During my trip to Asia some good news was received.
“Success!! Shaggy arrived in the UK on Saturday afternoon., 17th Nov. I am now a happy, excited owner of a dog once again. “

By the sounds of it the process was not an easy one

“What a drama Operation Shaggy has been. Amparo and I spent all day going from place to place in a taxi. I needed official permission from the head of the vetinerary clinic in Habana, followed by legal validation of her signature at another office in another part of Habana. The rest of the day was spent at the airport, gathering all the other bits of paper to be signed and stamped. Amparo and I thought that was the end of it and the day of the flight would be easy. Wrong again! Another whole day was spent at the airport running from one office to the other - to the Customs office 3 times, an examination by the airport vet, paying for one thing in one office and another in another office. We were exhausted. Even Amparo was confused at the end of the process, and she speaks the language. I had 13 official stamps on my papers! She said it must be easier to move an elephant that it was to get one little dog to the UK. I could never have done it on my own.”


Sound like the exit process for pets could be streamlined a little. I think this is something we can work on.
All the best to Marilyn and Shaggy.

Asian Musings

I'm back home and trying to get into my home time zone. During my trip I observed less stray street dogs than I expected. Dogs in the streets seemed to have collars for the most part and seemed to be in good shape. Contrast this with Cuba where the sight of a dog with a collar is a rarity and the physical condition of the strays is painful to see. Part of the reason for the lack of street dogs may be that Thit Cho (dog meat) is a part of some diets. We heard from our group leader that dog meat is imported into Vietnam from Laos and Thailand. Below find a loved dog on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. This stone relief carving was spotted at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. It depicts dog fighting and was carved in the 12th century.