A Dubai resident spends Dh33,000 to relocate her 27 pets when leaving the UAE.
Dubai-resident spent Dh33,000 to relocate her pets to Rome, Italy
Many people don’t take their pets with them when they leave the country. I didn’t want to be an example of such a person. So, when my children and I decided to move back home to Rome, Italy, we decided to take our 27 pets along.
In 2016, my husband became a victim of a multi-million-dollar fraud case and lost $200,000 (Dh734,650). We were forced to take the decision to move, while my husband will continue to work here, at least for now.
Initially, we got in touch with many companies that do pet relocations, but they were asking for a lot of money, between Dh50,000 to Dh60,000 for all 27 animals, nine dogs and 18 cats. But, since my husband works for an airline, we tried a different approach.
Travelling for us is not as expensive, because we get discounted tickets, although the discount doesn’t apply to the pets. So, my husband flew back and forth multiple times, taking a few pets along every time.
On the first and second trip, my husband and son took the smaller dogs, four of them, on an airline that allows pets in the cabin. These dogs were too small to travel in cargo. On the same trips, four other dogs travelled in the cargo hold, too.
On the third trip, one dog and eight cats were relocated. The remaining 10 cats were finally moved last week via cargo.
Looking at all the tickets we bought, we spent approximately Dh33,000 on the transfer. But, when these pets live with you, they become a part of your family. Why should we leave them behind? They were abandoned once, as all of them are rescue animals. We won’t do it again.
Each one of them has a unique story. While one of them was abandoned on the streets, another one was living in a villa amongst trash and insects. One of the dogs were being used for breeding and another just walked up to my husband with a leash in his mouth. It was almost as if he was asking to take him home.
Our home in Rome has a large outdoor space for all of them to play and there’s no issue of heat.
The process of transporting animals is
a little difficult, though. When my husband asked around, a gentleman named Nabeel Haroon, owner of a pet store in Dubai and an animal rescuer himself, was extremely helpful in explaining the process to us. He took care of all the certificates required to move them. But, all the information is also available online. You just need time to look for it.
I believe that a person should do whatever it takes to take pets along when relocating. A lot of animal welfare organisations
are also willing to assist with the process. Ornella Parigi, from Animal Action Association, helped me find all the crates to move my pets, I didn’t have to buy anything.