I've emigrated with 2 dogs and a cat, and it was never considered leaving them behind, we did rent when we first got here, and it was very hard to find somewhere that would take Mack, but we nade it work, and if it hadn't then we would not of come,it's that simple for me. My dogs are part of me family, and I'd never leave them behind, anymore than my kids.

It is very expensive, and we did move fairly quickly, but because the UK is rabies free,it's a lot easier moving them out of the country than getting them back in

We turned down a job of a lifetime in Oz a few years ago, as we had an elderly dog at the time, who could not of travelled for that long , so it was a no brainer, we didn't move as we would not of left her behind.

It is stressful to a point for the dogs, but a lot less stressful for them than up and leaving them for a new life somewhere else. It's something I would never do, and can't understand anybody that does it.

Some friends of ours have just emigrated to South Africa and taken their Lurcher and Yorkie with them.
It broke my heart, the thought of those poor dogs on a plane all that time. Can you tell I hate flying and flatly refuse to fly anywhere anymore
I begged them to leave the dogs with me. (How selfish can I be) Of course they wouldn't.
They all arrived safely and have settled well.

We get a lot of Akitas through rescue who have been handed over because "their owners are emigrating" - one girl recently who was 11 years old . BUT as Claire said, too many are saying this, about 25% of people so I believe some of them are lying too.

We're considering emigrating to Canada, no qualms about flying both our dogs - I believe they have the temperament to cope well, and would pay for the best flight for them, but then Zeke got ill with Cancer, so the emigration plan was immediately forgot/postponed. Unless it's life or death situation I would never leave my dogs, or risk flying with them if they weren't up to it, they're my babies!

I agree it's just a way people can dump their dogs

we lived in Spain for several years and took our dog with us and brought him back. then it was a 6 months in quarantine, bless him, but i couldn't have just left or rehomed him.

Some friend's of my late father emigrated first to New Zealand & then to Australia & they had a 5 year old Labrador Retriever. They took him with them & way back then it cost a lot more than it does now for some reason.

They took him with them to Australia as well & he had a total 10 years out there with them.

They would not have gone if they couldn't have taken him with them

I couldn't emigrate and leave my dogs (they are my life now my boys have grown up and left home) and, to be honest, my job is just something I do so I can afford to do stuff with my dogs!

My brother and sister-in-law emigrated to Atlanta, taking a dog and a cat with them. It wasn't the animals who were stressed, it was my sister-in-law (my brother was already out there) but the cabin crew took pity on her and upgraded her to first class!

Needless to say, the dog and cat were fine and travelled back with them two years later, plus another dog they had rescued!

When I moved from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia I did not consider taking my dog with me as the lifestyle would not have suited THIS dog.

It is very easy to condemn people without considering all the facts.

Whilst it is true that some people lie, other people are relocated to countries where pet ownership can be problematic and very expensive to arrange.

So perhaps before jumping to conclusions it would be generous to consider that perhaps for some, taking dogs with them is impractical (for the dogs) and/or too expensive for the owners.

Just a thought!

Thankyou for your replies. I wasn't meaning to condemn anyone or jump to conclusions.

Good point by C&D!

I was watching a programme where someone took two Labs (brothers) into rescue coz they were diggers was so sad, they were only a year old and were due to be PTS... they only had 24 hours left but thankfully they were rescued by a woman and found homes... sadly one died during treatment for heartworm but was heartbreaking to think that they were so close to being PTS for digging!

Anyway, i couldnt emigrate if i couldnt take my dog!

We moved our dog from Hertfordshire to USA when I was younger, the move wasn't so bad, but when it came to comming home we didn't want to put the dog back through all of the travelling and stress, and we made the decision to re-home to a close friend of the family who had huskies- no shortage of walks there

It is a shame that people can't always take their dogs, and some people lie about their situation, but I guess that is life and I hope the dog(s) find their forever home.