Would you be able to move overseas if it means that you had to leave your pet behind?

Absolutely.

Of course, old Hoss would have to find a very good home with a well trusted friend. I can think of a few people that would be excellent adoptive parents for him.

Yes, if there were a more compelling reason for going than staying and if I could find a satisfactory home for my animals.

Yes, if I had to move overseas for a very good reason, I’d leave my dog. But only with a good home and with someone that loves her as much as I do, which would be pretty easy, as everyone who meets Molly loves her.

No, I hate people who leave their pets for new homes just because it is convenient to do so.

There is only one reason I could leave my pets behind and that would be if I had to move abroad to be with my partner for any reason. It would be a hard choice but I would choose him over them. However, the only reason I could do this is because I know my dad would take the dogs and I could see them whenever I returned.

No. My spaniel/golden retriever mix is my second best friend, right behind my wife. I would never get rid of her to move anywhere.

No.

I love to travel and was gone in asia for a month last March.

I had a stable of pet and house sitters and while I am not neurotic, the homecoming is always such a joy!

I have chinese geese and cats and when I was overseas I came across a pair of brown chinese geese living in horrible conditions in a little hut in Taiwan by the beach…oh how I wished I could fly them home to my goose haven and give them a happy goose life! :-(

The street cats were hard too, if I was a millionaire I’d have flown home about 20 animals. lol

To those who said yes: Aw…you guys!!! To your pets, you are their whole world….does it break any of your hearts just thinking about leaving your pets behind? Would you be willing to pay (possibly) a few thousand $ to take them with you instead of leaving them behind? I’m just wondering.

@marinelife and @CaptainHarley and @Coloma – i KNOW! It seriously tears me appart just thinking of having to leave my kitties behind…i cry just thinking about it!! I love them WAY too much to even consider it. I think i’d rather die.

Well..I am one of those , (and it may not be a popular decision to disclose) but…imo, some animals can be re-homed with minimal stress based on thier personalities.

Animals can and do adjust just fine a lot of the time.

However..there are many that are sensitive enough, especially elderly pets that I think it is cruel to subject them to abandonment.

I prefer euthanasia to leaving an animals fate in the hands of chance and to spare them the stress, if they are elderly, shy & sensitive or otherise delicate of nature.

My geese are so spoiled and pampered, they would never do well being thrown out on a pond or warehoused like livestock.

They are extremely imprinted on me and I have told my daughter that if I kick the bucket I want them euthanized. My cats…they would adjust to a new home as they are still young, my old guy that I lost in May…never!

No sorry, we took our dog from the UK to New Zealand and back gain it cost more to send him one way than it did to send one of us both ways, but it was so worth it he is a part of the family and he still loves us and is VERY loyal!!

I wouldn’t, but Milo would be on that plane, in first class, in a heart beat. He’d farm me out to the first willing family he found.

@Coloma – awww, i also lost my beloved kitty in May, she was 20. :(

As a young family we went to England ( work related 7 years) and the month before leaving I placed my beloved dog twice…with good friends, the second match was wonderful for the dog and the family. England has a 6 months quarantine and she was in her teens. However, we brought our British dog and horse home from England to the USA when we returned.

All my pets and horses have a plan attached to them should anything happen to me, yes they are loved and cared for “like family” but I have to admit the humans are considered first and if the animals do not fit in they are re homed. We all have standards and goals and I expect our pets to too. I also agree with @Coloma on the various options. I adore the interaction the pets bring to a family but they are subject to special considerations according to their temperment and species and I care about that in their care.
I have a one of our dogs I put in a kennel everytime I leave for more than a day because she is afraid of new people when I am not home and she will not find comfort with my husband because he gets impatient about it. We got her as a puppy from the pound and so she does not mind going back to stay in a similar situation when I am gone. Works for us. I am sure she will quit running and hiding soon. The pound had flooded and the animals moved and the babies were not socialized that summer. Big Sign and sad story for the pound but sunny skies on the horizon for them. I spend alot of time socializing her. Well that is all another topic :-)

Well, i always knew different people bond in different degrees to their pets. I’m one of those who bond very strongly with them, they really are my children, and where i live is dictated by them. After some research, i think Canada is the only country that doesn’t require quarantine for pets from South Africa, so if i ever had to move emmigrate, it can only be to Canada. And then only if they’d let me take my cats on board with me.

@NaturallyMe
My Gadwicke was a beautiful Himmy mix, he was 14. He was in heart failure, had him euthanized in my arms at home. I will always miss him. :-(

With a broken heart , yes; I would leave them but I know of no one who would want them enough to keep them indoors like we do. We’d have to run an ad in the newspaper; seems crass and uncaring.

@Coloma – Awwwww….. **sniff** I also didn’t want to take my kitty into the vet’s office (‘cause she really hated going to the vet), so the best i could do was have the vet come and do the nasty deed in my car at the vets’. She had kidney failure, It was the worst time of my life.

@Aster

Yes, it does seem rather crass..but, always the opposite spin too.

My new guy Gizzi was a Craigslist give away..and I found him.

Lucky kitty! lol

He went from being a lonely indoors only single pet, spending long days alone, to coming to my country haven, a new girlfriend I adopted a few weeks prior to him from a shelter and he is LOVING his new life and world and girlfriend! lol

He is climbing trees and watching the deer and geese and birds, romping and wrestling with his girl and it brings me great joy to have opened up his world! ;-)

Never. Would someone rehome their kids out of convenience? I, like @Marinelife, cannot abide those who so easily cast their supposed loved one’s aside. How selfish.

@tinyfaery i must say, thats’ the way i feel as well, but i didn’t want my head bitten off so early in the game so i didn’t say it, haha

My daughter saw a tiny kitten on the freeway the other day in 90+ degree heat but was unable to stop safely and had to pass by.

I have been haunted by this for the last few days…..:-(

@Coloma :0 !!! Shame…. :( It would haunt me too…. :( Ok, no more sad kitty stories!! I think i’ve had more than my fair share of annual dose of sadness today… SNIFF

@NaturallyMe

Yes…happy stories…like right now over here!

A pair of twin fawns drinking with their mama from my big birdbath on the grassy hill and the cats all wide eyed watching the strangers! :-)

@ColomaL: Do they still have their spots?

Yep. Did it. The cats went to a good home in the area.
I figure we all took overseas assignments.

@Coloma – hehe, cute! :D

This is why my husband and I haven’t gotten any pets yet. We know we’ll be moving several times in the next 10 years or so and I would hate to have to leave a pet behind. We don’t have much of a choice where the military sends us though, so we choose not to get any pets instead of getting some and having to possibly leave them behind or ask someone else to watch them for a few years if we couldn’t take them with us. I can’t wait until we are settled and able to get a few dogs.

@Seaofclouds – awww.. :) I’d be so eager to get pets and can’t imagine living so long without them, but what you’re doing is much more selfless, good for you.

@gailcalled

Yes, little darlings, and their mama is the most beautiful doe ever..a golden coat like I have never seen before! Very unique coloring!

@NaturallyMe I almost broke down and got a puppy a few weeks ago. My friend found some siberian huskies for sale and decided to get one for her birthday. I’ve always loved them and really, really wanted to get one. I talked to my husband about it, put the money aside, and had picked out which one I was going to ask for, but then at the last minute I rethought it and decided not to even mention it to the lady selling them. Sometimes I regret not getting it, but I know it’s for the best right now.

@Seaofclouds – that’s definitely for the best (it would have been for me anyway). As sad as it is to have gotten so excited and even choosing one out already, just imagine the heartache of having to give it away again later when you’ve bonded with the dog…. :0 The sadness just doesn’t even compare.

@NaturallyMe I agree. I was also thinking about how unfair it would be for the dog to have to move around and readjust so much. We know we will be moving at least 4 more times in the next 10 years.

I still have horse moments after being horse free for the last 7 years now. lol

I look at my beautiful, 3 acre, oak studded pasture and can just SEE my beauty standing there.

BUT…am I up to the work again…having to buy another truck and trailer to trailer out to the great wilderness trails surrounding my area, the expense?

Some days I spend hours browsing horses for sale and dream away, but my pragmatic side and desire for more freedom from work is still keeping the reins in check with me. lol

@Coloma – i imagine it’s tough though, having such conflicting thoughts and feelings. But if the freedom outweighs it, then maybe you can deal with it. :D NOW QUIT TEMPTING YOURSELF BY LOOKING AT THOSE FOR SALE HORSES!!!

@NaturallyMe

Yes..lol

Horses are like porn to me…so many beautiful colors and shapes and sizes…aaah…horse porn. lol

Disclosure

No..I am not a porn fan, just the closet thing I can link my horse voyeurism too. lol

No way! Sadie goes where i go! Having said that, i’m retired…so…younger people have different considerations!

I’d try and take her with me. If I could not for some reason, I’d make sure she had a good home.

I adopted a dog from someone who was moving away. She adjusted just fine. We had her for nine years.

I’ve also taken in a homeless dog and bought a puppy from a friend of a friend. And, I have a daughter.

End of the day, in my world, I may love my doggie, but it’s an animal. No comparison to a child.

But that’s me. My aunt feels similar to some of you guys and says we don’t “deserve to have pets because we don’t see them as human.”

I think that’s a little insane.

No, I love my kitties!

Yes

@Coloma fawns and a birdbath. I’m so envious it’s unbearable.

Heck yeah! little SOB peed in an unauthorized area again last night. I might take him along as a handwarmer at this rate!

I would rather not relocate than to leave my pets behind. At this stage of my life, their companionship is such a big part of our lives. That’s my choice and I don’t criticize those who would make other choices.

I couldn’t leave them and you can’t make me! ;)

@Coloma – haha! :)
@BoBo1946 – well i’m still….young, as you put it (if i had to compare it to the fact that you’re retired :) ), my considerations will never be a changin’. :)
@cprevite – hey, we’re not insane! :P
@lucillelucillelucille – i’d never in a million years try to make ya! :)

@NaturallyMe I was fortunately enough to have Spunky for 10 years and we were very very close. She was not dog…she was a member of the family Spunky passed away last year.

Now, i’ve Sadie….only two weeks. She is very young, for that matter, still a puppy. But, I’m very impressed with her so far. She tries so hard to please. Sadie likes everyone. She does not have a “bad bone” in her body. We are bonding very well. I’m so lucky to have picked her out at the shelter. Her pic is my avatar.

Getting back to my comment….there are a lot of young people that have children and their responsibilty is too them..they come first. Glad i will never have to make that decision!

@NaturallyMe: I didn’t mean that not wanting to leave your pet was insane. I meant that seeing a pet as human (as my aunt does) is insane.

sorry if that wasn’t clear

@cprevite

Yeah..I know what you’re saying. I love my pets dearly, but am not neurotic. Some owners are really adept at transferring their neurosies TO their pets. haha

@Coloma: No joke, I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Pets are just God’s little people in fur coats.”

oy vey

@cprevite I really love my dog, but I don’t think she is human. I don’t dress her up or anything. That would be silly. My other dog, now that was a different story. He had his own closet for his clothes.

@chyna: ok, I admit it…we did put antlers on the basset hound one Christmas.

@cprevite I knew the truth would come out eventually.

Okay..well, I do take Xmas pics of my goose Marwyn.

Deck the halls with bowtied gander’ssssssss, fa la la la la, la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I brought my dog with me to Australia when I first moved here. It was a red tape nightmare and I could have flown first class 2x for what it cost me to get him here and through quarantine. And it was worth every cent. As @tinyfaery said, would you get rid of your kid because you had to move. People who adopt animals take on a 10–15 year commitment (with dogs and cats, much longer with birds), if you don’t intend to honor that commitment then you should not have a pet.
Giving a dog to a “good family” is a risk, you have no idea what they are going to do with your animal, what if they decide to move and don’t want to be bothered taking it with them, do you have a guarantee that they won’t just abandon it. As @Coloma said, it is better to euthanize them, at least then you know their fate and have acted responsibly.

@rooeytoo good for you!

My daughter had brought Milo to visit me many times, since she was a short car trip away while she was living in Providence. When she decided to move to BC, it seemed fitting and comfortable to move Milo here.

He has a much more pampered life here; my daughter was a task-master. I am a push-over.

Only if my best friend would be the adoptive dog parent because I know my dog likes him as much as he’d be well taken care of and loved.

All the pets that I’ve had are dead :(

@boots

Awww…but…there are millions of potential NEW pets that are living. Unless dead pets are your thing. lol ( teasing you ) ;-)

I’d find a way to get them there even if it meant rowing them there!

Never.

I think this is the kinda question I could only give a true answer to if the situation concretely came up.

’‘Huggles her cats’’

@cprevite – i know what you meant. :) I don’t call my kitties humans (they’re better than that, tee hee), but they are as important to me as human family members. :)
@boots – yeah…2 of the 3 kitties i’ve ever had are no longer here either. :( But i know they had the best darn life any person could ever have given them, and no more love could they have got anywhere else. :)