03/10/2026
I’ve had so many sleepless nights leading up to this latest transport. For months I’ve been thinking, organising and planning on how the actual night would go. And this one was a big one. I had to drive to Praia da Rocha where I had hired a massive van to accommodate the 14 dogs and 3 cats going. And thank goodness Celso my amazing son in law came with me. There were a lot of big dogs this time, (hence the need to hire a van), and with big dogs that means massive travel crates, which take up a lot of space, and I had to get it just right…
But it was almost as if the van was made for this night as every box fitted just like a puzzle.
The worst part of the whole night is when my alarm goes off at 00:15, then I have to go to every dog run in the dark and get out the dogs that are travelling and load them up..
Finally they were all on board, some were little angels, others more anxious, but the 1:30h drive up to the West Coast went smoothly, thanks to Celso who did the driving.
All dogs and cats are now safely on their way to their new homes in Germany and Switzerland. And it is such a relief!!
Drove the van all the way back to Portimão and today I was shattered, not just through lack of sleep but also the stress leading up to last night.
I have a much more realistic amount of dogs here now and I must learn to say no sometimes as this summer has been a nightmare with so many dogs.
It’s certainly a lot quieter today which is so nice ❤️
All are due to arrive in Germany midday tomorrow, Saturday so I will be posting updates. One dog had been with me for a year so I’m especially excited to hear from her new owner.
