Moving a pet to the UK

Wow! I just looked into the process for moving Sara Lee to the UK and it is crazy!

So we have 2 options:
1 - We take Sara Lee to the UK and put her in quarantine for 6 months as they watch her for rabies. We can visit periodically, but she cannot leave until the 6 months is up - and we have to pay for the quarantine.
2 - We can go through a long drawn out procedure here in the US which involves micro-chipping, rabies shots and tests, a 6 month waiting period, veterinary validation, and issuance of a UK pet passport, more shots, special transport and then she can come live with us.

Apparently the UK does not have and never has had rabies. Weird. It does not matter that Sara Lee is already micro-chipped or clear of rabies and up to date on all of her shots. She has to do it all over again. In the end - we will go with option 2 because we know Sara Lee will not last in a 6 month quarantine. And she is totally worth it. It is just frustrating because she is so healthy and obviously free of rabies.

Oh well - the things we do for our dogs. Maybe we will give her a treat for going through all this and take her to Harrods' Pet Kingdom when she gets to London. She can try on new doggie coats in their fitting rooms, find a new designer collar and sample treats from the pet bakery. It's a dog's life!

And the fun begins

I just finished submitting all of my paperwork for UK work authorization and the wheels are in motion. With luck, I will have UK work authorization in 3 weeks, and then will start the USA approval process. That requires more than you would think including bank statements and biometrics and personal interviews. But again, it should only take a few weeks. It currently looks like everything will be in place for me to be in London the first week of January, 2009. What a way to start the new year.

So between now and then, I get to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, put our house on the market for sale/lease (still working on that), and figure out what I will need in London to survive on my own for awhile, while also ensuring that Richard and girls are all set up as well. And there is oh-so-much more!

If we look at it as a whole, Richard and I just get overwhelmed, so we are trying to break it down into little pieces. I am thinking I may even need to put a project plan together. I will let you know how it goes...

It is official!

I just accepted the opportunity in London! Wow - what a life-changing event! I guess you might want some background on how this all happened.

Back aound the time of Hurricane Ike, I talked with the COO of our company abou the possible opportunity to work in the London office. I did a great deal of research and decided it would be worth further consideration.

I flew to London the last week of October to visit the office and see Europe for the first time. It was exciting and cold and interesting. I visited different areas of London to consider places to live. I met with friends and co-workers to get their opinions on the city. I shopped in grocery stores and travelled via train, tube, cab and on foot. I visited street markets and looked at art on Piccadilly while talking to the actual artists.

Then, Richard and the girls came out to London the first week in November and I showed them around. We looked at neighborhoods and even saw a few houses for rent (very small & cozy). We went shopping and walked though parks and saw the sights. We went out to dinner with a British family in the shadow of Windsor Castle and rode alot of trains.

At the end of the trip, we all decided we wanted to give London a try.

London Bound

Today marks the second anniversary of my time with Maxwell Drummond International. Starting today, it will also mark the next chapter in our lives as I accept a position with Maxwell Drummond International in their London office.