Orchestra tuning up or protesters?
Either there is an orchestra tuning up in Marbella or some serious protesters are making a point.
It sounds as though it is coming from La Canada. I don’t know the logic behind stopping business owners from getting to work to make a day’s wage when the protest is supposed to be about government cut backs, but there you go, what do I know?
Good parenting
You have been a good parent if your children know that if life gets too much or something happens that you will always welcome them back home…no matter what, and no matter their age.
Grumpy holidaymakers
Holiday maker arrived today to stay in the apartment. She had been up probably half the night with her two children under five years and when she arrived I wasn’t there as she had forgotten to text me….but I’ll make some allowances for her being so grumpy.
However when she asked my husband as soon as he rushed to let her in, ” the weather looks rubbish, what is there to do with the children?” I’d have had to have replied,
“what would you do in England?”
And the answer is…….smile and make the best of it or don’t travel in March and April when the weather can be erratic.
Spain general strike
Someone has just asked me about this and yes it is happening.
Buses are on strike tomorrow so many workers won’t be able to get to their offices or shops that they work in, so expect quiet roads and no milk or bread in the house……unless you shopped earlier.
No I didn’t……uh oh.
It’s ok though I’ll ask my pal Jimmy who buys the Mercadona brown bread by the ton to share…..Jimmy….share……
Leishmaniosis new injection for dogs
Leishmaniosis is a nasty disease that has no cure and it is caused by your dog being bitten by a tiny mosquito virtually impossible for a human to see. It isn’t around in the UK but is around here in Southern Spain and many dogs have it.
To prevent the bite you need to either buy special drops monthly from your vet or put a special collar ( also from your vet) on your dog as soon as the nightime temperatures go to 20 degrees or higher. So now.
The good news is that there is now a new vaccine/injection you can give to dogs that do not have the disease and dogs that are over 6 months old. More reliable than the drops and collars.
Ask your vet for more information.
Labrador Marbella/Mijas
A friend has a female labrador, 2 years old that will need a new home shortly. She is moving to the UK into a flat and wants to find her dog a home with a garden here in Spain.
She lives near Mijas.
If anyone thinks they may know someone who would like a lovely lab then contact me here and I’ll put you in touch.
The cost of transporting a dog from Spain to the UK
I’ve been looking up information on the cost of transporting a dog from Spain to the UK and most of the info I found was out of date by 5 years or more, so I thought I’d post what I’ve found.
There are very few airlines that will take pets. Some that do include Jet2 ( have to fly your dog into Manchester), Monarch, British Airways ( you need to use a pet handling company with BA) and Air France. The low cost airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair won’t take a dog.
The cost? Please stop eating as the following could cause you to choke.
Flying from Malaga to Gatwick with Monarch costs just over £500 for a dog, around £250 for a cat. You need to provide the airline approved crate which will cost around another £100. If flying with Monarch you need to head to Gatwick ( possibly Heathrow I can’t recall) but nothing north of here as they insist you use the Gatwick animal handlers. The number on the Monarch website is run by a company sub contracted by Monarch and the man I spoke to thought Malaga was in Cyprus and didn’t inspire me with confidence.
I have looked at taking a dog from Spain to the UK by road too and the companies online have been really helpful. I’m waiting for further quotes but the cost is around £500 and takes 2-3 days, using the Channel tunnel and a motel to sleep in over night. You can also hire a taxi that will take your dog and you to the UK, cost just under £2000. Yes, I’m covering all option…..
Other options….squeezing a small dog into a bottle of lemonade ( empty), throwing them out to sea and cross your fingers quickly, hoping the dog ends up in the English Channel. Estimated day of delivery, November 2017.
Buying lots of helium balloons, tie them to your dog’s ankles and hope for the best.
Drive your own dog over to the UK, only works if you have no children, no luggage, oh and a car.
Tie a pretty strap around your dog , sling him over your shoulder and insist to the Ryan Air staff that your dog is actually your new designer piece of hand luggage designed to look like a real breathing dog. Really only likely to work with Fly Thomson as their staff are all retired and more likely to have vision issues.
Get your child to look really sad and carry in a clinging manner your dog. When the airport staff get too close just cluck like a mother hen and say how your little Teddy just can’t be apart from his cuddly plush dog and then ask your partner did he remember to bring spare batteries in case it stops working. They will be amazed at how real plush dogs look these days and may ask you for the website of where you bought it. Don’t quote mine.
Get your dog to dig his way to the UK. Start him off at the beach, give him lots of praise and hope he doesn’t end up in Australia.
Yes, or you could just pay the £500 flight ticket, plus the £100 for the crate and then if you have a big dog the extra £100 it will cost you to hire a minibus the other end to take you to your UK destination.
Dumping your dog at Triple A is NOT an option.
Smell the orange blossom
Head to Marbella this week-end and have a good sniff…the orange blossom has just started to come out and smells absolutely heavenly………
Mobile Phones and children
I resisted giving my children mobile phones until it was all that they wanted for a birthday or christmas present or became a necessity when they hit the teens and were heading out on their own on public transport…..and then I gave in. However I insisited on a pay as you go phone and that it was only to be used to contact us.
All has gone smoothly until today.
I have a ten year old daughter crying her eyes out because I won’t give her a contract on a mobile phone (she doesn’t even have one yet but has one on her birthday list…) She wants to use facebook, download apps, call her friends…..and I don’t want her to, it just sits very uncomfortably with me, she is ten years old and I feel that a contract is something you should get when YOU can PAY for it and not your parents…
A lot of her friends have blackberries and contracts and I’m getting the pressure pads placed on me to do as they do.
Well I won’t. I absolutely hate it when everyone else does something and you are sitting isolated with a different standpoint and as the children have got older this has happened more and more.
It isn’t so much difficult children but difficult parenting these days conflicting with other styles of parenting……
Dog crates for travelling by aeroplane
If you are looking for a dog crate that is airline approved then you can go to zooplus.es and find them there from small to extra large. I had a quote in Spain from one company that wanted 390 euros for a crate that costs around 150 euros (and that is for their largest crate) via zooplus. Postage is also free to mainland Spain.
I’m sure later you could sell them on ebay and get some money back too.
If you are flying a dog to the UK there are only a handful of airlines that will take them and you will most likely need to fly into Heathrow or Gatwick as they have animal welfare centres there that are open Monday-Friday, but check with your airline for more information.
Remember the rabies vaccination rules are now more relaxed in the UK, you don’t need to wait 6-7 months anymore. Ask your vet for the exact information as the rules all changed in January this year.