But nothing compares to the hell we endured just trying to GET to our new home.
The drive from California--Illinois went smoothly. Little traffic, beautiful weather for the most part, and relatively calm cats. We ended up making it home in two days, partly to avoid freezing rain in IL. The cats were freaked, but managed. They even adjusted pretty smoothly to my parents' rambunctious dog. We had a wonderful time with family and friends through Christmas and New Years.
The first hiccup came when we got bumped off our original flight on January 5th. We got moved to a flight on January 9th, which was cutting it close for Jeff's orders but not a huge problem. American Airlines charged reasonably to change our commercial flight from Chicago to Seattle, and we were okay.
To fly with animals, the pet needs a health certificate within 10 days of travel. To travel overseas, it needs a special seal which is most easily found on military bases. So we traveled 2 hours to Great Lakes Naval Station to get the cats cleared for travel. We expected no trouble, since the vet in Lemoore had prepared us. Or so we thought. First, the cats were terrible in the car. So we were cranky when we got to Great Lakes. Because Japan has rigorous importation requirements, the paperwork is extensive and detailed, so we were waiting forever for it to get filled out. We also found out the cats' microchips were not compatible with the type of scanner Japanese vets use. We bought the cats from the local shelter out in CA. They were microchipped within the shelter, so we had nothing to do with the process. The vet in Lemoore failed to inform us that although our cats were microchipped, when we got to Japan and had the vet scan them for microchips, they'd read as if they have none. Our options were to re-chip them, then fulfill the two rabies shots and blood tests on each all over again, or to buy a scanner compatible with their chips and bring it to Japan to prove they are in fact microchipped. Both options are expensive and impossible when we had days until our travels began.
To top off that wonderful news, the vet was unwilling to change the weather acclimation certificate. The airlines will not board pets if the weather is below 45 degrees, but a vet can give a certificate with a temperature as low as 20 degrees. Considering we were being stationed overseas, we figured the vet would be understanding and change the temperature as low as possible so the cats could actually come to our new home. No go. She left it at 45 degrees. I don't know if you've ever been to Chicago in January, but we don't see 4 or 5 unless they're single digits.
After 2 hours of frustrating setbacks and totally freaked cats, we drove home with the knowledge that we'd have to leave our cats behind. Luckily, my parents were willing to keep them for us if need be. We just hoped it wouldn't come to that.
A few days later, we packed up as many of our things as we could cram in our suitcases, sadly said goodbye to family and our furry friends, and boarded the plane to Seattle. We were delayed slightly while the airplane's engines were de-iced, but we got to Seattle smoothly and checked into the USO since we'd be there for a little over a day. The USO had complimentary food, a movie room, comfy couches, and even beds and showers, so we settled in to relax and restore before our long flight to Japan.
And that's when it all went downhill...
Since this is such a lengthy adventure, I'm splitting it up into two posts! Stay tuned for the second part of our tumultuous travels to Misawa!
No comments:
Post a Comment