Friday, the 28th of September

We made our way off the plane, which was not an easy task since the plane landed miles away from the terminal and we had to take a bus to baggage claim.  But all our bags showed up in tact.  From there we zipped through Customs with nothing to declare and met our driver, Peter.   Thank heaven for Peter.  He knew exactly where to go for the pups. 

As we walked into the Animal Recovery Center there was a sense of frustration all around.  One lady said something about preparing for a long wait.  She had been there seven hours already.  Another young girl was clearly upset.  Several other people were milling about in different stages of waiting, anxious to calm.  Of course, I knew we had done everything right so we would be in and out in a flash.  (Ha!)  We rang the bell and a very nice lady came out.  We told her we were here to pick up two golden retrievers.  Mentioning two golden retrievers always gets a good reaction out of dog lovers.  She went back to check on them and said they had just arrived and had to pass the customs inspection and would be out soon. 

We sat down.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Meanwhile I listened to the young girl who was so upset.  She had come from Colorado to hike the coast to coast trail for three weeks and brought her dog along.  I’m thinking to myself ‘Are you kidding me’?!  Why would you go through this hassle and put your dog through this trauma for a three week hike?!?!  On top of that something was wrong with her paperwork and she couldn’t seem to get it corrected.  She had been there for hours and was getting angry with the vet’s office back in Colorado.  Poor girl.  Too bad she didn’t have it together like me. 

Then it was our turn.  After waiting over two hours I decided maybe we should ring the bell again and ask.   As it turns out there was a problem with our form as well.  Our vet had put on the form the name of the rabies vaccination but not the name of the manufacturer of the rabies vaccination.  Neither the vet nor the USDA had noticed that missing detail.  They had faxed the vet to ask for the further information.  After having listened to this girl deal with her problems for hours I knew I needed to make a phone call.  I looked at the clock and realized that my vet’s office back in Colorado was probably just opening for the day.  (That would explain the young girl’s frustration if she was trying to get something done with a vet during off hours in Colorado)  I gave them a call to make sure they got onto this form as soon as they opened.  And, that the form they faxed back had on it the vet’s office stamp.  That seemed to be a HUGE deal for this particular form for the other girl.  They had the form, the information corrected and the office stamp, but the vet wasn’t due to arrive in the office for another twenty minutes.  But as soon as she arrived they would fax it back.  Okay.  I can wait twenty more minutes.

I waited thirty and rang the bell again.  The fax had just come through.  So I’ll give some huge kudos to Goldenview Veterinary Clinic!  Thank you for coming through for us.  Now it should all go smoothly, right?  I was told give them ten minutes and they’ll be out with paperwork to release the dogs.  Forty minutes later the paperwork came out and they said the dogs would be out in five minutes.  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?  I don’t understand time here.  Another hour later the pups came out the door, all happy and ready to play.  Apparently they had been having a great day!  Throughout the entire move process they have done great, no digestive problems, no fear issues… just happy, secure, healthy pups.  Whew. 

Peter had brought a van which had plenty of room for bags, dogs and all.  We headed out of London in the Friday afternoon traffic.  If not for the traffic we could have made the trip in three hours, but instead it was over four.  On the drive up Peter stopped by a McDonalds for us to grab a quick dinner.  Yes, McDonalds was my first British meal.  It was an odd experience.  It was a very familiar McDonalds, but at the same time very different.  Very surreal. 

It was close to 10pm when we finally arrived in Harrogate at the Ashness Apartments.  I had looked up the Ashness online and had a pretty good idea what to expect.  Unfortunately my hopes for a garden apartment with the dogs didn’t happen.  Instead we found ourselves lugging all our baggage up to a fourth floor apartment.   It was a REALLY long day, but we were finally able to stop and rest. 

Shortly after arriving at the Ashness, Norm and his wife Judy stopped by and dropped off some bags of groceries.  Norm works with Greg and has been our sponsor throughout the move.  That basically means he’s the one we have been asking all the crazy questions about how to do this move.  Norm, along with Becky (also from work) has been enormous help with so many details.  The bag of groceries was a fantastic way to be greeted at the start of our stay.  We’ll definitely need to pass this kindness along to someone else one day.