Into the Mystic

 We are smack in the middle of August which is the month that most of England seems to take off for holiday. Because of this I'm not hearing back from a majority of the emails I have sent out regarding teaching positions. As I stated earlier in my last blog post, I am researching areas of London through sites like rightmove.com in order to sample neighborhoods in all areas of London (since I don't know where I will end up teaching). I have found many places that look promising but it all seems like a bit of putting the cart before the horse. There is no point in falling in love with one part of London (I'm looking at you, Camden and St John's Wood!) if I end up getting a job that would require long daily commutes.

One big decision that I can make now concerns my precious dog, Keeva Pearl. Yes, she has two names (shut up!). I spent so much time contemplating what name I would give my beautiful puppy. Choosing a female French Bulldog was not in the plan. I have mostly had male dogs and had my heart set on getting another but Fate intervened.  If I ended up getting a male puppy, I had loads of names lined up and ready to roll depending on the personality of the pup. Louie (named for Lou Pinella) was my favorite name because I previously had a Stewie and the litter I was choosing from had a little boy who was identical to what my Boston looked like. But that puppy was claimed before it was time for me to choose, and all that were left were girls. Keeva called out to me with her sweet expression and her pied features. Now what? I wanted to name my dog after a New York Yankee player or manager (Mo was a front runner not only because it had as androgynous feel to it but because the GOAT  relief pitcher was Mariano Rivera aka Mo) and tried so hard to find a female moniker that would work. Again, Louie could have worked because I have a beloved female cousin who has that nickname but I knew that people would assume my gorgeous gal was a male which bothered me for some crazy reason. In the end I decided to search Italian and Irish names for girls because these two languages have such regal and elegant sounding female names. I stumbled on Keeva which means "gentle, beautiful, precious" which really suits her. Pearl is a quirky name that I've always liked and had set aside in case I ever had a daughter (at age 55 I realized this was highly unlikely). When I put the two together, I knew I had stumbled upon her name. What's even better is that I managed to create a Yankee related nickname for her: Kiki ("Kee" being the second syllable sound for Yankee). Kiki came home in April, 2022 and has ruled my life ever since.

Now that I am in the middle of this huge life change, I have to think about how it will affect her. Just because she is happy with her life with me here in Albany, I have to ask myself if she will be happy in London?  I realize she is not a real child (no matter how I treat her like one at times), and dogs can live quite happily in any old city. But I'm planning on living a very different kind of life in London. Now, I'm a homebody who is enjoying puttering away in my apartment and curling up in my huge recliner to read or watch Youtube videos. But my intention when I'm in London is to spend any free time I have exploring the UK, Ireland, and Europe because of the cheap flights and easy access to transportation. I did some research and found out that dogs are allowed on some transport if I decide to take her with me and that dog sitters are as prevalent in London as they are here in the States if I want to travel alone. This makes me feel a little better about taking her with me. I still wonder if keeping her is more selfish than rehoming her? I mean, I can't imagine living without her but is this move going to be as good for her as it will be for me? 

For now, I'm not going to answer that question. However, I have started to research HOW I could get her to the UK. You see, most airlines flying to the UK don't allow dogs in the cabin which means she would fly as cargo. This would be troubling but doable if it wasn't for the fact that she has Brachycephalic issues (because of the shape of her muzzle she could have trouble breathing especially if she becomes overheated). Pugs, Frenchies, and other smooshed in faced dogs are actually banned on flying as cargo because of this. While I appreciate the airlines' concern for the health of my dog, it does make the alternatives quite expensive (which is nothing new when you're dealing with ANYTHING to do with a Frenchie). Believe it or not, there is a Facebook group which deals with traveling to the UK with your dogs so I joined and asked about how to bring Keeva with me. One suggestion I received was to get onto a chartered flight that specializes in flying people with their pets in the cabin. This would be an ideal situation since Keeva hasn't been in a crate for quite a while although she did sleep in one for her first 2 years. The only catch is the cost which so far seems to range from $8-10K, over twice the amount it would cost me to fly first class. It makes me very nervous to have to save that much plus all the money I have to save to get a flat with all the associated coats (i.e. council tax, deposit, and in some cases up to 6 months of rent). So as appealing as this option sounded, I quickly had to rule it out. 

This has had me feeling very disheartened recently because I would hate to have to rehome Keeva simply because of financial concerns. But good old Facebook came to the rescue. Last night I received a message about an option that I hadn't considered: why not sail to the UK on the Queen Anne or Queen Elizabeth? Apparently, dogs are more than welcome although they sleep in a separate section of the ship. They actually have what sounds like a doggy daycare on board where there are certain hours where you can take your dog with you to explore the ship. This sounds ideal to me! I have read rave reviews about how the dogs are treated, and the trip takes about 7 days. When I looked into the price, it seems to be about $3-4K which is much more doable. I'm still researching this option, but it has given me hope about bringing Keeva with me. I've never been a fan of flying so this sounds like a great way to start off my retirement either way! 

So getting her to the UK sounds more reasonable now. Of course, there is paperwork and shots and other requirements which I will have to attend to once I'm closer to leaving. The next obstacle I have to consider is how open are London landlords to pets? From my time on rightmove.com, it seems like many are quite open. I even have heard that dogs are welcome to more places like cafes and markets in London than over here. So it seems like the odds are looking in favor of being able to keep my Kiki girl with me. Van Morrison has always had a special place in my heart, and one of his songs seems to really resonate as I contemplate an ocean voyage to the UK. 

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic

Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic

And when that foghorn blows
I will be coming home, mmhmm hmm
And when the foghorn blows
I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will float
Into the mystic, mmm.

Yes my friends, life feels very good today.