To begin or not to begin?

UGH! I just called the lab and they said they sent the results on 4/16 to a lab that is to forward them to the my vet and they cannot tell me the results over the phone.  What is the hold up, here, people!?!   Just a vent... sorry...

Hello Mirrajay

Did you try calling back to see how long it should take for this second lab to notify your vet ?
I would imagine that 4 to 5 weeks wait would be normal time especially if the labs are busy
I am curious as well as my pets had their blood draw last Friday.  Keep us posted

I called the lab and my vet about 100 times and finally got the results Friday - exactly four weeks from date of blood draw.  I just wish they would've told me this at the beginning and I would have expected it.

Four weeks was the time for me too, from blood draw/overnighting, to results being sent back to my vet. I had called a lot too, thinking it was more two or three weeks, but my vet's receptionist told me me no, four weeks is about standard wait-time. This was in January 2008.

I called the lab and my vet about 100 times and finally got the results Friday - exactly four weeks from date of blood draw.  I just wish they would've told me this at the beginning and I would have expected it.

i think the best mindset is (unfortunately) to expect that nothing will go as expected. but it will all work out in the end if you have done your homework.

My pets had their first visit to the vet this morning.  Despite having done their microchipping at the same vet on the same day, my dog's chip was readable but my kitty's was not.  We went ahead and re-chipped the kitty, and then did their rabies yet again.  So in 3 weeks we get to go back to do the titer test (I was hoping to get that done today since their old vaccine was 6 months ago and is good for 3 years, but better safe than sorry).

As a side note, i got a quote from Virgin Atlantic for both of them...~$1,500 for a large dog crate and standard cat crate, and $1,200 for an extra-large dog crate and standard cat crate.    Same dog (so same weight), bigger crate, lower price?!  I won't complain, certainly, but it does strike me as strange.

I have yet to hear back from British Airways to get a quote from them...

equestrianerd.......Did you ever get your quote back from British Airways ?  I just saw that I can take Virgin Atlantic as well (I thought that BA was my only option).  I have a medium size dog, and two cats to transport at the end of October.  I am not surprised at the lower cost of the XL crate.  Others have had a lower cost for a bigger crate as well.  My medium size pup may have a XL crate if cost is lower (her comfort is also important)
Did your quote from Virgin Atlantic cover the cost of the pet handling fees on both the US and UK sides ?  

I did, finally.

VA turned out to be ~$2,000 + UK fees (around $2,500 total), since my silly dog is super long and needs an XXL crate (he "fit" in an XL at the pet store, but he wasn't too happy about it, so XXL it is).  VA's 2k fee does include their $175 handling fee on the US side, but does not include the ~£300 handling fee on the UK side.  VA does have the perk that my pets will get me frequent flyer miles, but I don't really travel enough to get enough miles to use them anyway.

BA quoted me $1,775 all fees included, and they fly out of BWI as well as IAD, so I think they're the winner.  (Assuming when I call back in a couple of months to verify amounts nothing changes.)

Thanks for the info......The Virgin price is pretty high considering it does not cover the UK fees.  The 300 extra pounds for the UK handling fees will probably equal to $450.00 USD per pet.  OUCH !   There is certainly no price break for additional pets for this charge.
I will get price quotes from both as well, but it looks like it will be BA out of Dulles International on 10-25-2009.  Oh, I am counting down the days......

Actually, the £300 is total, thankfully.  VA said they charge £270 to process your pet(s), +£10 for any additional pets (so £280 for total for my 2 pets).  Then, if your pets are unaccompanied, they charge another £295.  (I'm not really sure why, since I would assume you'd have to meet your pets at the airport in the UK anyway, and it's not like they can travel in the cabin with you, so technically they're "unaccompanied" either way...guess that's government for you, though.)

Oh, and the $175 VA handling fee seems to be regardless of how many pets you have as well.

So, it adds up pretty quickly, esp. if they're flying solo, but at least it's only £10 more for extra pets.

(Obviously, you may want to check with DEFRA and confirm these fees, though I would think VA would know their stuff if they do this all the time.)

It is good to hear that the handling fees are reduced for the additional pets.  I assumed that this charge would be the same for each pet regardless.  It is a bit of a relief for me as I have three animals to move

I also read that you are from the Raleigh, NC area.  I lived in Raleigh for 12 years before moving to the Washington DC area.  I was in Raleigh this last weekend visiting family.  It is a great place !  

It is, except for now, with the heat.  (Though I lived in southwestern Maryland for 14 years before moving down here, and it wasn't any better up there!)  The traffic is far better down here, though (which was the main reason I moved).

This last Saturday in Raleigh was horrible.  The heat index must have been 105 degrees (or higher...not good for the early part of summer).  It is slightly better here in Washington right now, but the humidity is coming.  I am originally from Southern California, and I have never gotten use to the humidity here in the Southern part of the East coast.  
I know what you mean about traffic.  It is horrible in So. Maryland, No. Va, and Washington.  I use to complain about Raleigh traffic sometimes, but I only wished for those days after moving here.  Many times I have up to a 1.5 hour commute just to go 10 miles to and from work.  It there is an accident, then you can count on 2 hours.  I will not miss the traffic here at all.

Take care and thanks again for the help with the questions

Yeah, I grew up in northern California and really miss the weather.  Even if it did get above 95 there (which is rare) it's no big deal as there's no humidity.

Good luck with your guys!