Moving your dog abroad with you is a ton of work. Totally worth it, but a lot of work. The UK requires specifics steps, certificates, and vaccinations at specific hours leading up to your dog’s departure abroad. Then there is more paperwork and a UK pet microchip database for registration upon arrival. It’s hard enough moving a family abroad, but then you throw your dog into the mix and it’s nearly a dealbreaker. And you wonder what the point of it all is till the day your dog visits the pub.
THE Call
I was working at my desk when I got THE call:
“Hiya…this is Claire from St Albans Veterinary Hospital. I have your dog.”
My response: “Uh, no you don’t.”
Claire: “Well, is he a yellow lab?”
My response: “Well, yes, but he’s out in our garden. I just let him out 10 minutes ago.”
Claire: “Is his name Duke?”
My response: “YES! Wait, what? Who are you? He’s here, I just know it. Let me go check.”
1 minute later…“OMG, he’s not in the garden! Why do you have my dog?”
Claire: “He was at the Six Bells pub. Someone dropped him off. He was hanging out in the pub garden.”
My Disbelief
I couldn’t believe it. Rather than go directly to the vet, I went to the pub. I needed confirmation that it was true.
Sure enough, the person on staff hadn’t met Duke yet so didn’t know him. He had somehow gotten out of our garden to visit new friends at the pub. I questioned everyone, in shock that he actually went to the pub on his own. My dog? Duke? Escaping our garden to visit the pub?
But then it made sense. Who doesn’t love a pub garden? Especially this one, where they absolutely love dogs and in particular, Duke. A yellow lab version the English have never seen before, he’s always getting tons of attention. And on top of that, he knows exactly where the biscuit tin is by the beer taps.
Duke had made a friend with a patron in the garden, and after the patron decided he was lost, took him to the only vet in town she knew that was about 15 minutes away.
My Relief
To be honest, I was kinda pissed. I know that’s awful but it’s the truth. I think the shock that he escaped when he’s such a docile dog coupled with the fact that no one at the pub recognized him despite how frequently we visit the pub really made me kinda mad. 😡
Clearly, I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s no one else’s job but mine to take care of him during the day.
A little voice in my head screamed: “Stop being an a-hole! A total stranger picked up your dog and took him to a safe place!”
And then I realized. Holy $#*&. The vet actually called me. Immediately.
My dog escaped and could have gone anywhere. It didn’t matter if he was next door or in Scotland. The vet knew exactly who Duke was and how to contact his mom. If it hadn’t been for the chip and UK pet microchip database registration, we could have lost him.
That reality check hit me pretty quickly on the drive to the vet. It could have been far worse if I had chosen to ignore the 30-day deadline to register him in the UK pet microchip database. The UK pet database was paperwork we received upon his arrival that could be completed at home. I put it in the pile of things to do with everything else. I remember filling it out on the 30th day, feeling annoyed by yet another moving task.
But THANK GOODNESS I did. And for the anonymous pub person that took Duke and dropped him off at the vet that day, I am forever grateful.
So don’t mess around wondering if the UK pet microchip database registration is needed. There is a point to all the steps and paperwork that must be completed before and after your dog arrives in the UK. It is so important and only takes a few minutes time. It’s easy for me to say this now only because I was the a-hole that almost didn’t do it. And also because Duke likes to visit the pub garden…solo. 😂
So, fill out the UK pet microchip database. It’s not just about getting to your destination but the journey after that matters. And if your dog escapes your garden to visit the pub, don’t blame him. After all, it’s his expat experience, too. 🐶