Hi Everyone,
I have a long story, but would also greatly appreciate any advice and insight that you can offer.
My wife, Sidonie and I adopted Kirin in Toronto, from the Ontario SPCA. Here are some photos for extra empathy:
i.imgur.com/DH7pz.jpg
i.imgur.com/1gCNC.jpg
i.imgur.com/4OuSN.jpg
i.imgur.com/28srW.jpg
So, all my family and friends are in Toronto… but we decide to move to Vancouver, where neither of us knows anybody. We’ve been living her since January, 2011, but things aren’t really working out for either Sidonie or I. We’ve been running on savings/borrowings since my last paycheque in January, and we’re going to muster up our last bit of financial power to make the move back to Taiwan at the end of August.
The problem here, as you all know, via the “Importing Pets into Taiwan” thread and “Maceck”, is that once we get the rabies titer for Kirin, we have to wait 180 days before we can bring her into Taiwan. If we wait 180 days, we’d have to continue renting the $39,750 NT/month apartment, and even if we both went to get temporary employment, that may take weeks before we start. We’d just be working to pay the rent and wait for Kirin. So, we are thinking to go back to Taiwan ASAP, rent a place for $15,000 NT/month, and we could both find employment that we would stick to (as opposed to temporary). In this scenario, we’d have to find a place for Kirin, until I can come back in January, 2012 to bring her over to Taiwan. The options we have thought of:
-
Hire a pet-boarding service in Vancouver, which is $420/day, and Kirin would be the only pet for a family that loves animals, but for personal reasons can’t commit to a lifetime of pet-rearing (total = $56,700). Then, I would fly back to Vancouver in January, 2012, at a cost of about $30,000, get Kirin and bring her back to Taiwan. Total cost = $86,700.
-
Take Kirin to live with my cousin who just moved to Manila, Philippines. Stop-over in Manila = $18,000 extra airfare for Sidonie and I. Do all paperwork in Philippines (he is new there), and fly back to Manila to get Kirin come March, 2012 = $15,000. Total cost = $33,000.
-
Fly Kirin back to Toronto = $15,000. Friend there will take care of her. Come January, 2012, fly back to Toronto and take Kirin back to Taiwan = $50,000. Total cost = $65,00.
-
Take Kirin to northern Philippines. Find Filipino fisherman to sail me to international waters, switch to Taiwanese fisherman’s boat, go back to Taiwan and get off at fishing village. Total cost = ???
Those are all the options we can think of right now, and of course, each option comes with their own unique concerns.
Option 1’s greatest concern is cost. The organization seems pretty good and will likely arrange a great family and comfortable environment for Kirin.
Option 2’s greatest concern is dealing with the Philippine system. It doesn’t seem that it’ll be very hard, because they all speak English, but you never know.
Option 3’s greatest concern is the long-haul flight from Toronto to Taiwan. It’s over 15 hours, not including time spent at the respective airports, whereas from Vancouver it’s 12 hours. Hmm… wait, I thought it was nine hours… this option is getting more viable.
Option 4’s greatest concern is getting killed and fed to the sharks by the fishermen. The second-greatest concern is getting caught by the coast guard.
I would appreciate any and all insights! Harsh criticism is welcome as well. Thank-you in advance for your replies.
P.S. Giving up Kirin is not an option we want to exercise.