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Shweta Kher and her family moved from Dubai to Singapore a few months ago. Their move was at short notice and they went through a few tense months while their dog Jesse, adopted in Dubai, made her way over to join the family. We had a chat with Shweta after the family were all reunited in Singapore.

LD: Now that your family is finally reunited, how has Jesse settled down in Singapore?

SK: Jesse has fortunately taken the move pretty well. We didn’t face any issues like what we had read or heard about. She bounced back into action like as if nothing had happened, for which I’m super grateful. That the past is behind us now and she is with us all full of life and energy. 

LD: Jesse is a Dubai rescue, right? How did you end up adopting her and can you share a bit about her background?

SK: Yes, Jesse is a rescue. She was left in the desert by some inhumane person without food or water. She was fortunately rescued by a rescue centre and put up for adoption. 

Jesse is a mix of a desert dog (Saluki) and a Dalmatian. She was all of 8-9 months old when we adopted her. She was scared of everything initially - sounds, people, dogs. She was trembling the entire way we got her from the vet (where she was kept) until reached our house. It was painful to see her like this and imagine what she must have gone through. She was all bones.

LD: Is this your first time relocating to another country with a pet? If not, where have you moved from/to before?

SK: It is our first time being a paw parent and very first time relocating with a pet. 

LD: Your move was with short notice and Jesse followed later. How much time did you have to plan or rather need to plan when making a move to Singapore from Dubai? How did you go about planning and preparing for that?

SK: True, our move was very sudden. By the time we started searching for a Quarantine space for Jess, we were getting dates that were 6-7 months away. We hired a pet relocation company at both ends to make it seamless and so that we didn’t have any hiccups later. Overall planning took about 3-4 weeks with us visiting a few relocation companies to see how they operated and with whom we and Jesse felt more comfortable with.  

There were tests that needed to be done before Jesse travelled, her shots, vet visits, all had to done and executed before we moved. We had to leave Jesse behind with our pet sitter for 3.5 months as we couldn’t get an earlier date for quarantine. But my husband made frequent trips back to Dubai to check on her and work with the relocators to make sure everything regarding her move was going well. 

LD: What was the process and formalities you and your pet relocator needed to follow to move her to Singapore? Please share if you have any process timeline and tips.

SK: The process is not very complicated actually. Firstly book a quarantine space well in advance especially if it’s a scheduled move. Rabies titter test needs to be done, once that is cleared, the other paperwork the relocation company helped in preparing. 

We had to hand over Jesse’s passport, her Titter test report and her sterilisation certificate. 

LD: Which airline did you fly Jesse on?

SK:  Jesse flew Emirates. Initially the relocator was supposed to put her as cargo and send her over, but towards the end we decided to bring her in as excess baggage with us. So we flew together but she couldn’t be in the cabin with us. 

LD: Coming from Dubai Jesse had to go in quarantine in Singapore, how long was this for and were you allowed to visit her? 

SK: Yes, she was straight sent over to the AQC (Animal Quarantine Center). Her quarantine was a month long from 7th Nov to 7th Dec, which I feel is too long. Only saving grace was we were allowed to visit her for two hours Monday to Friday and three hours on Saturdays. We visited her daily. 

LD: What differences do you find living with a dog in Dubai in comparison to Singapore? 

SK: Not much of a difference really. Only that Jesse doesn’t like the rain here.

LD: Would you be OK to share the cost of Jesse’s move with others who may be considering a similar move.  Did you have to use a pet relocator coming from Dubai to Singapore or could you have also done this on your own?

SK: I’m not too sure about the costs but I think it was around AED7-8K for the Dubai relocator and about SGD$3,500 for Singapore relocator. We used Dubai Kennel & Catery (DKC) and for Singapore we used Ricted Kennel.

I think it can be done easily on our own without having to hire a relocator but we were doing this for the first time and didn’t want any hassles and wanted it to be seamless thus a relocator was a perfect choice. 

LD: For any family looking to move to Dubai with their dog, what's your tips - in terms of dog-friendly places, ways to handle change in weather?

SK: Dubai is a very welcoming place. There are now a lot of dog friendly beaches and a lot of restaurants that have outdoor seating in a lot of areas like The Palm welcome pets. 

Some of the dog-friendly beaches are Diera Islands, Palm beach and Dubai island and dog-friendly cafes are Jones the Grocer, Pal, Home Bakery, Hessa, Tyler's Tavern, Stomping Ground and Reform.

There is also a Dogs in Dubai facebook page that's very helpful!

Give your pet and yourselves sometime to adjust and adapt to the new environment and I’m sure everything will fall into place. 

LD: We consider pets as part of our family.  But sometimes when people relocate, they abandon their pets, get worried or realise the cost may be too much and leave their pet behind.  What’s the one thing you’d like to say to such people so that they would reconsider?

SK: It breaks my heart to see how easily we humans give up on our pets for various silly excuses, you don’t give up on your kids then why give up on your pet. If you are committed to the responsibility of a pet please take it on till the end, no matter what. 

Thank you, Shweta and family for giving Jesse a loving home and allowing this desert dog to join you on an adventure through tropical Singapore!

For more insights on moving with your pets, check out our other blogs:

We hope these stories help keep more furry family members together so no one is left behind. You can read more in the series here:

SERIES ONE: MOVING BETWEEN SINGAPORE & THE UK

SERIES TWO: MOVING BETWEEN THE USA & SINGAPORE

SERIES THREE: MOVING BETWEEN AUSTRALIA & SINGAPORE

SERIES FOUR: MOVING BETWEEN SINGAPORE & GERMANY

SERIES FIVE: MOVING TO SOUTH KOREA FROM SINGAPORE

SERIES SIX: MOVING TO PORTUGAL FROM SINGAPORE

SERIES SEVEN: MOVING TO THE UK FROM HONG KONG

SERIES EIGHT: MOVING TO NEW ZEALAND FROM SINGAPORE

SERIES NINE: MOVING BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND SCOTLAND

SERIES TEN: MOVING FROM DUBAI TO SINGPORE

Help us keep families together! If you have a moving story you would like to share please email us at: customerservice@loyald.com