia, our realtor, came by to have photos taken of the house for the listing. Mikey spent the entire weekend finishing up a dozen projects. I don’t know how he did it, but by the time we went to bed, everything was done. Meanwhile, I was tackling clutter. If it wasn’t boxed or bagged to donate, it got shoved in a closet or crammed into a cabinet.
When Julia and the photographer arrived, each room was perfectly staged — or so I thought. Apparently, I was wrong. They moved things around, hid decorations, and “rearranged” furniture to get their ideal shot. Not a big deal, right? Well… it stung a little, but I survived. Photos were taken, and the house should be listed today. Another step checked off the list.
Now, for the real problem of the week. And when I say big, I mean BIG.
As you know, our pet travel agent has been suspiciously quiet about the dogs’ flight booking. Late Tuesday night, we found out why. Buckle up.
We took the dogs in for their final vet visit — the last step before their USDA travel approval. This visit included vaccines for internal and external parasites, tapeworm, and Bordetella. The appointment took forever, and poor 12 Oaks had a full-blown panic attack.
That night, Angela (the CEO of the pet transport company) called. The airline they’d planned to use had suddenly put an embargo on flying dogs into Montevideo. Why? No clue. We just know it’s a big, furry “no.”
Angela suggested an alternative route: fly the dogs to Germany, then onward to Uruguay. Great idea — except for three small issues.
First, the cost. This new route isn’t just a little more expensive — it’s thousands more. Like, we-could-buy-another-dog expensive. But what choice did we have? None. So we agreed. The dogs will fly to Germany, stay for 24 hours, then continue to Uruguay. Unfair, I want to go to Germany.
Second, to make that happen, we need an EU transit certificate. (Because of course we do.) That means yet another vet form Tick-tock.
By Wednesday morning, Angela called again — never a good sign. They couldn’t find proof that 12 Oaks had her one-year primary rabies vaccine. Apparently, this is required for EU travel but not for USDA approval. We checked with both our vets — no record. We think she got it while she was racing, but those records are long gone.
So, back to the vet we go. 12 Oaks will get her new one-year rabies “primer” shot this morning. The bad news? She now has to wait 21 days before she can fly. Which means… goodbye, October 14. Hello, November 5.
Oh, and since this delay pushes us outside the 60-day limit for their previous tests, we have to start the whole process over again — new parasite tests, another USDA submission, the works.
The third hurdle, we have to cancel our Airbnb reservation, delay our mail forwarding, and try to coordinate all of this while Junk Bear shows up tomorrow to haul away everything left in the house. At this point, I feel like we’re living in The Money Pit.
I know, some people wouldn’t go through all this for their pets. But 12 Oaks and Tyson are family — and leaving them behind just isn’t an option.
I hope you found the pun!
If you made it to the end, congratulations. You’ve officially survived this week with us.
NEW COUNTDOWN: 26 days and counting
