Majerle and Gracie are coming with us to Shanghai. Thanks to my sister, they're going to travel in style!
A couple weeks ago, when I was "spazzing" about ... well ... everything, my sister Tina decided to come visit to help out. And help out she did. While she was here, we sold my Eos (can't say i was too upset about losing that one); got quotes on the other car; found and set up an accessible storage unit, sorted the remaining stuff (accessible storage, permanent storage, and find a new home) ... and least a dozen other things I can't recall at the moment.
On top of all that, she offered to decorate Majerle and Gracie's travel crates. Now, all my stuff was packed up, so this is what she had to work with:
And ... this what she did with those tools .................
I just LOVE them, so cannot resist showing the details. So, here are pics of the tops and sides of each one. (The cool thing is that regardless of what angle you're at, you can tell immediately whose crate it is!)
Majerle's Crate
Top.
Side with Suns Logo (since he's named after "Thunder Dan," the great Suns player).
Side with his orange-tabby tail and fish bowl. (Majerle loves these little fish-shaped treats that Gracie just won't even touch).
Gracie's Crate
Top.
Side with Dbacks Logo (since she is named after Mark Grace, and with 2001 logo, since that's what he wore).
Side with Gracie's (mostly) black tail.
I just think they're the coolest critter travel crates in the whole wide world! (And I'm only a teensy bit prejudiced of course...)
~~~
About bringing Majerle and Gracie with us, I read lots and lots of stuff about importing pets to China, and spoke with a couple people with real world experience. One friend managed to successfully get her dog to Shanghai by herself, without (any major) incidents. Another friend retained a pet relocation company to bring her two cats to Shanghai.
After much research, and knowing that I still am working and also that I have a minor tendency to forget certain things like important dates, and get certain paperwork bollixed up, I decided to go with a relocation company. Since my friend had only positive things to say about the one she used -- and my comparative research indicated that they provided (by far) the best "bang for the buck," I decided to go with them: PetRelocation.com.
So far, my experience has been all positive - even on the day I had a total freak out thinking that part of the process was irreparably messed up and the cats coudn't come with us after all - least not at the same time we were going. (And Tobi, my "dedicated client care specialist," didn't even laugh at me, though she probably should have ::::blushing::::)
That whole episode is another story for another time. All I'll say now is that after a few hours of being totally upset based on information I got from someone ELSE, I decided to contact her to see what could be done. Tobi responded in just a few moments and immediately allayed my fears, explaining why ... everything was perfectly ok. And, I learned to stop reading what others write and just trust that Tobi and PetRelocation know what they're doing after all!
Of course, the final proof will be in the pudding -- i.e., when Majerle and Gracie join us - safe and sound - in our new place in late August.
I'll keep you posted on that!