Des's Journey to America

An unexpected kitty adoption in Saudi led to hard choices. Moving him home was very costly. A friend of mine suggested I swallow my pride and initiate a gofundme .

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When I moved to Saudi Arabia it was with the intentions of saving money not adopting a cat. Student loans and other irresponsible debt lead me to the desert...


THE STORY
This all changed when I saw Des.

I first saw him stuck under a palace gate on my walk to the gym.  Every day for a week, I watched him, and he seemed to be quite alone and quite malnourished. No mama cat or stray siblings, he was stranded.

I, for some absolute financially irresponsible display of empathy (morality/softness/thinking-he-looked-like a-Lannister-cat-that-would-pay-his-debts-in-snuggles), decided I couldn't leave him to be like so many other strays in the Kingdom, to die in the sand.



I took him to the only vet in the city and got him checked out to see he was ok. A little hungry, with ribs showing, but otherwise fine. The vet could not take him or find a home for him, and thus our cohabitation began.

I got him all his vaccinations, got him neutered (sorry Des) and hid him from my landlord/boss for 8 months while we kicked it in the desert.



Eventually, I knew my time in the desert was coming to an end, and I knew I couldn't leave him. In most other countries there are shelters or people who will welcome the cat into their home with open arms. In Saudi this is not the case, pets are frowned upon for the most part in this culture. They are left outside and fed scraps and forgotten if they disappear for a few days.

THE MOVE HOME

My family agreed to take Des as I was not going back to the States. I started looking at airline cargo departments to ship him unaccompanied but the quotes were in the thousands of dollars.

Eventually, after being shipped between defunct e-mails and full voicemails I was recommended to some pet friendly facebook groups. These groups helped me find a flight buddy who was already flying to the States that would assist in getting Des to out of Saudi.. for a fee.

Long story short I did get to use the flight buddy to get Des home. Cheeky Des decided to get out of his cage on the plane and Lufthansa's Animal Care Center in Frankfurt Airport refused to watch Des during the layover (as they agreed to over the phone multiple times)...

So my flight buddy demanded more money from me which ultimately put me over the edge of what already seemed to be pushing the boundaries of an irresponsible expenditure.

But we do what we have to for our furry friends.



THE COSTS


Flight Buddy expenses - $660
(agreed to pay any costs over $700 for her flight which came to $173.23, plus a $200 fee, plus another $200 when things got tough during the layover and she demanded more money plus $87 to fly her from Riyadh to Dammam with baggage fees)

Lufthansa Cabin fee for first flight - $101.75

Lufthansa Cargo Fee for second flight - $214.80

Soft crate for cabin transport - $25
Hard crate for cargo transport - $28
Round trip transport to airport - $53
(I live 2 hours away in the desert)
Vet Health Check & Microchip - $50

Vaccinations & Neutering - $200







HOW YOU CAN HELP


I've never been one who thought I would make a gofundme. I get it's a sob story and woe-is-me blah blah help me. I was telling my friend Curtis how difficult the whole process was and he asked how much it was. Offended, I told him not to worry about it. 

He said he wanted to know because he wanted to help.

It didn't occur to me to ask for help. I was so focused on getting him home I didn't think to ask.

I know it is strange to raise funds for something that has been completed but it really put me in a tight spot.

If you are reading this, you know me and have probably been graced with a cute-as-**** photo or video of Des.

I wouldn't ask if I didn't need the help. And you can hold it over my head next time we're together and I will shamelessly tell you I am still accepting donations.

At the end of the day, I love this little Desert Cat and this was the only way.


***Anything that you can donate would be helpful, $10 or $5, hell even $1  would help make a dent in these expenses. ***

Des and I thank you in advance. Paw-ease help the Paw-ty.