Pumpkin and Elena

“Pumpkin is a part of our family.”

Here’s a purrfect travel story of Domestic Shorthair cat Pumpkin who was separated from her mum Elena due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Pumpkin’s reunion story and her international pet relocation experience from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

Elena adopted the adorable Pumpkin in a heartbeat as she and her husband James experienced a case of love at first sight. Elena smiles as she recalls, “My husband James decided to get me a cat for my birthday. We adopted Pumpkin from a pet shelter in LA in 2015. We fell in love with her as soon as we saw her. Pumpkin is a part of our family, and our two-year-old daughter loves her dearly”

Elena adds, “My husband and I decided to make Australia our home and Pumpkin would come with us. So, Pumpkin made her first overseas journey coming to Australia in 2017.”

Elena describes Pumpkin as a very sweet cat. Elena laughs and says, “We always joke about Pumpkin that she is a dog because of her dog-like behaviour. She greets us at the door when we come home. She sleeps at the foot of the bed and loves snuggles.” Elena continues, “Whenever we sit down to work or relax, Pumpkin is usually right there, either at our feet or trying to nap on our lap. She is the only pet in the household and loves the attention and affection. We love Pumpkin dearly.”

James and Pumpkin were relocating to Los Angeles in the USA to be closer to Elena. “Like many people, we were greatly affected by COVID-19. With family in two countries, the closed borders have been hard for us. I came to the US with our daughter to visit family in June, while James stayed home in Australia with Pumpkin. We intended to return to Australia in September, but sadly our flight back was cancelled when the government announced reduced return traveller capacity. Facing a much longer separation from our family, we decided that James and Pumpkin would come to the US so that our family is reunited,” says Elena. 

Almost all pet parents are anxious about their pet’s international journey. Elena says, “Pumpkin’s last overseas journey made her very timid and scared.” Elena wanted Pumpkin’s travel to be as stress-free as possible. She began her search for a reputed pet relocation agency to help relocate Pumpkin safely to the US. Elena sent several enquiries to pet relocation companies in Australia before deciding to go with Petraveller. 

Explaining the reason to choose Petraveller, Elena says, “Petraveller was the quickest to respond to my query and was easy to deal with. Petraveller was able to accommodate Pumpkin on relatively short notice and had good reviews. Everyone at Petraveller was great to deal with.”

Pumpkin was a brave kitty and handled the long journey from Melbourne to Los Angeles like a champion. She is now happily reunited with her mum Elena. Thank you, Elena, for trusting Petraveller with sweet Pumpkin’s international pet relocation to Los Angeles. We wish you a great life ahead filled with love and happiness with adorable Pumpkin in the United States.