Stanley, An Alaskan Malamut, and Fong Fong Mary

Stanley Mortimer is in Jakarta.  We’ve received many enquiries about his status and so thought this a good forum to share his journey. Also, we used all of Miles’ college fund to pay for Stanley’s trip, so it would be good if we could get a bit of mileage out of the story.

Without question, getting Stanley to Indonesia was the most complicated, time-consuming, logistically-nightmarish aspect of our move. Because of the distance involved (i.e., essentially the longest flight path possible) and the time of year (i.e., the hottest), we decided to route him through Europe where he could stopover at a KLM’s designated animal facility and drink from a cucumber-laced water bowl. But this meant he would have to fly without us. For budgetary reasons, only one family member could fly through Europe. It might as well be the dog.
Since it was decided that Stanley would travel on his own, we thought it prudent to go first and send for him a week later, that way we could get things set up for him. And, now that our move basically revolved entirely around the dog, might as well make it as comfortable for him and complicated for us as possible. Our estimation that one week was sufficient time to a) move to a new country, b) find a new house, and c) get moved into that house really speaks to our lack of sleep as new parents. It took more than one week for us to do all that. It took us three weeks. Meanwhile, our dog was en route and we had no place for him to go.
Stanley’s importation into Indonesia was six months in the making. It involved special rabies tests, Indonesian Government import permits, and numerous health certificates, including one that is only good for five days. Within those five days, the health certificate had to be mailed to Richmond and back for extra special US Department of Agriculture stamps AND the dog had to arrive at its final destination. To help with all the paperwork and bookings, we had dedicated animal export/import consultants in both the US and Indonesia.
Aside from a 3AM call from the USDA alerting us that we had underpaid for their stamping services (they charge a different amount for the health certificate stamp depending on the destination country  – what?), things went smoothly on the US side. On the day of Stanley’s arrival to Jakarta, everything was going according to plan until, that is, we could not get a hold of the handler. Where was he? Who would meet Stanley’s flight?
We sent frantic emails until Themmy (our contact) informed us that he was actually out of the country. At a dog show. In Finland. Don’t worry, he said. His mom was on the Stanley case and would board him at her house until we could take him.
We did worry and those worries were not assuaged when we were unable to communicate with her by telephone. Or when we were told that she was at the airport and needed us to tell her who was the registered sender of the pet. Did she not have any of the paperwork associated with this ordeal? Was she just looking at a room full of dogs guessing which one was ours? What kind of monkey circus was this?!
Finally, Themmy’s mom (a woman with the email handle of “FongFong Mary”) sent us a photo of Stanley safe and sound on Javanese soil. By the time we could arrange to visit him, Themmy’s father – Deddy – was also involved. It turns out the entire family revolves around show dogs. They import them, they show them, they board and presumably train them.

There are dog shows in this country? I’m so confused.

It gets better.
Deddy showed us into the family room where Stanley was chilling in a gated enclosure by himself. He was a bit worn from his journey; he’d clearly been barking since DC because he’d lost most of his voice. But Deddy and FongFong Mary had been kind to him. They said that they sometimes let him run around the house and showed me the place in the kitchen where he had been terrorizing a mouse or some such rodent. As we discussed their dog showing business, Deddy led us to an air-conditioned room and opened it to reveal a cacophony of barks – dogs everywhere. There were no fewer than 8 Chihuahuas, a beagle, a corgi, some sort of poodle concoction, and a bull dog. All I could think was “I have got to get Stanley out of here as soon as possible.”
But the best part was when Deddy opened the bedroom door to reveal the family’s prized animal, a giant Malamut. If you are not familiar with this breed, then know that not only does a full grown male weight 85 lbs, but it’s an animal with a fur coat designed for the arctic. Basically, it’s the exact opposite of a reasonable canine companion in Jakarta. This got us thinking. How many Malamuts could there possibly be in Indonesia? I mean, when this dog arrives to a local dog show, does he automatically win his breed because there’s no competition? These people are on to something. I wonder how many dachshunds there are here…..
Stanley spent two weeks with Deddy and FongFong and the room full of Chihuahuas. Finally, our rental was ready and we arranged for him to be delivered. That was yesterday. It took exactly one walk through the neighborhood to know that bringing him was WORTH IT. There he was, trotting along, winning hearts and minds! He’s already made friends! But the best part was watching Stanley discover his back yard (it has a koi pond!). We can’t get him to come inside.

Before we close the case of Stanley’s travels, we want to say a very special and heartfelt thank you to our dear friends Holly and Chris who took care of Stanley on the DC side, took him to the vet, ushered his paperwork around Washington, and escorted him to his flight. We really, really, really appreciate your help! You are good friends!