Maddie's Journey

Yesterday was an exciting day for us as Maddie finally came home!  It may have only been 13 days since we dropped her off at the airport in Houston but it felt like an eternity.  A lot has happened in those two weeks and it just didn't feel like home without her.  I previously wrote about Maddie's moving plan but I will tell you how it really went.

On September 1st, we dropped Maddie off at the Lufthansa cargo center in Houston.  It was a difficult experience as she was clearly nervous and could sense all of the change going on.  Everyone at Lufthansa was great and made us feel comfortable so we knew she would be in good hands but just didn't know how she would respond to traveling for 36 hours.  I left the cargo center with tears rolling down my face because after seeing the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, I felt scared for her and guilty for putting her through this (the whole move also became very real at that point).

Maddie left Houston that afternoon on a flight to Frankfurt.  Upon arrival in Frankfurt she was let out of her crate and allowed to use the restroom, eat, and drink before being checked out by a vet and returned to her crate for the next leg of the flight.  She then took off from Frankfurt headed straight to Singapore.  When she arrived she was transferred to the cargo terminal where we went to pick her up and take her to the Changi Animal Quarantine Station (CAQS) to be checked in.  When she saw me her tail started wagging so hard she was shaking the whole crate and I knew she was okay.  At CAQS we were able to go into her quarantine cell and spend some quality time with her.  It was such a relief to have her happy and healthy in Singapore.

Maddie and Derek at CAQS  

The following day, Maddie was transferred to Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station (SAQS) where she would spend the next nine days before her quarantine was complete.  The staff at SAQS was excellent and greeted me every afternoon I stopped by to see her.  They have visitation times every day except for Sunday and I went as much as I could.  During our visits to see her we would take her out to one of the pens and let her off the leash so she could get some exercise.  They only allow 15 minutes in the pens but Maddie rarely lasted that long as she was always ready to get out of the heat.  We spent the rest of the time in her little room (5' x 8' concrete room with a door) coaxing her to eat her food and giving her lots of love.

Enjoying being outside for a bit

Maddie cooling off after her outside time

Yesterday she was released from SAQS and has been loving being home with us.  I know she misses her big Texas backyard but is getting accustomed to apartment life once again.  Overall everything went smoothly thanks to Air Animal coordinating her move and completing the paperwork for us.  I honestly don't think I could have gotten Maddie here without their help.

Welcome home, Maddie! We missed you!

Happy to be home!

Catching up on sleep.  She slept all day when she got home.