Earlier this week when I went to visit Brady at quarantine I was told that I couldn't take him out to play because one of the labs had done the paperwork incorrectly. They also informed me that he should have never been allowed in the yard last week (because of the lab error), their mistake. It was really disappointing because it was a beautiful day and Sean had met me at Spotswood (quarantine facility) during his lunch break to throw the ball around. I ended up sitting with Brady for a bit in his kennel before leaving, it was a sad goodbye for both of us. I could tell the poor thing needed to get outside and run around (it had been almost a week) and I could hear him barking halfway down the road back to the train. IT SUCKED.
I followed up with the lab and was happy to get the news this morning that all was clear and I could come and take Brady out to play today (Thursday). When I went into the kennel to get Brady he was very happy to see me and I could tell he couldn't wait to get outside. It was another gorgeous day and Sean surprised us by meeting us in the play yard. Brady was soo excited he was jumping all around and wiggling his butt (the happy dance). It was a great afternoon and when I put Brady into his kennel I said "Go to your house" (like we do at home) and he was fine (after a few treats of course).
On my way out I saw one of the workers (Kate) and mentioned to her that Brady was eating a ton of grass outside. I wasn't alarmed because he did that at home but I figured I'd let her know. She reassured me that it was normal since they were in the concrete kennel all day (thank god he only had 23 days left of this) and we began walking to the office together so I could sign out. I asked her about discharges, specifically if there was a time that they were done. What I really wanted to know was if I could pick up Brady as early as possible on June 13th, his last day in quarantine. She told me that I could pick him up as early as 8am on the day of and let's double check his discharge date (I couldn't remember if it was the 12th or 13th).
We walked through the doors and asked one of the administrative workers (Jenna) to look up Brady's discharge date, she typed into her computer, looked up and said "Brady, ah, here it is, July 7th".
What? That wasn't right, I knew it was 30 days from his start date and that was June 12th or 13th - definitely not July. There was a mistake, he was eligible for discharge 150 days from the date his blood was drawn for his RNATT (Rabies test). They looked at me sadly.
"No, you are confused, it happens all the time. He is eligible to stay in quarantine for ONLY 30 days after the 150 days from his blood draw date has elapsed."
Basically this means if I had waited 150 days from the date his blood was drawn to bring him to Australia (mid June) he would be able to leave after 30 days. We arrived in Australia before the 150 days had elapsed so he has to spend the time up to the 150 days PLUS the mandatory 30 in quarantine.
I couldn't hold in the tears (not that I really tried), right there at the quarantine facility I started crying (the one day I wore mascara). They tried to reassure me "We have dogs here for six months", "Maybe we can get you an extra visit per week" but they were firm "There is NOTHING that can be done".
So Brady is stuck in quarantine until July 7th, we'll have him home for two weeks and then Sean and I head back to the US on July 21st for at least ten days - leaving him alone again.
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