Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

[Bramble]

Ignore MM2, he's just being a jerk ... Everyone understands that sometimes you need to take an animal in on an emergency basis (meaning the animal is homeless and no one else can take her) and end up falling in love with the new furbaby.

The big priorities here are:

1. Getting her spayed.
2. Getting her spayed.
3. Getting her spayed.

Please get it done ASAP � I really don�t think it can wait. I also think you should consider placing her into a temporary foster home until you can come back for her�but as I said before, only do that if you�re absolutely sure you�re coming back and won�t change your plans. It would be terrible if you left her in foster care and couldn�t come back � and if a new home couldn�t be found in time and she had no place to go.

(Regarding finances: If you do decide that Molly is your furbaby for the rest of her life, eventually you're going to have to be prepared to pay whatever it costs to make sure her needs are met � That goes without saying. But right now it doesn�t sound as if you�re sure, and since you rescued her in good faith I think you deserve some slack.)

[mindmetoo]

[teachergirltoo]

I have dogs that I travel with internationally. Go go PETTRAVEL.COM. The website keeps an updated list of pet friendly airlines, noting their restrictions, and costs if your pet travels with you, or as cargo. I am sure you will find a carrier that will help you.

[Bramble]

[karenb]

I've taken my dog to Canada and back twice with Korean Air. She flew on the same flight as me, in cargo because she's too big to fit under the seat (I believe if the animal + crate weighs under 5kg he/she can still fly in cabin on Korean Air, but do check for updated info by calling the airline).

The cost is 2x the excess baggage fee (270,000 won each way), but it cost more to leave from Pearson Airport in Toronto.

Just my opinion, but I would choose to keep my pet with me if I were going away for 6 months. It's very hard to find foster homes in Korea, especially for that amount of time. Unless you have a close friend willing to do that for you, I would take recommend you take Molly with you. My dog didn't suffer any trauma from flying. Cats are more sensitive, I know, but what would happen if your situation changed and you had to stay longer, or not come back at all? I would not take that risk.

Also, I think it's costlier to ship an unaccompanied pet on a separate flight than it is to bring one on the same flight as you. It's ridiculous that your school can't find an airline that will take a pet! Sounds like you have to call Korean Air yourself.

The only other thing I would recommend is if your cat can't fly in cabin with you, book a direct flight so as not to risk her being lost during a stopover.

Good luck!

Karen

[twg]

[potin14p]

i even offered to look after her cat for the six months, and got no reply to my message.

[hardr0ck68]

Yeah, actually i have been meaning to get back to you. I am sure i will get blasted for this too; but i have been very busy looking at all of my options. I will send you a pm in a minute.

My life may be a mess, but i am trying to look out for my cat. She does not do well with other people, i am sure she will warm up to a new face with time but right now when she meets a new person she looks for places to hide.

Various airlines seem to have different rules so i may be able to do something if i can find out for sure what airline my boss wants to book me on. So thats one place im looking.

I need to get her to a vet quickly, because if i have to leave her then i want to get her fixed now (i have been waiting thinking it would be easier to do at home).

I do not want to give her up totally... if i did i would just get another critter when i came back to Korea soooo that wouldn't make much sence.

Thank you to everyone who has been offering helpful information and suggestions....

[MilesToGo]

I hope you've already found a good solution for your problem. In case you haven't, I thought I'd throw in my two cents' worth.

I don't know where you're flying to, but I went through the same thing a few months ago, flying to the U.S. After researching various options, I went with Northwest Airlines. Because I was flying with two cats, they traveled in the cargo area (I could have taken one with me in the cabin, but thought it might be less nervewracking for them to be near each other. Besides, the idea of picking one over the other made me feel a bit queasy). I was extremely nervous about this, but the airline provided me with written confirmation at the beginnng of each of the three legs of my flight to assure me that my cats were safely on board, and they made it through the journey in good shape. Based on this experience, I would definitely fly my cats with them again, although I don't plan on putting them through an experience like that again any time soon.

They weren't too traumatized, by the way - they were pretty freaked out for a couple of days, and then back to normal. Being together probably helped.

The costs weren't too extreme - less than US$300 for both.

Not sure where you are, but if you want guidance regarding shots etc., I highly recommend talking to Dr. Kwon at the Chung Wha Animal Hospital in Itaewon. He speaks good English, and offers a specific service to foreigners organizing overseas travel for their pets. He helped me enormously.

http://www.cwhospital.com/introduce/hospital.html

Good luck with this - it's a stressful experience, I know. Let us know how it all works out.

[Bramble]

OP, did you get your cat spayed? The vet at Jamsil Animal Hospital speaks English well, and I'm sure she has a lot of experience with the surgery. Please let us know how things are going.