Charlie the Cat Goes Home

 We knew this day was coming, but for Maia it hit far sooner than she would like. Charlie the cat is heading home to Canada. We would love to cruise through the South Pacific to Australia with him aboard, because although he had a shaky start he really is an excellent boat cat. But the more we've looked into quarantine requirements for Oz, the clearer it's become that bringing a cat in by sea is fraught with trouble.
 
So, with the horror stories mounting (of unacceptable documents, six month quarantines and pets that were outright refused) and the success stories sounding more like horror stories (expensive, don't miss a single step in the process, be prepared for a long quarantine) we're taking the advice of other cruisers who have successfully imported their pets and sending him back to Canada.

 This puts Charlie in an approved country for the very important six month window prior to importing him--which means that if we follow the directions (far simpler in Canada) he'll fly to Oz with a shipping company the month before we arrive--and when we get there we'll just go pick him up out of quarantine.

as an FYI, this isn't his flight kennel, it's his little 'around town' kennel...

 It's a more, or less, simple solution to a complex problem. Although a bloody expensive solution. But Maia loves the little creature (as do we) and we're happy we have an option... So bye for now Charlie--we'll see you in November:(