7.  Book Tentative Quarantine Accommodation: A couple of days prior to the end of our waiting period, I received an email from DAFF stating that the quarantine facility was fully booked through the first of the year.  I had the choice to accept that they may be delayed slightly or have them sent to Sydney instead.  Since Astrid and Gizmo weren’t  eligible to leave the US until 3 January, I accepted the delay.

A few days after I accepted the potential delay, I received another email stating that the import rules had changed.  If my sister was willing to keep Astrid and Gizmo for an extra month, they would only have to spend 10 days physically in quarantine.  I would not have to re-apply for my permit, since it had not yet been granted, instead DAFF would change it’s status for me.  Again, I accepted the change (especially after I did the math on how much money it would save me!).

Then I didn’t hear anything for 2 weeks.  Finally, on Dec 12, I submitted a query against my application; if you remember right, I was looking forward to Nov 29 as my import permit grant date.  It was like I reminded them to finish processing my applications, because that very same day my permits were granted.  To say that I cried tears of joy would be an understatement; my tears were also of relief, anxiety and excitement.  This entire process was very hard on me (and Ben).  There were days that I would cry just because I missed my fur-babies and was unsure what was happening.

At this point, I was also looking ahead to the transportation steps and I ended up Debbie at Animal Transporters.  A friend had used her to import her dog and highly recommended her.  I had some struggles with her, felt at times that I was being kept out of the loop or that things were being held to the last minute, but in the end I’m not sure what I would have done with out her.  She handled booking quarantine, the travel arrangements and the final vet visit on my behalf.

Finally, I had resolution to Step 7.  It was later than I had hoped, but Astrid and Gizmo had a reservation at Spotswood Quarantine Facility in Melbourne for Feb 19 – Mar 1.

8. Check General Vaccinations: This was an easy step!  They really just needed to update their DHPP and Bordetella Vaccinations.  Because I have the best vet in the world (Dr. Carolyn Karlin at Westgate Pet Clinic) and the best sister in the world, I barely had to think about this step.  They schedule the appointment and took care of everything!  If you need a vet, I highly recommend Dr. Karlin.

9.  Check Canine Influenza Viris (CIV) Vaccination: This only applies to dogs being exported from the USA, of course.  CIV is not something that we have in MN or much of the USA at all, which made finding the vaccination extremely hard!  Dr. Karlin could only purchase it in lots of 20.  We only needed 4, but would be responsible for the entire lot of 20 because the clinic did not have a need for the vaccination.  Here we enlisted the help of Ben’s sister, who is a vet in New York.  She was able to work her network and find it at a clinic in Wisconsin (also called Westgate Pet Clinic).  They, fortunately, were willing to sell these to Sarah and ship them to our vet.  The vaccinations must be issued and followed with a booster 14 days later.  Thank you to my wonderful sister for making the long drive many times over late Nov – early Dec to get all of these vaccinations completed.

10 – 12. Testing for things that I’d never heard of: Dr. Karlin found a panel of experts that specialize in the export of animals and was able to submit Astrid and Gizmo’s blood samples all together and in smaller quantity than under the original rules we were working with.  Again, she went above and beyond in researching the export process and ensure that everything went off without a hitch!

13. Not relevant for Astrid and Gizmo, because they’ve never been to Africa.

14. Internal Parasite Treatment: They had to have two internal parasite treatments at least 14 days apart with the second being within 5 days of export.  This is where we had to start backing into when appointments needed to happen, but it was quite fortunate that we were operating under the new rules, because it formerly was within 4 days of export.  Dr. Karlin and my sister worked some calendar magic and figured out how to combine appointments.  We also had to demonstrate proof that we’d issued these, so she saved stickers off of the bottles that things came out of.

15. External Parasite Treatment & Ehrlichia Testing: I believe she combined this test with the ones above because the panel she found was able to expedite the process.  The external parasite treatment was literally Frontline, but had to be applied by Dr. Karlin to meet the requirement.

16 – 17. Pre-export Clinical Examination & Completion of Veterinary Health Certificate A: This must take place within 5 days of export, so many of these last steps were combined together in a single appointment where they could.  I believe Jackie and Dr. Karlin spent a lot of time together in the last 2 weeks.  Astrid and Gizmo also had to fly to LAX to see a USDA certified veterinarian to complete an additional Health Certificate prior to export.  Somehow this visit fell under the same steps as their visit with Dr. Karlin.

18.  Travel to Australia:  This is where I started freaking out, because I’d read so many horror stories of how United treats pets.  My perception was that Debbie was withholding their flight information from me, but I had been quite clear before hiring her that I did not want them on United.  They were booked in with Delta.  Their travel kennels are massive and all of their bedding was thrown out upon arrival in Australia.  I wanted them to travel with toys that they knew, so Jackie sent the only toy Gizmo came with in his kennel and Astrid’s favorite ladybug toy.  When they were due to arrive at Spotswood, I called and was told that they had travelled well and were resting comfortably in their pens.

The 4 days that they were traveling were the worst 4 days in the entire process.  They were under the care of people that I was unfamiliar with and I was receiving very infrequent updates.  My sister, it turns out, fell in love with my babies over the 4 months that they lived with her.  She was devastated to see them go and just as concerned about them through the travel as I was.

We were both very concerned about Gizmo having two microchips; when we collected his kennel, I saw that she’d put a sticker just above the door that says, “I have 2 microchips.  Please scan the one in my left shoulder.”  Thanks for making sure it was clear, sis!

19. Arrival in Australia: The quarantine official collects them from the airport, and you are not allowed to visit them until an official visiting day, which would have been Tuesday for me.  They must stay in quarantine for 10 days before they can be collected.

We chose not to visit them. Because I must be in Geelong on Tuesdays,  it would have been Thursday before we could see them and we were able to collect them on Saturday.  We were so excited to pick them up on Saturday morning, that we could hardly sleep on Friday night.  We thought we’d head over so that we got there exactly on time and ended up a few minutes early.  They will make you wait.  Its like going into a prison; we had to go through a wire cage just to get into the facility.  While we were waiting, all the dogs were barking and crying.  I swear I could hear Astrid over the rest.

The girl who finally let us in was very nice.  After signing all of the paperwork to collect them, she took us out to their pens.  They were staying side-by-side in 3 foot by 3 foot concrete boxes with cots.  When she opened Astrid’s pen, she excitedly came running out to the girl, until she noticed me.  Then the hugs and kisses were on.  When she opened Gizmo’s cage, he was scared and reluctant to come out.  When he saw Ben, he livened up a bit.

Now that they’re here, they’re settling in nicely.  Astrid loves the beach; Gizmo hates the sand.  My biggest concern through the entire process was how Gizmo would respond.  I knew that Astrid would be fine; resilience and adaptability are her strengths.  But with Gizmo, we were essentially re-homing him twice in 4 months with one of those homes containing small children.  His transition into our home wasn’t exactly smooth the year before, but we were in it to win it when we took him.  I think spending time with Jackie and the boys was actually really good for Gizmo.  He is no longer aggressive towards Astrid and he fell in love with my 3-year-old nephew Jaden, my sister and her dog.  We put him in the pet hotel, sharing a room with Astrid without worrying about it.  The girls at the pet hotel say love having them; he’s a lover and she gets all the other dogs riled up.

After the USDA reopened at the end of October, we were able to proceed with the process:

5. Official Government Veterinarian must complete the Rabies Vaccination and RNAT Declaration: Turns out the girl at the vet’s office was wrong.  I had to wait for the USDA to re-open at the end of October to get the RNAT Declaration from a USDA Vet; they charged me a ton to fill out a piece of paper with the information on my RNAT Laboratory results.  They also informed me that they are not the ones responsible for the final step in the process, which caused a lot of stress since they could give me no information on who is responsible for this final step.

6.  Apply and pay for the DAFF Import Permit: By the time we had all of the paperwork we needed, it was 3 Nov before we filed for the import permits.  These were quite tedious and expensive, but we received a small discount for our second dog.  I realized after I’d submitted the applications, that I accidentally included an extra “0” in Astrid’s microchip number.  I immediately emailed DAFF and never heard anything back.  Hopefully, they received my email and corrected my application.  They do not have to respond to any emails about my import applications for 20 working days after I’ve submitted them.  29 November, I am waiting for you.

7. Book Tentative Quarantine Accommodation: they won’t even talk to me until I have an import permit, which is stressful since I did receive an email from DAFF stating that the Melbourne Quarantine Station is fully booked through early-January.

8.  Commence Travel Arrangements: again, I cannot do this until I have received my import permit.  29 November, I am growing impatient for you…

9.  Check General Vaccinations: Here again, I need to say that Dr. Karlin rocks.  She has gone above and beyond to ensure that Astrid and Gizmo are set to go and ensure that this process is as safe and economically feasible as possible.  Astrid and Gizmo are not due for DHPP yet at home, but the Australian government requires that they be vaccinated for this within 1 year of export.  We’ll do this at our next appointment.

10.  Check Canine Influenza Virus: CIV is not something that we have in the mid-west and is quite rare in the US in general, but my dogs must be vaccinated against it.  We had to enlist Ben’s Vet Sister’s help to find this vaccination, since it was not available in MN.  She located it and had it shipped to us, which is AMAZING.

This is all the further we can go in the steps until we know when Astrid and Gizmo can be exported.  Again, 29 November, you cannot come soon enough!

1. Pronunciation: Mel-bin, not Mel-born or Mel-burn, Mel-bin.  I guess they forgot that there is an “R” in the second syllable.  We’re just going to roll with it, since we already stand out enough.
2. Banking: The banks here charge for everything (making a deposit or withdrawal, talking to the teller, having not enough money in your account, using the ATM, everything!), except NAB, which is why we chose NAB.  Apparently you can open your bank account online before you actually arrive, which I did not know.  Had I known this, a Visa debit card would have been waiting for me upon arrival.  Since I did not do this, I walked into a branch and opened my account on the spot with just my Passport and US Drivers License.
3. Tax File Number: Everyone will tell you to go to the Post Office pick-up and file your TFN paperwork, so I did this.  The Post Office employees told me to get the paperwork online, fill it out and bring it back to them.  I live in a hotel, which means I don’t have a printer….Turns out, you can just file your TFN paperwork online without ever seeing the inside of the Post Office or figuring out what 100 points of identification means.
4. Medicare: My employer told me to register for medicare, which is Australia’s social health program.  Turns out that as a US Citizen on a Visa 457, I am not eligible because the US does not reciprocate.
5. Driving: Everything is backwards.  They drive on the left side of the road and sit on the right side of the car, which means your signal light is on the right side of the steering wheel and your wiper toggle is on the left.  The first time you ride as a passenger in what should be the driver’s seat is weird!  I kept feeling like I should be able to look in the rear view mirror and see what was happening behind.
6. House Hunting: It’s quite interesting that everything is managed through real estate agents here.  As we’re looking at apartments, we’re not talking directly with the owners, but rather talking to them through someone else.  The laws are very tenant friendly, so the agents are given 15 minute windows by the tenant to show the apartment.  If you see something that is open for 20 or 30 minutes, it must be brand new!  Also, the bedrooms and closets are miniature here; I’ve taken to asking if the bedroom will fit a queen size bed and come to the realization that I’ve brought WAY too many clothes.  Lastly, I have been told that they are pretty pet friendly, but have not yet experienced this.  Ben and I applied for 2 apartments last weekend and didn’t get either because of our fur-babies.  We’ll see how this weekend’s round of applications goes.

That’s what I have for now, but I’m learning as I go.

What a long freakin’ flight!  If I were booking myself, I would certainly do so with fewer layovers.

We arrived in Melbourne on Friday around noon, with minimal incidents.  Customs was a breeze, but the all of the luggage fell off of the cart on our way up the people mover.  The driver harassed me a bit about the amount of luggage I had, until I told him that we would be here for a year.  He was fantastic and we will certainly use him again!  On our drive into the city, he pointed out places of interest and gave us tips on living in Melbourne.

We are staying at the Mantra in the Central Business District (CBD), which we would call downtown.  Honestly, it’s really more of a hotel than an apartment.  I have a 2 burner cook top, no oven, a mini-fridge, 1 pan and 2 of each dish.  I cannot even unpack my suitcases, because there is no closet space and no drawer chest.

Hoping to beat jet lag, we quickly cleaned up and headed out into the city in search of food.  I can’t remember what it was called or where it was located, but we found this fantastic, vegetarian friendly Japanese place.  After lunch we wandered about the CBD a bit, but neither of us really remember what we did….We were so TIRED!  Around 5:30, we headed back to our hotel to have a break and get ready for dinner. I woke up on the couch at 11 pm and went to bed.  We got a solid 14 hours of sleep on our first night.  So much for adjusting ourselves to local time on day 1!

Saturday we were a bit more worthwhile.  We spent the entire day wandering around the CBD, finding our local conveience store, office supplies store, liquor store, beauty supply and electronics store.  Unfortunately, I tried to use my straightener that morning with the converter we brought with us, before we realized the straightener was low voltage and ruined it.  We made an emergency run for Petra, which is much like Ulta, for a replacement.  We also discovered the massive gardens just east of where we are staying.  I always knew they existed in the wild, but was thrilled to come across Rainbow Lorikeets in the wild!  Together the Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens kind of remind me of Central Park, but Melbourne itself is a nice blend of Minneapolis and New Orleans.  The churches are unbelievably beautiful!

Saturday evening dinner was apparently unmemorable because it took me quite a while to remember that we went to a place on the park called Lime.  We were one of 3 tables in the entire restaurant, but actually really enjoyed our meal.  It seems, at first impression, that Melbourne’s nightlife is quite early.  We stopped into a new bar called AER at about 7:30 and found 2 bachelorette parties in full swing.  The signs at tram stops boast that they now run late – 12:00 AM.  LATE?!? I’m barely out by 12:00 AM at home…Except not this Saturday, I  was back at the hotel and in bed by 9:00 pm.

Sunday we decided to begin checking items off of our to do list and begin exploring neighborhoods we may be interested in living in.  We got our mykis (transit passes) and headed out to Port Melbourne.  My number one agenda item was to see the beach!  It was cold, it was grey, it was nearly raining and it took 2 entire days to see what I love, but finally I made it.  Port Melbourne reminds me of North East – younger, many restaurants, bars and shops.  Perhaps not our neighborhood, since we are a strange mix of yuppy and hipster, but certainly a candidate if based solely on is proximity to the beach.  We found Coles, which is a supermarket, and loved it.  I’ll be very glad for my employee discount after I start my job.

The best part of Sunday, FINALLY seeing J-Ro!  I was so excited that I think I screeched a bit and nearly cried.

I’ve been very clear for weeks that we need to be out of our apartment on 10/31, so the movers must come on 10/29 because the cleaners are coming on 10/30.  Last Wednesday evening, I receive an email from the relocation agent stating that the movers will be coming on 11/4.  Very matter of fact, like this won’t be an issue at all.  Naturally, I fly off the handle a bit; I write her back a strongly worded email indicating that this is unacceptable and the movers must come on 10/29.  She proceeds to inform me that I’ll need to extend my rental period until 11/5, without regard for the tenants that may be scheduled to move in on 11/1.  Fortunately, the landlord didn’t actually have someone lined up to move in yet, so he agreed to extend our lease until 11/5.  Or so I thought.

Fast forward to Saturday morning: I’m tired, crabby and a little hungover from our going away party on Friday night.  The landlord informs us via text message that we need to move out on 10/31.  WTF? We have an email agreement that we’re moving out on 11/5.  Naturally, I fly off the handle again.  He avoids my phone call, probably because he already thinks I’m a bitch.  Finally, I get him on the phone and explain to him that it is not my problem that he forgot to tell his wife that he rented the apartment to us until 11/5.  He’ll need to get in contact with the people his wife rented to starting on 11/3 and work it out because I’m dealing with an international move and customs in two countries.  I am not relinquishing keys until the 5th, unless of course, he wants me to cancel the cleaners that I can expense.  Then cleaning carpets, ovens, cabinets, etc. will be his problem.  I’m sure if the new renters are crazy about nail holes, they’re going to be even crazier about cleaning.  Now we really do have it worked out.

I can’t believe the relocation agent still is being so causal about this whole thing.  This move is costing Target AUS much more than it needs to because of her lack of urgency.

Now the movers come on Monday, the cleaners come on Tuesday and we fly out on Wednesday.  Wednesday is the day that I was SUPPOSED to start my new job.

We are fortunate to have an amazing vet who has been very willing to help us figure the process out, and has done a ton of research along the way.  If you’re looking for a vet, I highly recommend Dr. Carolyn Karlin at West Gate Pet Clinic in Edina, MN.

Over the next few months, I’ll take you through the step by step process of importing our dogs to Australia.  Here is where we are at:

1. Confirm Eligibility – you must have been the owner of your pet either since birth or for a minimum of 6 months; we’ve had Astrid since she was a puppy and Gizmo since last December.  Neither are a prohibited breed.
2. Verify or implant a microchip: While Gizmo already had a microchip, it did not meet the international standard, so both had to have these imported.  Dr. Karlin is drafting a letter to prevent confusion when Gizmo is imported, since he’ll have two microchips.  Confirming whether or not his chip met standard was quite difficult because it looked like it would in online research, but when we actually spoke with HomeAgain, they we quite clear that it did not.  Astrid has never had a chip, so this was very clear cut for her.  Here is were Dr. Karlin began taking very detailed by the minute notes.
3. Check for a rabies vaccination – must be current to within 12 months of export.  It is not clear that the vaccination must be conducted prior to implanting the microchip, so I called Dr. Frank at the USDA and he confirmed that it did not.
4. RNAT and Quarantine Begins – this is where I realized just how long quarantine was for my babies – 180 days.  RNAT is expensive, but an easy blood draw for my dogs.  Dr. Karlin drew their blood just after scanning their microchip to ensure that everything was being done in the correct order.  Assuming the test comes back with desirable results, this begins the excessively long quarantine period.  150 days of quarantine can be done in the home country, the last 30 must be done in physical quarantine in Australia.  It doesn’t matter how detailed your pet’s health records are, there is no way around this.  This test took about 30 days to come back.
5. RNAT Declaration – this caused a lot of confusion for me.  What is this and how do I get it?  Turns out your test results magically come with it!  The poor girl assisting Dr. Karlin, I think I called her 3 times to confirm.
6. Apply for an Export Permit – this is where we are stuck.  Once Congress figures out how to do their jobs, I can proceed in the process.  Fingers crossed that this will be soon!  We are stuck – we cannot even arrange quarantine without an export permit.

Astrid is my little champ; she’ll take all this really well.  I feel kind of terrible for Gizmo, he just started to like, respect and listen to us in the last couple of months.  This will be particularly hard on him.  This is also the biggest favor we’ve ever asked of someone. My sister has graciously agreed to watch my babies until Ben and I come for a visit at Christmas.  We’re hoping to have a export permit by then, have arranged quarantine and will be able to take them back with us.

Oh shit!  We’re doing this!