Australia or Bust for Wilson the Mini Aussie
Donation protected
THE ADVENTURES OF WILSON THE MINI AUSSIE (& HIS HUMANS)
Hi! My name is Wilson, and I’m an Australian Shepherd who has been living in Europe for the last few years with my pawrents, Jason and Marion. When I first came to live with my new pawrents, I was so scared. But they were really kind, and loved me so much, and soon I was part of the pack, and it was great! The three of us did everything together, and I made friends all over the place.
We lived in Berlin, Germany and in Dijon, France (my puppymama’s hometown). We went on lots of walks, played fetch and tug, and I learned how to do lots of cool tricks! We went on trips to forests and played in snowstorms. I chewed sticks and chased squirrels. I even started my own instagram (@wilsontheminiaussie ), so my friends could keep up with all our adventures!
Not long ago though, we had a big change. I thought my puppymama was just getting more round and fun, like some kind of ball, but it turns out she had a big surprise in her tummy for me: a little human brother of my very own, Noah.
Noah is so cute! Almost as cute as me, in fact. We both love to sleep, so we do a lot of that together, and we go for walks together, and I show him my best tricks while he lies in his stroller. He doesn’t have fur like me (well, not much), so he needs to stay tucked up and warm until he is bigger. My puppypapa says Noah will be able to play with me when he is older, and I can’t wait. I’m going to be the best big brother around.
NOAH (AND THE NEED FOR AN ARK)
So, my little brother is great (I think I said that already), but it turns out he is very expensive. My puppymama is really clever and speaks German, French and English. But my puppypapa is Australian, and doesn’t speak French, and it turns out that makes it really hard for us to afford to stay here in France. My pawrents have been worrying about it a lot, and talking about it a lot, and decided the best thing for us all is to move to Australia where they can both work. And, after all, Australia is where I’m from too—being an Australian Shepherd and all!
So, more adventures are about to start! We’ve been saving as much as we can, and selling what we can, and getting ready for the big move. Some kind family members have even been putting aside money to help us with our move there. Everything seems to be falling into place…
"Great!" I hear you say. "So what’s the problem?"
WHAT WILL BECOME OF WILSON?
Well... The problem is me.
With plans for our move well underway, my pawrents phoned up to find out how I can fly, because for some reason I’m not allowed to sit with them. And what they found out has left them so shocked and desperate. And it’s made me scared! Because not only is the process very difficult, the cost for me to go with my family is extremely high. My pawrents have phoned lots of companies to compare prices, but they are all high. So high that they might as well be a million dollars, they are so out of our reach.
Here’s just some of the items listed in the cheapest quote we received:
- Flight preparation fees: €490
- Flight France to Australia: €2520 (yes, you read that right!)
- Approved crate to fly in: €288
Then, when I land in Australia, there are more costs:
- Import permit: $480 AUD
- Mandatory 10-day quarantine: $1581 AUD
- Airline recovery charges: $232 AUD
Let me say it again: this is the cheapest option we have found! Others are much, much more expensive. And as if that weren’t enough, during the six months leading up to the trip, I also need to go to the vet multiple times to get tested and certified for various things. Just last week, for example, I had to get a blood test that cost 250 euros!
The total amount for me moving with them will be, at the very least, about €5,400 / $8,500 AUD. For those of you in the US, that’s roughly $6,000 USD!
So, basically, my pawrents can’t afford not to go to Australia, but they also can’t afford to take me with them. And none of us, as I’m sure you can imagine, can stand the thought of our family being separated.
What on earth are we meant to do?
THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN, PUPPYPALS!
We wondered: what if we asked all my friends for a little bit of help? All the people with furfamily of their own who understand the terrible decision my pawrents have to make? We have shared so many of our adventures with you guys, and feel like we have some true friends among you. We know it’s a lot to ask, but we have also seen, in the past, that there is great generosity in the online furbaby community. We said to ourselves: "If even a quarter of our Instagram followers gave just 1 euro each, we’d easily be able to afford to stay together!" So it seems worth a try!
We also know that it sounds like a problem we should really be able to solve by ourselves, and we agree. We really wouldn’t ask if it weren’t our last resort. I don’t want to be left here in France, all on my own, with the only family I’ve ever known on the other side of the world. I don’t want a new family, I want this one! It just doesn’t seem right or fair that we can’t stay together. I hope you’ll agree and consider donating a few dollars to help me get home to Australia too.
And if you can’t afford to send a few bucks, you can still help by sharing my story with some of your friends—I’d appreciate that too.
Thanks for reading my story. My humans and I sincerely appreciate your time and hope for your sympathy and help.
Yours in ruff times,
Wilson the Mini Aussie
=====================
For those of you who are curious, you can read more about the very difficult and costly process of importing a pet to Australia here .
.
You can also read an article about it in the newspaper here .
Hi! My name is Wilson, and I’m an Australian Shepherd who has been living in Europe for the last few years with my pawrents, Jason and Marion. When I first came to live with my new pawrents, I was so scared. But they were really kind, and loved me so much, and soon I was part of the pack, and it was great! The three of us did everything together, and I made friends all over the place.
We lived in Berlin, Germany and in Dijon, France (my puppymama’s hometown). We went on lots of walks, played fetch and tug, and I learned how to do lots of cool tricks! We went on trips to forests and played in snowstorms. I chewed sticks and chased squirrels. I even started my own instagram (@wilsontheminiaussie ), so my friends could keep up with all our adventures!
Not long ago though, we had a big change. I thought my puppymama was just getting more round and fun, like some kind of ball, but it turns out she had a big surprise in her tummy for me: a little human brother of my very own, Noah.
Noah is so cute! Almost as cute as me, in fact. We both love to sleep, so we do a lot of that together, and we go for walks together, and I show him my best tricks while he lies in his stroller. He doesn’t have fur like me (well, not much), so he needs to stay tucked up and warm until he is bigger. My puppypapa says Noah will be able to play with me when he is older, and I can’t wait. I’m going to be the best big brother around.
NOAH (AND THE NEED FOR AN ARK)
So, my little brother is great (I think I said that already), but it turns out he is very expensive. My puppymama is really clever and speaks German, French and English. But my puppypapa is Australian, and doesn’t speak French, and it turns out that makes it really hard for us to afford to stay here in France. My pawrents have been worrying about it a lot, and talking about it a lot, and decided the best thing for us all is to move to Australia where they can both work. And, after all, Australia is where I’m from too—being an Australian Shepherd and all!
So, more adventures are about to start! We’ve been saving as much as we can, and selling what we can, and getting ready for the big move. Some kind family members have even been putting aside money to help us with our move there. Everything seems to be falling into place…
"Great!" I hear you say. "So what’s the problem?"
WHAT WILL BECOME OF WILSON?
Well... The problem is me.
With plans for our move well underway, my pawrents phoned up to find out how I can fly, because for some reason I’m not allowed to sit with them. And what they found out has left them so shocked and desperate. And it’s made me scared! Because not only is the process very difficult, the cost for me to go with my family is extremely high. My pawrents have phoned lots of companies to compare prices, but they are all high. So high that they might as well be a million dollars, they are so out of our reach.
Here’s just some of the items listed in the cheapest quote we received:
- Flight preparation fees: €490
- Flight France to Australia: €2520 (yes, you read that right!)
- Approved crate to fly in: €288
Then, when I land in Australia, there are more costs:
- Import permit: $480 AUD
- Mandatory 10-day quarantine: $1581 AUD
- Airline recovery charges: $232 AUD
Let me say it again: this is the cheapest option we have found! Others are much, much more expensive. And as if that weren’t enough, during the six months leading up to the trip, I also need to go to the vet multiple times to get tested and certified for various things. Just last week, for example, I had to get a blood test that cost 250 euros!
The total amount for me moving with them will be, at the very least, about €5,400 / $8,500 AUD. For those of you in the US, that’s roughly $6,000 USD!
So, basically, my pawrents can’t afford not to go to Australia, but they also can’t afford to take me with them. And none of us, as I’m sure you can imagine, can stand the thought of our family being separated.
What on earth are we meant to do?
THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN, PUPPYPALS!
We wondered: what if we asked all my friends for a little bit of help? All the people with furfamily of their own who understand the terrible decision my pawrents have to make? We have shared so many of our adventures with you guys, and feel like we have some true friends among you. We know it’s a lot to ask, but we have also seen, in the past, that there is great generosity in the online furbaby community. We said to ourselves: "If even a quarter of our Instagram followers gave just 1 euro each, we’d easily be able to afford to stay together!" So it seems worth a try!
We also know that it sounds like a problem we should really be able to solve by ourselves, and we agree. We really wouldn’t ask if it weren’t our last resort. I don’t want to be left here in France, all on my own, with the only family I’ve ever known on the other side of the world. I don’t want a new family, I want this one! It just doesn’t seem right or fair that we can’t stay together. I hope you’ll agree and consider donating a few dollars to help me get home to Australia too.
And if you can’t afford to send a few bucks, you can still help by sharing my story with some of your friends—I’d appreciate that too.
Thanks for reading my story. My humans and I sincerely appreciate your time and hope for your sympathy and help.
Yours in ruff times,
Wilson the Mini Aussie
=====================
For those of you who are curious, you can read more about the very difficult and costly process of importing a pet to Australia here .
.
You can also read an article about it in the newspaper here .
Organizer
Marion Childs
Organizer
Dijon
