Kutta finally comes to the UK!

We made it to England!

Before traveling abroad, I took my dog, KuttaBear, everywhere. We have been on many adventures together, and he was so much more than a dog to me- he was my little fuzzy child.

Kutta and me in 2010

It's been a dream of mine to bring Kutta to the UK every since applying for the iDestiny program I did there in 2013. (Honestly, before I even applied, I emailed them to see if it was possible to bring my dog! haha! But it wasn't, and even if it was it wouldn't have been possible with my schedule then)

But even the years after that, and traveling back to the UK to live in 2015, I still believed Kutta would come with me one day.

Bringing Kutta has taken over a YEAR of planning- (many, many times of getting my hopes up, only to have it not work out), followed by facing a new kind of fear for me, and crying lots, and lots of tears along the way. BUT, I am so thankful everything worked out, and looking back at the journey I almost can't believe we did it. 

Kutta has always been a dog I could trust without caging him. When I left him home (while living in the USA) he just stayed in the house; and when I would take him with me places on vacation or when we lived with other people- he would just stay in my room until I got home. Also traveling in a car, he would just sit on my lap. 

So when he was introduced to his little travel carrier, he wasn't too happy. He actually screamed the whole way as I did a 'test run' to my friend Stephanie's house. It was hard to bare (my poor ears) but I really began to worry if this trip was possible. Would he be like this in the airport, or on the overnight plane? Or on the overnight ferry?

I started to fear for his own comfort and safety- and what if the stress of the trip would be too much for such a little dog? 

The UK doesn't allow dogs to fly in the cabin of a plane with you, so we had to take a longer route to get Kutta safely into the UK. (I'm not going to bore you with details of all the work we had to do in America to get all his documents in order) But the route itself ended up being:

Fly from Charleston to Detroit, then Detroit to Amsterdam.

I got a shuttle to a hotel in Amsterdam and stayed the night (so we could rest, and I could properly feed, walk, and relieve Kutta).

Then we took a taxi to Rotterdam, and got on an overnight ferry to Hull (UK) where Shanen met us and drove us 2 hours home. 

So the day came... and with it- a storm. I'm being literal in that sentence... it was a big, nasty storm that had most of the flights from Charleston either delayed or canceled. The airport was a madhouse. But I constantly told myself not to worry- and it would workout however it was suppose to. 

We did get stuck on the runway for about an hour, and they didn't know if they would have to cancel our flight or not. (Kutta was being amazing at my feet, in his little kennel and not making a sound) 

KuttaBear's little travel kennel on the flight

We made it to the airport in Detroit, and boarded the second flight- the long one- to Amsterdam. Again he was as good as gold and it was so good to be able to pet him and even give him some water on the flight. He slept for most of it which made me happy.

We arrived in Amsterdam, the next morning, and I was so tired I missed my shuttle (bc I was sitting in the wrong spot lol), but eventually I figured it out and made it to the hotel. It was so good to get to the bed. 

Waiting for the shuttle to the hotel... (in the right spot)

Kutta hoging the bed. :P

Kutta enjoying the view

Jet lag made it hard to sleep bc my body gets so use to routine, but I was happy Kutta got rest, and I literally didn't leave the bed most of that evening. I got some work done on photo editing and business stuff, which was nice too. The next morning I enjoyed a nice breakfast from the hotel, and since we had hours to kill (the ferry didn't leave until that night at 9pm) me and Kutta took a quick train to Amsterdam.

First Train Ride

I honestly didn't stay in Amsterdam long. I was stunned by the beauty of the buildings, but as I took a side street I found a lot of things I just didn't enjoy being around. But I can now say I saw it- and one day I will go back because I dream of seeing the Van Gogh museum! Plus, the Dutch do some amazing seafood! 

After taking the train back to the hotel, we picked up our luggage and got a taxi down to Rotterdam. (I was going to get another train, but I was so tired and jet lagged, I nearly got on the wrong train when traveling back to the hotel! So even though the taxi would cost more, I felt it would be safer for me in that moment.) It turned out to be very stressful however because I barely had any cash on me, and when we got to the ferry port- the taxi only took cash!! Luckily they trusted me to send it when I got home to England, because I was late for my ferry check in! 

In 2010, I actually had Kutta registered as a service dog because of a traumatic season I was going through, and always needed him with me. I know for a fact God gave me this dog just prior to that specific season- because He knew I would need him. 

This actually turned into such a blessing because he was allowed to stay with me in my cabin on the ferry! We got on the ferry, and I had a little break down. I cried so much- thinking of all the stress of the last few days as it suddenly hit me in combination with the lack of sleep. I could even see the tiredness in Kutta and it made me feel even worse. But, it was actually good for me to cry because it made me realize how much I was holding in- and how much I needed to let out. 

Our ferry cabin was small, and not as nice as the hotel- but it had a bed and we were thankful! Kutta crashed out on the bed as I headed to the buffet to get some food- which was delicious! 

I also picked up a little monkey for Kutta because he was such a good dog on this whole trip- and he loves new toys! 

I got a few hours of sleep on the ferry- and actually woke up an hour earlier than I was suppose to because my clock was still on Amsterdam time... but I had already showered by time I realized this. 

Finally the ferry docked, and my phone worked and Shanen was ready and waiting for me! I couldn't wait to see him again and to be back on the UK soil!

But we were held up in customs for awhile, as they made sure Kutta had all he needed- but finally we were let through, and in the UK!

(you can really see I need some sleep in those pics! haha)

But I was so happy! Shanen drove us 2 hours home, and we were finally at our flat! When Kutta first entered the flat, he instantly knew it was home! He was so happy and ran around wagging his tail- it's like he knew this was where I lived, and we were finally there!

After a nice nap, we took Kutta on a walk down the canal- something I've dreamed of doing since we got that flat. 

And even though it's only been 2 days, I just know he's going to love it here! 

Welcome home KuttaBear Soltani Icely! 

Our little family is now complete. 

(for now)

:)