a hard decision

The move to Switzerland is proving to be extremely stressful. It went from being, “nothing is confirmed yet, don’t tell anyone.” to “nope not confirmed yet, still waiting on the word” to “I need to be there after the 1st of the New Year.”

Trying to get our ducks in a row has proven to be difficult, even for me (there’s an inside joke there for those who know me well enough). One of the most challenging things seems to be getting our dog AND the ferret across the pond. The dog really is no problem. Every one will fly a dog. It’s just a matter of getting her a EU micro chip and her health certificates. The travel documents can’t be done sooner than 10 days prior to the flight.

The ferret is slightly more difficult, in that only a few airlines will transport a ferret. Regardless, Delta is happy to fly him. International flights require that all animals ride in cargo. Fine, I was prepared for that. Flying animals over seas is not cheap. There’s the vet bill prior to flying. There’s the cost of the flight. There’s all the additional costs once you land at your destination, and in our case, we will be required to take our dog to a Swiss vet within 10 days of landing, which will be an additional cost.

So here is issue number one… this is beginning to get costly with 2 animals.

Ok, so Sylvanus’s company is paying him handsomely for this move. Perhaps money really isn’t *that* big of a deal. However, Sylvanus and I view things differently. The cost of moving the ferret isn’t worth it to him, though my happiness certainly is.

But there is a lot that is going on behind the scenes that complicate things even more…

Almost all of our things will be going into storage and as the day of the move approaches, I’m left wondering just how much we can take with us in regards to clothes, shoes, and animal supplies. It’s been decided that when Sylvanus goes to Switzerland next week, he’ll start bringing some things with him to store at his office for the time being.

Though Sylvanus will be getting rid of his car because the lease is *almost* over, I can not get rid of mine. I bought my car in Feb of 2009. It’s a civic hybrid. When I bought the car, I had the debt of a previous car attached with it. Financially, we just can not sell the car and take the hit. The most logical thing is to leave my car with his parents in ATL. Yes, I’ll have to pay for a car for 2 years that I’m not even going to be able to use, but at least I’ll have a car when we come back to the US in 2 years.

When flying with pets, the best thing to do is take a direct flight. Even though Rochester airport is an “International” airport *rolls eyes dramatically* it does not have direct flights to Switzerland. In fact, “international” to ROC actually means Canada. Our options at this point, are to either fly out of JFK or ATL. Well, since our car needs to be in ATL, makes sense to drive our car down to ATL and leave it there and then board our flight.

Here’s the dilemma, a civic hybrid is not a big car. The trunk space is highly compromised to make room for the special battery. So let’s say there are 2 adults, 2 crates and luggage to take. Honestly, I’d be surprised if we can get it all to fit. The 2 crates will take up the back seat as the ferret will be traveling in a medium sized crate since we already own one. We own 3 pieces of luggage and all three cannot fit in my trunk. We can cram 2 back there, but that leaves the third… the 2 crates don’t leave for much space.

So what’s an alternative here? Sylvanus flies to Switzerland on his own at the start of the New Year and I later join him taking both animals with me. Well, why doesn’t Sylvanus take one of the animals with him? Glad you asked. There is a $500 cargo minimum. If he takes the ferret on his flight, it will cost us $500. If we take both animals on at the same time, it will cost us just under $700. Taking them separate will cost us at least $1000. Not very smart.

In a perfect world, Sylvanus and I would have the house packed up and everything in storage by the 2oth of this month. We would then pack ourselves and the animals and our luggage into my car, drive down to ATL for the holidays, stay until the New Year and then board our flight to Switzerland.

But life isn’t perfect and it’s certainly not easy and tonight Sylvanus brought up that our reality might be that we need to leave the ferret behind. The cost doesn’t seem worth it and the maneuvering is proving to be difficult. Do I want to leave the ferret behind? NO! As much as the little shit drives me crazy sometimes, he’s a special little guy. We got lucky with this one. He’s extremely well mannered. When I say this, I mean he has NEVER EVER bitten anyone. NEVER! Ferrets are known to be nippy animals and they often bite down extremely hard. Tobias is a good little boy. (He’s only my second ferret I’ve owned) You can play with him and wrestle and he never chomps down on your hand. He and the pup have become great friends. They’ll wrestle with each other and play together like a couple of crazies in the house.

As for me, I love little Tobi. We bought him on Valentine’s Day. He’s been a fun little addition to our family. I’m a responsible pet owner. I take things seriously. Had I known that we would have been moving again, I would have never acquired the ferret. I’m possessive over him. He’s such a special guy, he deserves a special home. I feel like we got such a wonderful gift with him, I hate to let him go. It’s just not right.

So here’s the hard decision… Do I leave him behind? Or take him with us? Is there really a choice?

I have made 2 signs to take with me into my volunteer job. One says “Home Needed” and it has a picture of my betta fish on it. Yes, remember my betta that I moved with me to NY from CA? He is still alive! He’s about 2 years old now. Unfortunately, he cannot come to Switzerland. I am bummed about that too. He made the trip from CA to NY and has continued to survive. He’s got his own personality (yes, fish DO have personalities). I’m sad to have to see him go.

The second sign has a picture of both the fish and Tobias. As I watch the ferret playing with the dog while I type this, exploring the house, and yes, interrupting me by getting into trouble, I just can’t help but get tears in my eyes. I’m just not ready to let go, but do I really have a choice?

Life would be a little bit easier if Switzerland did not accept ferrets. Sure, leaving him behind would still be just as sad and I’d be just as devastated, but knowing I really didn’t have a choice in the matter, makes things a *little* bit easier to accept.

—

Hi, it’s Sylvanus here, and I would just like to clarify some things in anticipation of a few questions:

Q: Isn’t the company paying for the move?

A: Absolutely. However, this is my third corporately-financed move. Every one of them has worked the same way: “We will cover moving expenses up to X dollars.” It’s just basic accountability. We negotiate the number up front and go with that. While the number we have for the move is a nice number, it’s not infinity.

Q: So what’s the problem?

A: There are only two airlines I’ve found that will ship the ferret, Delta and Continental. In both cases they have to fly cargo. Everyone else that flies to Zurich from the US is “dogs and cats only.” Delta is willing to treat both animals as one shipment, which would cost less than the $500 minimum, so we would pay $500, plus fuel surcharge, plus tax, etc. and it would cost around $650, plus an 88 CHF fee per animal at the Swiss border (call it $90), plus the vet appointments for the health certs, plus the chips, etc. So, if we ship Tobias by Delta with the pup, the marginal cost is about $150. If we ship him separately, it comes to $800. Continental wants about $400 for the ferret, and about $500 for the pup, plus a $350 medical approval fee in Switzerland, plus the 88 CHF fee per animal. It’s a non-starter.

Q: Isn’t that kind of cold-blooded of you to put a dollar amount on the ferret like that?

A: No, it’s extremely cold-blooded.