In August 2005, our Czech friend Edita Dobrovolna offered us one of her beautiful
puppies, but there were several problems to be overcome before we could welcome
her into our home. Although Guernsey is not part of the UK, the island abides by the UK Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) regulations with regard to the importation of dogs, and we knew that their rigorous demands with regard to micro-chipping, rabies vaccination and worm and tick treatments had to be obeyed to the letter before we would be able to bring our new girl home. Under these regulations, she would be unable to travel until she was ten months old - a long and frustrating wait, made possible only because we had complete confidence in the loving and caring upbringing that she would get from Edita and Petr. Then there was the question of how to transport a ten month old Irish wolfhound across Europe. Flying wasn't an option due to the small size of aircraft which operate out of Guernsey, so McKenna would have to travel on the car ferry from St Malo in France, 1,000 miles from her home in Zidlochovice. As neither of us felt willing or able to drive such a distance, it appeared that we would reluctantly have to turn down Edita's offer . . . until Edita said that she and Petr would bring McKenna to Guernsey themselves. How could we refuse?! So, on the evening of Tuesday 11th April, 2006, the epic journey began, when Edita, Petr and McKenna set out to drive across a continent. The following day, Anne left to meet them in St Malo, to offer what help she could if any problems arose with McKenna's pet passport. Thankfully, everything went without a hitch, and the whole party set sail for Guernsey on Friday 14th April, to introduce one very tired wolfhound puppy to her new pack. Click on the photo for the full story. |
Bringing McKenna Home |
