Pet Travel Story: Schneider’s Suspenseful Move to Texas!
Incredible Experiences: "Airline Strikes, Pregnant Wife, Snowy and Icy Roads… What else could go wrong?"
Two weeks ago (December 5th), PetRelocation delivered our furry boy, Schneider, back home to Texas from Prague, Czech Republic.
We decided to make the move back to Texas in the early summer, so we explored our options and spoke with Matt at PetRelocation extensively.
He can attest to the fact that we were full of questions about every single detail of the move. He gave us the confidence we needed to proceed with PetRelocation.
When it was time, Matt introduced us to a very patient and professional, Vanessa, who took us through the move from vet certificates to delivery. Schneider had his shots and microchip from when we lived in Dallas before and it was all still valid. The paperwork was easy. Vanessa made it clear exactly what we needed to do on our end, gave us examples, and just like Matt, answered a million questions from us.
Getting a kennel was difficult in mainland Europe, so we had to order it from the UK, which was a hassle. One week until the move, we got his fit-to-fly (health) certificate, which gave us plenty of time for his SCHEDULED flight on December 2nd.
Living in Prague, we wanted to keep his flight time to a minimum, so we decided that I would drive him to Frankfurt, Germany so Schneider would have a direct flight to Dallas.
On Monday morning, December 1st, my 9-MONTH-PREGNANT wife got a text from her mom that the airline went on strike Monday and Tuesday. This news was not good for stressed out soon-to-be first time parents with a million other things on their mind.
The fit-to-fly certificate was at this point 7 days old. Keep in mind that 10 days is the maximum or you need a new health certificate. Knowing that I have to drive to Frankfurt that day, we are immediately on the phone with the agent in Frankfurt and they recommend that we proceed as before; to deliver him as scheduled and he will be well looked after in the Frankfurt airport animal lounge.
To be safe and on top of things, we decided to make a last minute visit to the vet to get a back-up health certificate in case there are further delays. As we return from the vet, my wife says that she needs to go to the hospital for pain. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are luckily with us, and we head to hospital where they tell us that we will be parents within 36 hours. We needed to get Schneider to Frankfurt so that he would be on a next available flight.
My sister and I drive overnight to Frankfurt, leaving my wife and mother-in-law at the hospital. We deliver Schneider to the lounge early Tuesday morning, and start the drive back during a slight snow and ice storm in Germany assuming he will be on a flight on Wednesday. We make it back to the hospital with 45 minutes to spare before my beautiful baby girl is born.
The airline can’t book him on Wednesday and then it happens again… the airline strikes on Thursday (which would be day 10 for the original health certificate -- luckily we got the back-up). Vanessa is emailing and on the phone with me this entire week and assures me that he will be booked on Friday. His flight is confirmed but delayed. By 2:30 a.m. my time, I’m on video-chat with my mother when they safely deliver our furry child home to her in Texas.
Vanessa kept me up-to-date at every turn and I couldn't have been more grateful for her attention to every detail. If we need to move Schneider again, PetRelocation will be our first call.
Thank you Matt and Vanessa for all that you've done.
Sincerely,
Tim
Pet Transport Details:
Name: Tim
Pet's Name: Schneider
From: Prague, Czech Republic
To: Dallas, Texas, USA