Yesterday evening Animalcouriers’ fifth trip from North Cyprus to the UK left the port of Girne.
There was lots of laughter and not a few tears as nine dogs and four cats were gvien a huge send-off.
Couriers K and B on loan from KAR, and courier M, the stalwart of these trips, are looking after them all.
As each dog and cat was tucked up in the van, anxious foster mums and dads watched and waved and wished them all ‘bon voyage’ as they set off on their incredible journey.
There was the usual round of paperwork, and a few hilarious moments as we dealt with all the inevitable bureaucracy. The card machine initially refused to accept the Animalcouriers debit card. Then we had to explain why courier J had arrived with the van, but courier M was leaving with it. Courier J had to have the van’s plate number annulled in her passport because she was flying home and quite obviously wasn’t taking a Mercedes Sprinter van as hand luggage!
Customs officer Gokhan was extremely patient. His job was to count the number of pets onbarod and ratify our customs entry. But everyone was milling around the van, walking dogs, opening and closing the doors. So every now and then we’d hear him say, now there are six dogs and two cats. Then we would say, but there are more on their way! He was good-natured and patient as he dealt with these mad Brits despatching their pets to the UK.
Our hero Mustafa looked after our passage out of North Cyprus and into Turkey. It’s a very bureaucratic and complicated exercise, that he handled beautifully. He booked our ferry, with a cabin, arranged for customs and smoothed everything through for us.
he Animalcouriers van heads off
Kim and Margaret from KAR, along with Mustafa, seeing to all the paperwork
A frendly discussed while courier J and M have their passports passed around for inspection and, of course, stamping
It was after 5pm when we left so we had to pay an overtime charge for all the stamping
What would we do without Mustafa and Gokhan? They are part of the amazing team that help us leave North Cyprus with our precious cargo
Mustafa and Gokhan look so sweet in that last picture. Glad everything worked out.
Three cheers for Mustafa and Gokhan… and happy trails to you all!
Kudo’s to Mustafa and Gokhan!!