The last few weeks in the US were hectic. My last week at work was horrible and I had to leave sooner than planned. I loved my job and it made me really sad, but it seems that not everyone was so happy for me and made life very very difficult (not by friends, just mean office girls and one very hateful man). I can only hope (and do pray) that they never treat anyone else the way they treated me. Even though it made me sad to have left sooner than I planned, they weren't able to succeed in ruining my happiness, I was on a cloud and they couldn't touch me. Most people were very happy and supportive and I will miss working with them. My family and friends were very supportive and happy as well.
Dakota didn't get to fly ahead of me (best laid plans and all that...) the first time he was scheduled to fly he couldn't, because the USDA certificate he needed had changed and the vet had to resubmit for approval. The second and third times he couldn't go because it was too hot. (keep in mind we only had a week window where he could go) so in the end he flew the same day I did and it worked out perfectly that way. It wasn't without issue, but it worked out fine. The airline said the kennel I ordered was too small for him. Yes, too small. Keep in mind, he's a husky, and I had ordered the second to the largest kennel they make. The man at the animal cargo center told me it was ok, that there was a petstore near by and I could just go get him a bigger one. Sounds simple enough, except when my mom and I arrived, it was only to find they dont stock the largest one, it has to be ordered online. There isn't a demand for them so none of their stores have them. I had a bit of a melt down at this point, I couldn't leave without Koda and if we didn't leave that day we would have had to wait until the fall because it was scheduled to get hotter and hotter. I cried and cried and I think it overwhelmed the store manager a bit (sorry). He called another large petstore chain in the area and was told they DO have the largest one. The measurements didn't sound right to me, but off we went. We got lost, of course lol but found our way and they did in fact have it. The only problem was it didn't have ventilation in the back of the kennel, and in order to fly it has to have 4 sided ventilation. I called the man at the airlines and he said it was ok, he could drill holes in it for me. YAY! so bought then kennel and all was well. In the end I didn't cry when I had to leave Koda, it was nearly time for my flight and I was just so relieved he could go at all that I couldn't be sad about it. I was also exhausted, mom and I had been up all night finishing up things at my apartment. They also didn't charge me the $3000 the larger kennel would have cost to fly, the man said he thought I had been through enough. Thank you Dave! I'm being non chalant about it in my writing this, but at the time it was anything but, it was awful lol but worked out so no regrets :)
Dakota's flight arrived about 2 hours before mine (he was flying British Airways and I was on American Airlines). It takes time for both Koda and I get to get through customs so I was hoping it would have been timed right. When I went through customs I handed the agent my visa with a smile as big as my lips could stretch! I guess it was a bit infectious because he smiled really big too and said 'is this the first time you are using this, then?' and I said yesss!!! he said 'welcome to England Mrs. Akhurst' (I'm about to cry just remembering how happy that made me! and still does...) so it takes a while to walk from customs to the doors out of the terminal and when I saw Craig I was elated!! I was also excited to hear news of Koda, so before I even reached him I mouthed 'do you have him?' and he said no. My spirit fell, what went wrong? When I got to him we hugged but it wasn't the reunion it should have been because I was scared about Koda. Then Craig told me he's fine, they just weren't done processing his paperwork. They put him in a dog run and he was given food and water while he waited. Whew! ok then...so we left the terminal and went to the Animal Reception Center to wait for Koda. I cannot say enough good things about the people at ARC, they are amazing. They take such good care of the animals there and I should never have worried, he was in great hands. It was only about 30min more once we got there before they cleared him and brought him out to us. I thought he would be ecstatic to see us, but mostly he was running for the door to get out of there lol. He was a bit confused and tired and we brought him home for rest. he slept alot the first few days, then he was back to his old rambuncious self. It was funny because everyone that came over to meet him raved about how good he was and calm and I did warn them that it was not his usual behavior lol well, he IS a great dog he is just high spirited and energetic.
Our house is great and Koda and I both love it so much here! I will attach some pictures of the house and the area around us, things we see on our walks. Its so beautiful and I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
My belongings arrived safe and sound 3 weeks ago. It made me a tiny bit homesick but that's to be expected. Now I can say we are completely settled and blissfully happy to finally be here with Craig :)
I have more stories to tell but will do so in increments since I'm so behind, but I will eventually get this blog all caught up again!
This is our union jack bunting for the Queen's Jubilee back in June
We had a new fence put in the back of the garden, and the knots in the wood make a heart!
Congratulations! Love the heart on the fence.
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