Lisa and her seven pets

“We could never imagine leaving them behind, where we go they go.”

Lisa moved to the Wichita in Kansas City with her family and seven pets – five dogs and two cats. We asked Lisa about her pets and her experience with Petraveller. Here’s what she says.

Lisa’s seven pets are like the seven dwarves from Snow White – each with a distinct personality. Jensen, a Labrador Cross, the oldest is protective, loving, cuddly, and loves to play fetch. Missy, the Irish Wolfhound Cross, is the sweetest of them all and still thinks she is a puppy. She loves wrapping her legs around Lisa’s waist and giving kisses. Frodo and Dash are feisty Mini Fox Terriers who will and have taken on intruders. Lilly is a Papillon Cross, who they rescued from the side of the road, and is a little dog with a big dog attitude and loves to fetch and snuggle. Priya is a Russian Blue kitty that the family found in a tree by a river. And finally, Merlin, a Domestic Shorthair cat, is Priya’s best friend and partner in crime.

The Stone family entered the Diversity Lottery to see if they could get selected for a Green Card. Lisa says, “We entered the lottery for a bit of a laugh. We knew that it was random and some people had been entering for decades and had not been selected. We got selected, and here we are!”

There was no question that all their pets would be moving with them. Lisa says, “They are our family and we love them. We could never imagine leaving them behind, where we go they go. We take our responsibility to their care and well-being very seriously. When you bring a dog, cat or whatever animal into your home, they are forever.”

As the time to move came closer, Lisa started scouting for international pet relocation services to help them move their brood. She was extremely concerned about how the travel would impact her fur babies and wanted a pet relocation service that had a zero-harm rating. Lisa says, “I had become obsessed about researching international pet transport and I saw some horror stories of what can and had gone wrong. I even contacted IATA to verify Petraveller’s credentials and registration. We talked about the process and they explained everything so well. Petraveller got back promptly with the quote, which other companies I had to chase up.”

The entire pet travel process was smooth sailing and the pack moved continents without any trouble. Not long after arriving in the United States, the Stone family had a furry visitor – a skunk! The dogs had never seen one before and wanted to say hello. Needless to say, it didn’t end well. Lisa reminisces, “The dogs came running from behind the shed and dragging themselves desperately along the ground as if trying to get something off of their bodies. The smell was like nothing I had ever experienced, there are no words as to how bad this smell is. After a quick Google search, I found a concoction that helped alleviate the smell. With masks on, we dunked the little dogs in the bucket like little smelly tea bags. Jensen and Missy had to endure seven bucket loads of the mix poured over them. Our neighbours all thought this very funny and simply said welcome to America!”

Lisa is glad that they chose Petraveller to help them with the travel. It is not easy to move countries with seven pets and she was understandably happy that the relocation went off without a hitch. She says, “We put no thought into the move and just had the idea that it would be a great adventure. In hindsight, we should have done way much more research as it was difficult for some time. Petraveller was a shoulder to cry on and gave us some very good advice..”

The pets have all settled in well after their inter-continental move. Jensen has discovered his love of boating and has learnt that it is not a good idea to play fetch on ice. Lilly and Missy have made friends with a squirrel and will sit and watch the squirrel for ages. Frodo and Dash hated the ice and snow in the winter, until Frodo discovered he loved eating snowballs. Priya and Merlin love exploring their new house and have made the entire carpeted floor their personal scratching post.

Thank you, Lisa, for trusting us at Petraveller with your move. Here’s to more adventures with your pack!