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!