Surprises, surprises

In making a major life transition, such as getting married, moving or having a child, one must expect there to be at least a few bumps in the road. Unfortunately, they don't come with big "Warning! Speed bump ahead!!" signs posted along the way and so they catch you unawares. For us, one of those bumps came yesterday at the vet.

Moving a pet to another country is no small task. All countries require paperwork and shots, and most require quarantine. Luckily for the wee ones (and my psyche), Chile does not require quarantine. But we all know that the real work is in the paperwork, not the peaceful rest enjoyed inside a quarantine cage (taking a bit of license there...).

Yesterday was our final pre-trip exam, which was required within the last 15 days before travel. We contacted myriad sources to determine exactly what was needed and we were pretty sure we had all of our cats in a row, if you will. The first thing that happened when we walked in is a surprised inquiry: "Your flight is leaving Friday? You're too early! This has to be done within the last 24 hours." Blank stares. We have read about things to be done in the year leading up, things to be done in the two weeks leading up, but never did the phrase "last 24 hours" come into play. We went with our gut and said that we were pretty sure that within the last 15 days was the guideline, so let's go with it.

That was fine. But within the same breath, another exclamation: "Oh, this form has to be sent to Columbus!" What. "Is this the right form you need? If so, it needs to be certified in Columbus. There's NO WAY you'll get this back by Friday!"

...

At this point I started to get that dizzy-hot feeling that happens when your blood pressures rises higher than a sphygmomanometer can read. Fortunately for my vet, who shall remain nameless, I am incapable of freaking out at most people. But I do have to ask, HOW did this going to Columbus business never come up in the 47,000 discussions we had with the 3,500 people with whom we discussed moving our pets? And honestly, how did the Vet not even mention that when we were in 30 days ago for their rabies vaccinations and to discuss moving them?? How did none of this information appear anywhere??????

It doesn't matter. We had to get the certification. After consulting with several same-day courier services ($600 round-trip!), the office to see if overnight mail would be sufficient, and after crying for about 6 hours it became clear that there was only going to be one solution to this problem: I had to go to Columbus.

An impromptu, last-minute 6-hour road trip is approximately the last thing I needed this week. But this story has an incredible ending. My TOTALLY AWESOME Dad offered to do it for me. I am really bad at asking or accepting favors, let alone one that involves a same-day trip to Columbus. So it's been sort of difficult for me to get over feeling guilty about it, but I have to say it saved my butt. There is no way I would've been able to make that trip AND do the 465 things I had to do today. I am truly, truly grateful and indebted!