If You're PCSing to Schofield With Your Dog...

(Photo taken on the road to Ohio)

I've been meaning to update my blog about my experience with moving Proximo to Oahu. Let me please rant about how stressful & expensive it was.

IT WAS SO DARN STRESSFUL. I ACTUALLY LOST WEIGHT FROM THE STRESS!

Honestly, it shouldn't be so stressful because all you have to do is follow the guidelines that are provided for you (Animal Quarantine check-list http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/files/2013/01/aqs-checklist-5DOL.pdf)

(Photo taken in Atlanta, Georgia)

I was mostly stressed out when my husband and I were in our hotel room talking to the airline cargo people at 2am (time difference from Hawaii to Atlanta, Georgia is 6 hours) asking them why our kennel wasn't approved... When Petsmart told us it was. Oh, I was furious. I was livid when Petsmart messed up twice. You'd be upset too when you made sure everything was going to be okay BEFORE flying out... And to find out that things are going wrong when you're not there to fix them! You know what I mean? I knew that there would be bumps on the road to have Proximo fly over but good grief. 

So, first. When you go to the Vet, bring an extra copy of the 5-Days-Or-Less Quarantine papers with you. And highlight what the Vet needs to do so nothing becomes confusing or if you'll have any
miscommunication. Make sure you go to a Vet who is experienced with sending an animal to Hawaii. I went to 204 Animal Hospital in Savannah, GA and I knew I was stressing them out =( I felt bad and I thought they had some experience with this but in the end, everything worked out fine. They were really helpful and made sure everything was done correctly. But I think they'll never do it again, if someone asked them lol...

If you ever have any trouble, make sure to call Animal Quarantine! They were always so friendly and answered all of my questions. It's best to call them once they're open in the mornings. They do become quite busy.

When picking up an airport approved kennel, I say it's best to just call the airline and ask them if they have any for sale. We bought ours from our airline for $107 Large (since Proximo is 56lbs). Airports only approve your dog's kennel when their ears are NOT touching the ceiling. DON'T GO TO PETSMART. They don't have any approved kennels. Seriously, still pissed off that we bought a kennel from them & wasted $100. It's still at my sister's place where we can't return it.

We had to leave Proximo behind because the Inn at Schofield doesn't allow pets in the hotels. And we really didn't want to leave Proximo in a kennel/daycare/quarantine facility for who knows how long... We decided to leave him with my sister. Who also has a dog, Biggie. And they get along SO well. 

It was the best option. Leaving Proximo behind was the hardest thing I had to do. I didn't cry saying bye to my parents, my mother-in-law, or my friends. It was Proximo & my sister who made me cry really hard. I'm even tearing up as I type reminiscing my good-bye. It was like a movie. Proximo leashed and held back by my sister as my husband & I drive away. Proximo was whining the whole time. I remember trying not to cry, reminding myself that he'll be much happier playing with Biggie instead of being in some kennel alone. I burst into tears when I hugged him as he was whining. Probably wondering why he was being held back from entering our truck. Gosh, it sucked. I felt so bad yet I knew I shouldn't. 

Now, after doing everything on the check-list... All that was left was to wait until we had housing. Yes, on-post housing (I'll be doing another blog post about that soon). Anyway, so ya-di-ya-di-ya... Time went by & we were VERY blessed with finding a home! We quickly made arrangements for Proximo's plane ticket. SO the mega stress begins here. Before I flew to Hawaii, I went to Petsmart to make sure Proximo will be taken cared of for his 10-days or less flea & tick check up application (+plus Health Certificate). I went into Petsmart, I told them what they needed to do, asked if they were experienced with sending a pet to Hawaii, I filled out the paperwork, I asked them how much it would cost, etc etc... Everything should of been fine. But no, when my sister took Proximo to Petsmart they were about to stick a needle in him to get the blood sample TO MAIL TO KANSAS UNIV. WHICH WAS ALREADY DONE months ago. I had to call Petsmart while my sister was there and I was raging on the phone (politely as I could). In the end, Petsmart overcharged my sister (bastards quoted me around $35 but my sister ended up paying a lot more than that). She also had to go to the airline cargo and pay for Proximo's plane ticket. Which was over a grand. We paid my sister back for everything. Without her, Proximo wouldn't of been able to be with us now.

When my sister took Proximo to the airline cargo area, she had: Proximo's ziplock bag of his food, 2 original Health Certificates, a towel, his leash chain, & his Thunder Shirt. We bought the Thunder Shirt for Proximo because he doesn't like loud noises. He has anxiety so we hoped that the Thunder Shirt would work for him while he's flying over. It didn't really work, oh well. He was hollering when we went to Animal Quarantine to pick him up (direct release $165). Anyway, I told my sister to make sure the airline people keep a COPY of the Health Certificate & that the Original Health Certificate needs to be inside the ziplock bag (taped on top of the kennel/crate). I was told that sometimes the airline people would keep the original and put the copy in the ziplock bag! It's happened to some folks so my sister made sure that didn't happen.

I tracked Proximo's flight with an App I had downloaded on my iPhone. Making sure he would arrive on time (Animal Quarantine stop accepting pets by 3:30PM! That is the deadline for the day. If your pet arrived after 3:30PM they'd be transferred to quarantine for the night and you'd have to pick them up the next day with a 1 overnight fee). When picking up Proximo from Animal Quarantine, we got there early. My husband had to wait in the truck since 3 available spots were already taken. I went inside & signed all of the paper work. Waited & waited for Proximo... He was second to last to arrive before the deadline time. He was the loudest dog at the quarantine facility. Other dogs must of taken some kind of relaxed calming snacks but our airline wouldn't allow any so Proximo was riled up! The flight from Atlanta to Honolulu was a little over 10 hours! That was a long flight for my poor Husky. 

My husband came inside when spots were available & I took out my iPhone to record Proximo's arrival.

Words can not express how relieved I was to have Proximo with us. 

We took Proximo to the gas station first so he could use the bathroom. Then we took him to Mililani Mauka Dog Park so he could stretch out his legs. He was so jet lagged & exhausted. He didn't want to socialize with the other dogs so we only stayed for a few minutes. 

We then took him home & he passed out. Proximo was jet lagged for about a week. Then he got used to Hawaii time :) We take Proximo to the dog park almost every day. He's made friends with another dog name Sapporo. Regardless of the hot weather here in Hawaii, Proximo is doing fine. We discovered Hickam Dog Beach and we love it there. It's the perfect place to go after the dog park. Red mud will be your worst enemy due to the fact it can stain on your carpet after your dogs done his/her business outside. 

(Biggie is sad that his cousin left)

So this is basically all the advice I can give you... Unless if I can think of any more that I may have missed. You really have to prepare yourself. Financially, mostly. And always do your research. Never wait until the last minute to ask questions. Double check on EVERYTHING. I hear United is a good airline because they give 50% off to Military.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. I will do my best to quickly answer but also you do have the immediate option to call Animal Quarantine! :)

Best of luck to you all. <3 font="">