Florence the TRNC street dog returns to

TRNC  and brings her friends !

By Kim Betts…….
KAR Pet Travel…….

Staff and customs officials, at Ercan, have very quickly become used to dealing with the pets that KAR Pet Travel import or export. Recently however the arriving pets caused a bit of a stir.

I was there to meet, and clear, a family coming in from Dubai with their pets. As we sat, in the customs office, beginning the arrival paperwork (to speed things up once the pets arrived) the customs official suddenly looked up and questioned “ Kim – is this right — 4 all on the same flight with the owners?” Yes indeed it was. The family were bringing in 4 pets – 1 dog (Florence who originated from TRNC), 2 cats ( Kosh-ka and Mau Mau) and 1 bird (Bobbie – their 18 year old parrot).

The flight landed and the cats (who had travelled in the cabin) came into the arrivals hall with their owner whilst I took off to collect Bobbie and Florence. Apart from the usual noise of the human travelers in the arrivals hall Ercan suddenly resounded to barks, and squawks and cries of happiness as Florence and Bobbie were reunited, outside the customs office, with the rest of their family.

It soon became obvious that the pets were causing quite a stir amongst everyone in the arrivals hall – I doubt there are many travelers passing through Ercan (or even in the TRNC) who have had the opportunity to see at close quarters an Egyptian Sphinx (a hairless cat), a Mau (Arabian  cat), an African Grey parrot and a Cyprudoodle all together in the same place. As you can imagine the questions were coming thick and fast and keen eager eyes were wanting to get closer and closer. The family answered and explained about their pets and what we are all doing there, whilst myself, the Government vet and customs officials went through all of the papers and carried out the entry checks.  The other arriving passengers, that night, must have thought that Ercan was the most surreal airport! Once all of the paperwork had been completed the family and their pets were free to leave the airport and to go home (with the pets under home quarantine) to relax from their long and tiring day.

Just as I was leaving the customs official looked at me and laughingly said “What next time Kim – an elephant “ — “ No Mehmet “ I replied “That isn’t possible as Turkish Airlines don’t send their jumbo jets into Ercan”.

Below are a few words from this lovely family about their pets and a few photos.

Florence – Cyprus poodle (Cyprudoodle)

My husband found Florence in Kyrenia under a car in Lemar car park in 2004.  He went out for a pint of milk and came back with a ball of fluff.  The vet said that she was only a couple of months old at the time. Florence moved with us to Dubai and has been with us for the past 11 years.  She is super intelligent, has a great character and still plays like a puppy.  She is not that sociable around other dogs.   We cannot wait to show her where we found her all those years ago and we feel that we are now bringing her back home.

Kosh-Ka – Sphinx cat

Kosh-ka came from St Petersburg, Russia, hence her name (Russian for cat) and we have had her since a tiny kitten in 2003.  She is like warm velvet to touch and has the most gentle nature, never once intentionally scratching. She is very vocal and has always been indifferent with our dog Florence.  Having no fur she loves to sleep under covers to keep warm.

Mau Mau – Arabian Mau cat

We found this Arabian Mau cat in a Dubai underground car park (there must be something about car parks!).  She was just a kitten but bold as brass.  We thought she was lost as she was not a feral cat and had obviously been well looked after so we tried to find her owner, without success. We came to the conclusion that she had been abandoned and tried to find her a good home but the longer we kept her we could not let her go.  That was 3 years ago and Mau Mau is now part of our family.  She is quite timid with strangers and as with all Mau cats attach themselves to just one person which just happens to be my husband.

Bobbie – African Grey

We bought Bobbie from a UK pet shop in 1998 when she was 7 months old.  She has always been a good talker and now has a vocabulary of around 120 words.  She was sexed through a blood test so we know that she is female and is more attached to my husband, being the only male in the house.  She is the noisiest and messiest of the 4 pets.  For the past 17 years, Bob has travelled to Cyprus, Dubai and now to TRNC.  She has been the most difficult to arrange the paperwork for especially as TRNC is not part of Cites (the tracking system in place for birds) so this must be her final resting place.