HI, new member>>

[Rural mystic]

Welcome, enjoyed reading your intro and admiring your bully boy. Nice pictures too

 

[Davidh]

Welcome to the site and Fergie is a very handsome boy. How long do you have before you need to fly out with Fergie?

 

[Fergie2012]

Welcome to the site and Fergie is a very handsome boy. How long do you have before you need to fly out with Fergie?

Hi david,

I am currently waiting for his Rabies test to come back from Kansas which should be back in the next week or two, then we have to wait 3 months before he can fly. The whole thing is a complete nightmare for me though and if you have experience of flying a bulldog I would love to hear it.

As I mentioned I did not intend to have a dog and was not aware of the specific needs of bulldogs until I decided to keep him and researched the breed thoroughly, then I started looking at ways to get him to England and was horrified at the stories on line about the fatality rates of the breed whilst flying. I then found out that very few airlines will fly them and my heart sank. It began to look like I could not get him there without considerable risk and was trying to prepare both myself and my wife for a very difficult decision of finding the best possible home for him here in the Philippines. The only problem with doing this is the only homes I would have even considered letting him go to where expats like me and I can not be sure that they will stay in the Philippines for good so Fergie would then be back in the same situation.

I decided I must find a way and spent a week sending out emails and looking for advice, I was losing hope as every shipper either did not deal with an airline that would fly him and any airline that would did not operate out of the Philippines, it was literally heartbreaking. 2 weeks passed without a solid way to get him there safely, I looked at getting him there by sea but the UK is very strict and only accepts specific routes for bringing in animals (the most viable but completely unrealistic was the QE2 from the states, but then of course how would I get him to the states?). I emailed land transportation companies in China and although the cost and paperwork would have been tremendous I would have done it but it still did not seem like a realistic option, how would I get him to China? I was in the process of calling private charter jets that are on the UK's DEFRA list to see if I could fly him that way with me (I have a house I could mortgage in the UK) but most of them only operate out of Europe, when I got an email from a Dr Gerry Pahl of PetExportVet in Hong Kong who said he could help me.

So this is what we need to do to get him there......firstly I will take a 24 hour boat with him from Cebu to Manila, I have then arranged a hotel for 24-48 hours in Manila where he can rest and I can monitor him and I have a vet in Manila to visit him if need be. The next day or two he will be picked up by an agent and taken to Manila airport for a 12 midnight flight from Manila to Hong Kong (I am flying him at the coolest times possible). In Hong Kong Dr Pahl will meet the plane and escort him to quarantine where he can stay for no longer than 24 hours, he will be examined by the vet and I can visit him before he flies to the UK via Frankfurt with Lufthansa, again the flight is around midnight. I will be flying every leg with him and picking him up in the UK.

Dr Pahl has been fantastic and although I have not payed him any money yet, I will travel to Hong Kong shortly to meet him to discuss and pay a deposit, he has provided me with advice and guidance and answered every email quickly with an honest answer.

I am still terrified of the whole process though and still have doubts as to whether I am doing the right thing, I can not bear to leave him but do not want to put him at risk, I was going to post on the forum asking for advice or experience of flying bulldogs so David if you or anyone else has any for me I would love to hear it.



Best Regards,
Mark.

 

[christyjulene]

Welcome to English Bulldog News. You have an amazing looking dog. Thanks for sharing all the pictures!

 

[Leatherneck]

Great post, great pics! Welcome and hello. Like everyone has already mentioned this site is great. Hope you enjoy and best of luck!

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=8601]Fergie2012[/MENTION] I will sent you a private message on how you can do it.

 

[Ednosekjr]

Welcome, love the pictures.