While browsing Change.org for a petition that spoke to me, I didn’t have to browse for long at all, as this was the fourth one I came across and thought it was perfect.
Everyone who knows Jill, will know that while living in Tanzania, she started fostering a beautiful little rescue dog, named Marley. She chose to foster, rather than adopting, as she knew she wouldn’t be able to bring Marley back to Australia if/when she returned home, due to the strict quarantine restrictions/process around rabies. The first year Jill could not come home for Xmas, because of Covid, I wanted to send her a small present, as I know she would of been feeling a bit down being away from her family at Xmas. I had the below mug made to send to her as just something little. It was a bit of an effort in getting it to her. I ended up having to get a replacement one sent to me, after the first one arrived broken, then because of mail restrictions in place, again due to Covid, I ended up having to send it to Japan, to one of Jill’s friends, who was holidaying there before they returned to Dar. Jill finally got it a couple weeks after Christmas and told me she loved it. I chose the quote on the back of the mug because, at the time, she was only fostering Marley, and I thought it would be something she could keep to remind her of him. The quote now rings true, more than ever.
It was clear to everyone how much Jill had fallen in love with Marley and no shock to anyone that it soon turned into an adoption. When we caught up in Mackay in 2021, I asked her what her future plans were, and her answer shows just how much she loved Marley. Due to Marley having a lot of trauma and anxiety from his past, she was not prepared to further put him through the anxiety of being quarantined for a long period if she decided to move back to Australia. She instead would first go live in a rabies free country somewhere else for at least 6mths to avoid him being quarantined before returning with him to Australia. She had mentioned China to me as a possibility, as Asia was somewhere she had primarily not been and this too would have given her an opportunity to travel and discover more cultures, something we all know she loved to do. If moving to another country, before returning to your home country, for your pet, is not love, then I don’t know what is. Unfortunately, due to all these reasons Jill’s family could also not bring Marley back, but I was so happy to hear from Jill’s sister Kelly, that they were all able to meet Marley, and find him a good home when they went to Dar to bring Jill home.
Marley made regular appearances on Jill’s Instagram, as per the photos I stole from her account below, and they tell a tale of how she incorporated him into all aspects of her life with all things she loved…beach, wine, plants, reading, Christmas, workouts. So by signing this petition, I hope that some rules may ease up, so it becomes an easier process for pet owners to bring their pets home with them.
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