My husband may be offered a transfer to New Zealand. We're so excited! Of course, not too excited as the job offer is not in hand. In the meantime, I've been doing some research and answering some preliminary questions I had via this site forum. Thanks to those of you who regularly share knowledge/experience!
The first matter I am focusing on is the advance work required to bring our baby, who happens to be a small dog, with us. From previous postings to this website I learned that the six-month waiting period for entry into NZ after the titre test can sometimes be reduced to four-month. (Who really has six months notice when offered a job???) I e-mailed the imports people (imports@maf.govt.nz) regarding how to request this waiver. I was informed by James Kemp at Animal Imports that they are no longer offering this waiver! You can imagine my disappointment and devastation at the thought of needing to stay behind with the dog or turning her 30-day quarantine into a 2-3 month stay. Anyway, I thought it was important to offer this information up to others reading the postings. And also to see if anyone else had this experience in the hope that if I ask a different person at the agency I'll get a different answer. Probably overly optimistic, but a girl can dream.....
Also, I have a question regarding the shipment of the dog. We are coming from the Netherlands. How do I determine who is authorized to ship pets as cargo, what the process is, should we hire someone vs. doing it ourselves, etc.?
Any recommendations on the quarantines, Qualified Pet Services or Pethaven, in the Auckland area? (Our dog really enjoys being around people, so I'd prefer a place that offers her pleny of cuddles and attention.)
As this is my first posting, any other "wish I would have thought about this/done that" replies about your own move planning would be gladly accepted.
Sandy