Final Preparations
Let me begin by thanking the many friends that have found this chronicle and have reached out to us via comments or email. We are so pleased you have found us and hope you will share this site with friends that might find it interesting. Since some of you asked about Onix (shown below)…we’ll continue our story there.
10 Days and Counting
We spent much of our time in November and December in The Villages. Frankly, it was both weird and wonderful. Weird because it is always a bit strange to go back to somewhere you used to live … to see what has changed and to experience again the feelings that caused you to leave. It was wonderful because our hostesses, Karen and Joyce, made it so easy! As it turns out, the vet we had used for our former pet (Bunker) is registered with the USDA. That means she was able to provide the examination and forms we needed for bringing Onix to Portugal.
Truth be told, when we started investigating Portugal bringing Onix with us was a major concern. If we had found that she would need to be quarantined, for example, it would have been a “no go”. Instead what we learned was that you needed to have your dog examined by a USDA vet within 10 days of your travels, have some forms completed, have them notarized by the USDA, and off you go.
It Seemed So Simple
We had watched a bunch of YouTube videos on bringing your pets to Portugal. And we had read and re-read the instructions.
First, she had a microchip, as required by Portugal. Check!
Second, she had received a 3-year rabies shot, as required by Portugal, one year ago. The documentation said the rabies shot had to be given at least 21 days prior to flying. Check!
Finally, we had an appointment with a USDA-certified vet on 21 December to complete the paperwork. We had even already printed the required form and filled in all the info we could. Check!
Despite these facts, we nearly had a catastrophic failure!
We learned the EU utilizes the ISO compliant microchip which has 15 digits rather than 9. Onix’s was the 9 digit variety. It is pure coincidence that in responding to an email from me on a different topic the USDA informed me that the rabies vaccine had to be given after the microchip was installed. Thus if we waited till 21Dec for her vet visit, she would not be permitted to fly to Portugal until 12 January 2021. So after a frantic call to the vet on 8 December, Onix went in the next day to have the ISO-compliant microchip installed and to get another rabies shot. (NB: there is a workaround, but it involves you buying a microchip reader for the kind of chip installed in your dog and carrying it with you. But if your dog is lost, we feared, it defeated the purpose of the chip. As it turns out, most vets in this area have both readers.)
We returned to the vet, as scheduled, on 21 December with the paperwork in hand. She assured us she did these types of visits regularly and could fill them out on-line. After nearly an hour, she decided the online version was too complicated and she would do it manually. However, when she did she didn’t complete the form we provided but a different one. Of course, it was the wrong form. Fortunately, before driving to the USDA office in Gainesville (1 hour away) we called and confirmed that the form was incorrect. So back to the vet…insist she complete the correct form…drive to Gainesville. Place said document in a box outside the office with a FedEx label (because the office does not allow visitors due to Covid) and pray we get it back in time. As it turns out, they notarised it THAT DAY and it was in our hands the next day.
Lesson Learned
Before we move off of preparing your pet for traveling to Portugal, permit me to share a lesson learned. Crate training a 3.5-year-old pet that sleeps with you in only 20 days is challenging. Onix is very smart. She is also very obedient. And having easily trained her to sit, lay down, no (don’t touch), rollover, dance, etc. all by watching YouTube videos I underestimated the task. If you are bringing a pet with you who is not already crate trained…start immediately!
We Also Sold a Car
In the last 10 days, we also sold a car. We disposed of one vehicle in California but used the 9-year-old Prius as our moving van to Florida. (God bless Toyota…you can pack a lot into a Prius and it runs forever.) As we got closer to leaving the country we had to sell it. Having not enjoyed the process of selling the first vehicle (NEVER PUT A CAR AD ON CRAIGSLIST) we took the path of least resistance … a dealer. Yes, we know we could have gotten more but you have to weigh mental health/happiness and frugality.
The first dealer offered $3500. Fortunately, we said “nāo”. (Denise had already started practicing her Portuguese.) We then entered the info into KBB.com so dealers could bid on it. That got an offer from a local used car dealer for $4200. Seemed fair for a car with well over 100,000 miles on it and a few dings. But Denise persisted. She went onto Carvana and entered the info and pics. Carvana offered $4500. We called the local dealer, who we had already conversed with, explained we had an offer from Carvana for $4500…actually sent him the email so he knew we weren’t squeezing him…and he agreed to equal their bid. The next day he met us at our bank with a check in hand.
Lessons Learned
There are four lessons I learned from this car selling experience. First, listen to your wife when she tells you Carvana might actually want a 9-year-old car. Second, even if you are taking the easy route…get multiple bids. Thirdly, it never hurts to ask. When I called the guy who gave us the $4200 offer I was very respective. I was in sales my entire career…I really wasn’t trying to be a jerk. We just had a better offer. Could he meet it? He did. And finally, the internet has changed everything. Dah! Buying and selling are a whole lot less painful than it used to be.