One Year of Cava

Cava on her first day in Canada, already rather cheeky!

A year ago today, we were anxiously awaiting Cava's arrival in Canada.   I cannot begin to describe how nerve-wracking that was.  Fortunately she arrived safe and sound and did not seem to be overly stressed by the 9 hour flight.  Puppies are truly amazing.  

The process of picking up a puppy from overseas at the Calgary airport has not improved since we picked up Tally.  First you have to go to Air Canada's cargo area to wait for the puppy to arrive there (usually a good hour after the flight has landed).  Then once the puppy has arrived at cargo, officials remove the paperwork from the crate, fill in a bunch of forms and hand me the paperwork.  I have to then drive the paperwork to the main airport terminal, park in a multistory parkade, walk to the airport, find Canada Customs and then hand over the paperwork for their inspection and to pay GST on the puppy.  Customs are usually very busy with the international flights that are coming in, so this usually involves a frustrating wait while they deal with travellers who need their shoes disinfecting, luggage checking...etc etc....    Meanwhile all I can think about is poor Cava, who is still stuck in her crate.....  Then once I have all of the appropriate stamps on the paperwork, I head back to find my vehicle in the parking maze and drive the stamped paperwork to the cargo area for their approval.   Then finally, they hand Cava over and I get to see her and let her out of her crate!   At some point during that process, Cava was inspected by an Ag Canada vet and the Air Canada staff kindly cleaned up her bedding and crate. 

That already seems like much more than year ago.  I feel like Cava has been with us for years and we have done so much already.   We are so glad we took the plunge and decided to bring her over here.   Thank-you to Sarah Whittaker for trusting us with her and to my parents for driving me out to see the litter.

Cava in the UK, wet and tired after a couple of hours of playing with us and her relatives

Cava and my Mum in Suffolk

Cava's Mum, Beate.