Reuniting Family Across the Pond

In 2004 I organized a rescue of a pregnant kitten that I saw in the alley near my home in Toronto. She had a litter of four and Bunny was one of them. The day they were born it was 43 C outside and they would not have survived. I took her in after the foster released the kittens at 6 weeks and she was welcomed by my two other cats now deceased (after very long lives with me since they were each a few weeks old). My home is always a forever home.  When I had Bunny spayed there were complcations and she almost didn't make it but thankfully we lived next door to the animal hospital and she was operated on right away. She's a survivor.

My own story is that I am an artist, returning to the UK where I was born 51 years ago. I have tried a few times to return but I found the rabies quarantine a situation that I was not willing to put my cats through. Now that has lifted for Canada and I can return with Bunny (as my beloved 20 year old cat Samantha has just passed away). I have scraped together the money to get us there and waded through piles of paperwork and vet visits to satisfy both countires. However, now I discover that the transport and processing cost due to mandatory Cargo travel required to import her into the UK, and various fees all related to the rabies-free initiative in the UK is beyond my current means. This discovery has come a bit late due to misinformation and ommission of information etc but that is too long of a story to explain. I have transported my cats back and forth to Europe four times and each time it was about $250 for baggage compartment, which of course is not an option for the UK. Due to heat restrictions, which I can certainly repsect, she cannot go until after mid-September and I must depart earlier so she will be with my mom for a few weeks.

My mom is 85 and already went graciously above and beyond the call of duty with another cat of mine for which I can never repay her. But Bunny is too much for her, too large, too high maintenance and too much stress in general for her to be expected to live with for more than that brief period. It will take a lot longer for me to establish myself there and recover financially from the move so that I can bring Bunny over. 

I have posted the estimate from Air Canada Cargo and although I think they purposely over estimated the weight to cover themselves (it is calculated by weight and size of crate and Bunny is one big cat!), that portion will still be in the $400 dollar range but she now needs a new carrier to exact specs and I  need to pay someone to drive her from London Ontario to Air Canada Cargo in Toronto, and then taxi her from Heathrow with me on her arrival.

With your help, I can bring her to her new home with me in London, England. I would love to be able to do that by September 25th which is not only my birthday but is the same date I brought her into my life as a young kitten 10 years ago in Toronto.

Any amount is appreciated. We both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for keeping us together.

Much love,

Wendy and Bunny