If we didn’t have a dog…

Whisky made it. She got picked up at 12:30PM today to go to the cargo area of KLIA. She was happy to get in the van, not knowing that she won’t be coming back.

We are happy that she has started the first leg of her journey back to Australia. It hasn’t been easy, from the start to today and it won’t get any easier when she gets to Melbourne, Australia.

She was scheduled to leave KL to Brunei around August. PetAir submitted all her document but got rejected because Royal Brunei wasn’t sure of her breed. PetAir tried again for first week of September flight with Malaysian Air, but the flight got cancelled. Finally, we heard some good news. Royal Brunei accepted her paperwork and approved her travel plan.

We were neither happy or sad because we knew that nothing is certain until she has boarded the cargo plane to Brunei. We even thought that it might be better for Whisky to stay here with us a bit longer. Fortunately, PetAir helped us to see beyond our emotion. The number of new cases in Malaysia is rising and there is a possibility of the country going into its second lockdown. Sabah or East Malaysia is going into a second lockdown tomorrow. Our agent reminded us that if Malaysia were to go into lockdown again, nothing can come in or out. It is better to do it now while we can. If things were to go as planned, Whisky would exit the quarantine in Melbourne just before the centre closed for Christmas. So, we went ahead.

The next day, Whisky got the runs. The worst we have ever seen. She had to go to the toilet every couple of hours. Her stomach looked bloated and yes, you could probably imagine what I could write next. We made sure she drank enough water throughout the evening and checked on her stool to make sure that there was no blood. It continued until today, though her stool was looking a lot better. She even managed to eat some unsweetened cooked oats. Her energy level was still the same like any other day and she even asked to go for longer walks during her toilet breaks.

Anyways, we told the vet at PetAir about her condition. The agent and vet said that we can go ahead and they will inform the quarantine centre in Brunei to keep an eye on her. She was given some medication to help her at the airport. Last we heard, she is calm but not looking happy in her cage.

Since we had her, there were times where we wondered what life would have been like if we didn’t have her or gave her away when we left China? Would we have taken more holidays? Maybe. Where would we be now? Probably Australia. Would we have enjoyed the extra time we have? No.

Like I have shared in the previous article… We have adjusted our lives to make sure she is cared for. Whisky has occupied so much of our space and left footprints all over our apartment. That dog doesn’t do much. She would sit or lay down near us and paw us when she needs some attention. Now that she isn’t around, the place feels empty. Our home is no longer the same. No warm welcome when we come home, no cuddles with her in the morning and before bed time, no stares when we eat her favourite human food, and no more of her smell that we are so used to.

We are sure that Whisky will be okay on the way to Brunei. She will be okay during her quarantine. We are not sure if Whisky is going to be okay being away from us for a very long time. I hope Whisky knows that she is not abandoned. We do love her and can’t wait to see her again when we are all in Australia.

Safe travel Whisky. Be a good strong dog. We will see each other again.

What a let down

Today, the article on Tom Hanks visiting Australia for his movie, avoiding the mandatory 14 days quarantine gained attention again in one of the Aussie expat Facebook group. It really annoys the living day lights out of me. This is the actor who had Corona virus already and has been given permission to enter Australia despite the international arrival cap that prevented many of us from returning to the land we call home.

A lot of Australian expats are struggling to go home. This week, I read an article on how DFAT employees in Canberra are accused of booking 2 to 3 tickets (paid in full) for overseas DFAT workers. You can read the full article here. It might not be true, but no one is denying it and it makes the current government looks like they are as competent as my Year 3 students. No wait, my Year 3 students can do what is expected of them.

When the Prime Minister issued advice, recommending Aussie expats to come home, it also stated that the national carrier (Qantas) will maintain its operation on both international and domestic routes. Not the case! Australians overseas have to rely on Emirates, Qatar, China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Air and Cathay Pacific to take them home.

A lot disappointment is also directed towards the Australian consular abroad. I emailed them to ask for assistance regarding my expired work visa and they sent me links that provided me with little information regarding my situation. In hindsight, they probably have very little knowledge of what to do despite their ongoing discussions about changes that affect foreigners in Malaysia.

If one day, the government released a statement saying “we got through Covid-19 together” or “humanity helped us overcome the hardship caused by the pandemic” I call bullshit on that. From where I am sitting right now, the government has done very little to help Aussie expats. If anything, they have done really well in dividing the nation. Those who believes that Aussie expats should stay out of Australia and those who want them to come home.

Not all of us are living the life of Tom Hanks. I was going to come home and retire from living abroad. Sadly, that is not going to happen anytime soon. My husband and I can’t continue to survive on what savings we have while hoping that the ticket we have bought is the one that will take us home. I have accepted that reality and it is a downer.

I am not looking forward to my next call with my parents. They were so excited that we are finally going to start living in Australia. But, we need to do what we need to do to survive. For us, this is it. Taking another job offer until the day we can come home without worrying whether or not we made the cap.

Third’s time a charm

Whisky is scheduled to fly on the 11th. This would be her third attempt at relocating to Australia. The agent is not as hopeful as they were the second time around. I don’t blame them, as airlines these days are allowed to cancel their flights without reason. Still, we are crossing our fingers that this time, Whisky will be able to board the flight and start her journey to Australia. She will be flying with Malaysia Airlines instead of Royal Brunei.

Whisky is a picky eater, even though we have exposed her to a variety of food since she was a pup. She used to like bananas, carrots, broccoli and peas. As she got older, she started to eat only dog food. She would push the healthier items off her bowl. We are alternating her diet between raw food and home cooked meals. She eats better, but won’t touch canned food since.

I joined a Facebook group about pets travelling back to Australia. I found out that you could ask your vet to write a letter about your pet’s eating habit so you could send your own to the quarantine centre in Melbourne. This is a good surprise since my pet relocator agent told me that you won’t be able to make such request and that we need to start training our dog to eat a certain brand of dry food (kibbles).

So this is how you can do it. You order your preferred dog food from online pet shops and have it delivered to the Mickleham quarantine centre. The rest is a bit hazy because from the post I read, she didn’t address the package to the quarantine centre, instead to Canberra. If you are interested and would like to find out more, you can email them at PEQservices@agriculture.gov.au

Would I be doing this? Maybe…. After being away from us for 45 days (and likely to be more), she would have adjusted to her new diet. I don’t think I would unless I get news that she is not eating well during her time in Brunei.