Lola, Winston and Roxy are moving to Zakinthos

These three hounds are exchanging Wales for the beautiful Greek island of Zakinthos. They’re on the Animalcouriers trip via Switzerland and Greece to North Cyprus.

Lovely Lola is clearly the boss of the three, and was very helpful getting her siblings organised to leave with Animalcouriers.

Handsome British Bulldog Winston was quite taken up with what to pack and whether his valise was going to be big enough.

Gorgeous Roxy tells us she’s really looking forward to moving to her new home, but a little concerned about speaking Greek when she goes shopping. Don’t worry Roxy, we’ll sure it will be fine, just keep practising!

News on Tor, who travelled with us from Germany

Giant Schnauzer pup Zentaur, now known as Tor, seemed to settle in the minute he arrived at his new home in Lancashire. Karen sent photos to prove it, and tells us:

“Tor arrived safely. First thing he did was pee all over Rick’s foot!!!!! Thanks for everything. An efficient, caring service. I’d certainly recommend Animalcouriers.”

Tor steps out of the van with courier R

Tor stands up tall

What a cute face!

Big ‘hello’ licks

He’s still just a few months old — just how big will he be when he grows up?

Off to North Cyprus via Switzerland and a Greek island

Animalcouriers are on their way to North Cyprus with a variety of pets who’re all bound for different destinations. 

Biggie and Ginger are Manau’s much-loved rabbits. Manau has been studying in London and is now returning to her home in the Zurich area of Switzerland — and of course, Biggie and Ginger are going too.

Cats Spangle and Toffee are off to North Cyprus. Their owners, June and Len, are driving themselves there via Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. We speculated that we might get there before them, so they have friends on hand to welcome Spangle and Toffee if need be. When June and Len’s extensive family, including a great-grandchild, saw them off, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

Also on board are three dogs who are heading to the Greek island of Zakynthos. We’ll tell you about them in a separate post.

Cute rabbits Biggie and Ginger are hiding in their basket

June and Len, with Spangle and Toffee, all of whom are North Cyprus bound

Checking Toffee’s microchip at the vet’s

Spangle at the vet’s with Courier S

Pets travelling to North Cyprus must be accompanied by a large raft of paperwork. First stop, their export health certificates.

Arrival in the UK and some reunions already

All the pets were in fine form after their sea crossing and eager for breakfast. The dogs had a good runaround and Alice even wanted to do some tricks!

Courier S delivered Alice and Gucci to their new homes. Tor and Bobby were transferred to the care of courier R who’s delivering them to Morecambe and Aberdeen respectively. And Oreo will be collected from our Surrey base.

Clever girl, Alice!

Oreo catches sight of a big seagull

Bobby, snug as a bug in a rug

Alice reaches her new home in Watford…

 

…Everyone is so pleased to have her back

Gucci gives his new owner lots of kisses — looks like he’s going to be very happy in his new English home

Bobby the canal cat and fun and games at the port

Yesterday evening we collected Bobby the cat who is moving from among the canals in central Amsterdam to Aberdeenshire. Courier S promised to tell Bobby a bedtime story but was a little baffled when asked to do it in Dutch!

We just made it onto the overnight ferry at Hook of Holland after a small scare at customs. No one could find Bobby’s microchip. After a short panic which held the boat up, Courier S used Animalcouriers’ own scanner and found it straight away.

A family send off for Bobby

Lovely van spotted in Amsterdam

 

The dogs all had a good walk before we boarded the ferry. Gucci wasn’t so sure about the wind messing his hair.

Tor looking very grown up

 

Alice has become mum to everyone on board and is taking her role very seriously

Stylish Gucci joins the trip as we drive along some stripy German roads

We colleced Toy poodle Gucci in Germany this morning. She is off to live in Reading to start a new life, with a new owner. It was an exciting day for Gucci and her hair had been done especially for the journey.

Tor is proving rather difficult to photograph. He’s full of puppy playfulness – he will jump, run, leap and somersault – anything but sit still for a photograph! Luckily his owner Karen has sent some photos of him so you can see what a gorgeous fellow he is. He’s a chilled  traveller.

Not forgetting someone back at the office with a true passion for liquorice, Courier S has ensured her stock cupboards are refilled with salty and sweet delights.

Gucci checking for crumbs

Tor – look how tall I am already

A close up of the gorgeous fellow

Alice was full of beans this morning – perhaps she’s caught the puppy bug?

Big fluffy Oreo likes to see everywhere we go. He seems to be really enjoy his journey

Pretty but why? Anyone know why there are stipes on these roads?

Nordic naughties

From Sweden to Germany, where we met Zentaur and Oreo

Having picked up Swedish Vallhund Alice in Malmo yesterday, Animalcouriers started the journey back towards the UK via Denmark and Germany.

In Sulsdorf we collected adorable Giant Schauzer puppy Zentaur. He’s off to join his new owners in Lancashire where he’ll be known as Tor.

We then stopped off in the centre of Hamburg where laid-back cat Oreo joined our trip. He’s travelling with us to start a new life in London.

Pretty blossom in Denmark

On board the ferry from Denmark to Germany — a train driving up alongside her rather spooked courier S!

Back in Germany, courier S is ready for a Wurst or two

Zentaur has a final hug with his breeder — bet his new owners can’t wait to cuddle this big bundle of joy too!

Alice gives Tor a ‘welcome aboard’ smile

Perfectly named black-and-white puss Oreo

Mr Lumley says “Goodbye Sierra Leone, hello Auckland!”

It’s taken a while to prepare Basenji cross Mr Lumley for his move to New Zealand. He’s named after Lumley Beach in Sierra Leone, where his owners spent the past three years working.

To meet the residency requirements set by New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Mr Lumley had to stay in the UK for six months, so his owners arranged for him to board with a pet sitter on the West Sussex coast. They came to the UK to see him through his final preparations in the 30 days leading up to his departure date.

Animalcouriers advised on the New Zealand entry requirements and worked with the vet to obtain the Defra export certificate and ensure all the paperwork was in order. We booked Mr Lumley’s flight from the UK to New Zealand, and arranged for his travel box to be delivered a couple of weeks in advance so that he could get used to it before departure.

Mr Lumley gets ready to head down under

Alice is swapping Sweden for the UK

Having dropped off Fudge and Angel in Germany, Animalcouriers headed via Denmark to Sweden to collect Swedish Vallhund Alice.

Her grandpa drove her over 1,000 km from Sweden’s skiing region to meet us in Malmo, where it was strangely quiet after the Eurovision song contest the night before. Alice is on her way to join the rest of her family who’ve moved to Watford. We know some little girls are waiting impatiently for this most important member of the family to arrive!

Banana and avocado parfait — strange but true, this dessert was served with kiwi, strawberries and grapes at a hotel in Germany run by students who’re learning all about the hotel and restaurant trade

The Rodby ferry takes about an hour and links Germany to Denmark

The bridge, made famous by the eponymous TV series, that stretches across the sea from Denmark to Sweden. Even in thick fog with a limited view, it was still amazing

Darling Alice

Where we went to play

Hopefully Alice understood the rules — courier S’s Swedish is somewhat limited!

Alice shows her best profile — she’s a fine example of the Swedish Vallhund breed

Alice picks the comfy bed

Very jolly bathroom tiles

Alice waiting patiently at the vet’s for her parasite treatment

A tiny Chihuahua pup moves to Kuwait

Little Josephine homeboarded with Animalcouriers while we prepared the paperwork for her move to Kuwait.

Dogs travelling to Kuwait must have their Defra export certificates checked by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and then legalised by the Kuwaiti Embassy.

Lyn, who looked after Josephine, had become so fond of her she had to come back twice to kiss her goodbye!

Josephine getting over her jet lag with her new brother Finlay