[MotherBear]

Hi Stu,

Sorry to hear you're having such a dilemma deciding about your dog. How old is he? Obviously the older the dog, the more problematic the journey might be, but I've heard of many dogs that have made the trip without any ill effects at all and have thoroughly taken to their new life in NZ. The most important thing, if you did decide to take him, would be to research a good animal exporter like Golden Arrow, so you know your pet is in good hands from the start.

As to whether it's worth taking him because you aren't sure you?ll be staying after the 23 months, I don't think anyone could give a firm yes or no on that. Whether he could stand a second journey (and there'd be a fair bit of time in between going to NZ and returning to the UK) is only one factor, as you mention yourself about the huge cost of shipping him back again.

As one possible solution, is there anyone you know and trust enough to take care of him for, say, a few months while you go down to NZ and try to get a feel about whether you'd want to settle there? You could even board him in kennels if the cost wasn?t too prohibitive. If you settled well, you could have him shipped over to join you then, by which time you will have found somewhere to live where he could feel at home. Another issue would be that many rentals won't accept dogs and it may take some time for you to find one that does. I'm assuming you would rent rather than buy initially, as you aren't sure you'll be staying. In your place I think I?d hang back on sending him down until you are more settled in your own minds, which may only take a month or so and once you?re happy you want to stay, call for him to be shipped down then. The only problem that would arise is if you found you weren?t that happy in NZ and once your 23 months is up, you intended returning to the UK anyway, so the arrangement with the dog would have to cover all eventualities.

A difficult one and one that many others have had to face, so you aren?t alone. Wish you luck in your decision.