Bailey settles in

It's only been a couple of days but I'm happy to say that Bailey has established good bathroom habits, both defecating and urinating on leash on our first walk in the morning. I've been pretty good about remembering to carry poop bags with me every time we go out, which has been about six times per day. The one time that I forgot was, fortunately, not a time that I needed one. There are two different green spaces within a couple minutes from us so it's very convenient. We've been crating her when we leave the apartment and she seems fine with that. 

On Sunday we took Bailey to a large weekly market. The market takes place three days a week but Sunday is the biggest and busiest. It was too crowded for her and for me. She did quite well really but I felt it was overwhelming for her and I was so overwhelmed worrying about her that I couldn't really shop. We found a relatively quiet spot against the back wall of a church where she and I hung out while sending Clay off to shop.

We had a vet appointment on Monday. That was required in order to get her registered with the local government. She did very well with the vet and the appointment, particularly after I suggested that the vet start by offering her treats. It wasn't required but the vet did recommend a lepto vaccine so we had that done and have the appointment for the second shot at the end of August. They seem to recommend routine de-worming every three months here with something like Drontal. I didn't get anything for that and will look into it further.

On Tuesday Clay went back to the market on his own and Bailey and I went on a hike around the Citadel. It's an old, star-shaped fortress surrounded by river and canals. It's still an active military base and the surrounding green space is open to the public and is laced with many trails. We got in a good five miles and saw a lot of people, bikes, runners, and quite a few dogs. She is having a nap next to me as I write this.

Everything is going well. I had an appointment with a physical therapist on Monday after Bailey's vet visit and I'll be seeing him again on Thursday and probably a couple times a week for a while thereafter. We're doing a lot of walking and I've been sleeping better than I ever have.

The next chapter begins

We are here in Lille, feeling massive relief and having zero regrets. I didn't sleep on the flight over and I don't think Bailey did either, but we made it. We had an airtag in her crate and the crate was also tagged as luggage so we could tell that she was onboard the plane. Unfortunately she couldn't know that we were only a few feet away from her the entire time. She was happy to see us when we picked her up after the flight, of course, but she was calm in her crate and she's been handling everything new like it was old hat. 

The thing about this move that few people know at this point is that we are being filmed by a French television program. Its focus is new immigrants to France and Clay got connected with them through one of many Facebook groups he's been involved in since starting this process. He's been corresponding with the producer and has sent videos showing aspects of the life we left behind. We were met at the airport by this producer and an English-speaking cameraman who accompanied us from the airport in Paris to Lille, interviewing us along the way. We spent most of the afternoon with them as well, as we got to our apartment and then went out to introduce Bailey to nearby green space. They also want to film us doing a few other things over the next month. There are other people who are being profiled as well, of course, so at this point we don't know when it will air. I just hope it doesn't come out like some bad remake of "Real Housewives." 

When the television folks left to catch a train back to Paris we were finally on our own. We went out for a couple of drinks and some bar food and managed to stay up until 9:00 p.m. before we crashed. I didn't get up until nearly 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, feeling great and really appreciating the restorative power of good sleep. After a quick cup of coffee, I took Bailey out to a nearby grassy area. She's never learned to tell us when she needs to go out because we've always just been able to open the door and let her go. She's also never had to do her business while on leash. She had fasted for over 24 hours so getting her system going and learning her schedule is now my main priority. 

Our second walk of the day was to a local dog store where we bought a very pricey but very nice dog bed for her. Then she got some crate time once again while we went to a big store for a fan, pillows, and some other necessary and unnecessary items. Then it was another dog walk to some green space followed by some down time for all of us. After I finish this, I'll take her out again before we go out for a couple of beers this evening. 

I've seen lots of dogs in town, including people with dogs in bars and restaurants, but I'm not ready for that just yet. She's doing great, walking nicely, non-reactive, but I want to introduce her to city life slowly. I also want to get her accustomed and comfortable being crated so we can leave her in the crate when we necessary. 

After the increasing anxiety and pressure to get everything ready before we left, I now feel that's all behind me and we both feel happy and relaxed, free of many things that had been weighing us down. I've already pulled some things out of my bag and said "why did I think I needed this?" 

Lille is nice and the temperature is wonderful. Best of all, no one here voted for Trump. 

The opera house in Lille

Bailey, pre-flight

On the drive from the airport in Paris to Lille, Bailey climbed up and sprawled across Clay's and my laps and tried to nap. I don't think she slept on the flight any more than I did.

Climbing the stairs in our new apartment.

She didn't pee, but she did roll on the grass in the green space near our place.

Trying to assimilate the local scents?

This building is just outside our window on the other side of the alley.

Waiting for me just outside the bathroom door, with toy in her mouth.

Our apartment is down this alleyway.

Bailey has never really had dog-friendly furniture to get up on. 

She didn't hesitate to hop up here.

We took shelter in an alcove when caught in a rain shower on Saturday's walk.

Bailey still loves to do an "up" on command.

We got her a nice new bed on Saturday.

Our home for the next 90 days is an AirB&B in an old building that has been modernized.

It's two floors, bedroom down below, and seems very functional.

We went shopping on Saturday for a little bit of food and some other things we'll need, but it is well equipped and furnished.

The hard part

We've reached the hard part of this move, saying goodbyes, parting with the last of our stuff, and confronting my feelings of inadequacy when it comes to home maintenance. 

The goodbyes are bitter sweet, but we aren't dropping from the face of the earth, we will be back to visit and we hope that many folks will come visit us. 

Clearing the house is difficult and we've reached the stage where most things that we can't rehome will just be heading to our Happy Little Dumpster. There will be final runs to Habitat, Green Dogs, Goodwill, CASPCA, and Circa today and tomorrow. Some things that I had hoped to sell have not. I hope to never again post anything for sale on Facebook Marketplace. I had refused to have a yard sale because I could not stand the idea of the local population invading our space en masse. Instead, we've dealt with them one at a time through Marketplace. Some people have been great, but so many are flaky and I'm reminded why I didn't want to have a yard sale. I'm content with donating the stuff we might have sold at such an event. 

The house has been difficult and we've thrown a lot of money at it in the past month, but considering how little we spent on home maintenance, repairs, and improvements over the past 25 years, I can't complain, much. The insultation from the attic has been removed (it will be replaced), mold has been treated, and ceilings have been repaired and repainted. The damage that Woody had done to our outside a/c unit piping and conduits was repaired yesterday. A plumber fixed a leaking toilet. The vines have been removed from the house. I managed to kill yet another mower and will be happy if I never own another one. In fact, at this point I am thinking that I should be a renter for the rest of my life. 

Clay and I have both been stressed and are not getting a lot of sleep. There are things that won't get done but everything that's truly essential will. Bailey's health certificate arrived via FedEx today. Come hell or high water we are out of here on Thursday. 

We said goodbye to beautiful Bridget and her parents on Monday evening.

The dumpster is approaching full capacity. 

We had a farewell dinner with Duvel's family on Tuesday evening.

Chester, also a former foster, is Duvel's big brother.

Our flamingos didn't fly too far away and have settled in nicely in new gardens.

Good citizenship

We are in the final countdown to our departure. It's less than a week away. Progress is happening, much has been done, although it seems that much still remains. We had dinner with some friends the other night and the fact that we are leaving really began to hit me. I've been too busy to really think about it much up till now. I was hoping that we'd have everything finished a week ahead of time so we could take the last week to just relax, reflect, and do some things that we really enjoy. But maybe being busy is better. 

One thing that I've wanted to accomplish is getting Bailey to pass the Canine Good Citizen test. It's not required by any means and it's just a certificate from the AKC that probably doesn't mean squat in Europe anyway, but I thought it might be something good to have, perhaps to make landlords feel more inclined to rent to us. Erika is certified to administer the test and we did so yesterday evening. As you can see from the smiles and blue ribbon, she passed and I was very proud of her.

Thank you to Kim who was there and helped with the stranger greeting part of the test.

And thank you to Kevin for helping out as well. Sorry I cut his head off, but mine looked bad.

Bailey got some quality time with Kevin afterwards.

Not eating the children should count as extra credit, right?

Vet check

Moving a dog internationally is tricky. There are rules and regulations as one might expect, both from the destination country and the airline that is getting us there. There's no quarantine like there used to be, but what is required is a vet check within 10 days of travel. We had that today and it went very well. Bailey can be nervous around strangers but she took treats from both the vet and the vet tech and ended up giving them kisses. She was up to date on everything already so it all went smoothly. She weighed in at just under 70 pounds, or rather 31.75 kg. 

The vet check is just the beginning of the requirements, however. The vet must be one that is approved by the US Department of Agriculture. Dr. Ashley Rethemeyer at the Animal Wellness Center in Crozet is that vet. I knew her because she often helps out with Green Dogs fosters and in fact she had given Bailey her first rabies vaccination. We saw her in her office earlier this spring to get Bailey current on everything so today's visit was mostly about paperwork. She submitted the necessary information to USDA today. Now it's up to them to issue the necessary health certificate and get it back to us in time for our flight on the 31st. Depending on this government for anything right now is more than a bit worrisome, but apparently they've been getting things out on time.

I've got a crate that Bailey is comfortable in, although I still need to get some bolts and wingnuts to secure it. Temperature is also a concern and it's a big reason that we've scheduled an overnight flight that doesn't leave until 9:30 p.m. Air France won't fly animals if the temperature is over 85 degrees and right now, at least, the forecast for next week looks favorable. 

We have an air tag on Bailey's collar now and I don't think I'll be able to relax until we're able to confirm that she's on board the flight with us next week. Even then I'll probably be a wreck until we actually pick her up after the flight to Paris. We're having a driver take us from there to Lille instead of taking the train mostly so we don't have to put her through a train ride after a long flight. 

There's many moving parts to making this all work. Clay's exhaustive research and Dr. Rethemeyer's experience will hopefully make it all come together to get us there.