on the road with Animalcouriers

Indi, a lovely German Shepherd Dog cross, belongs to Amy, who’s relocated from Malta to the Netherlands.

Amy’s been working as an IT specialist on Malta for a couple of years. During that time, she adopted Indi from a local shelter. At the time, poor Indi had a terrible ear infection. Although it cleared up under Amy’s tender care, Indi has been left with sensitive ears. So much so that when Amy was planning her relocation to Amsterdam, the vet advised against Indi flying.

So Animalcouriers stepped in to transport the dog by road and ferry from Malta to the Netherlands.

We left the UK and headed through France and Italy, catching the ferry from Genoa to Palermo (on the island of Sicily). From Sicily it was another ferry to Malta.

Autumnal colours as we headed up to Mont Blanc

The fast ferry to Malta

Approaching Malta’s Valetta harbour

With just a few hours to spare on Malta before meeting Indi, we did a spot of sightseeing.

Someone’s ready for Christmas!

Cat houses on the edge of Ta’Qali park, Malta’s national park. It’s a very smart village for stray cats, with CCTV surveillance.

Amy seeing Indi away

The gorgeous girl herself

Having collected Indi, we crossed from Valetta to Sicily and spent the night in Pozallo.

While out walking, Indi was stalked by a very handsome Labrador called Aris, who clearly had amorous intentions. Indi retained her ladylike demeanour and between us we saw off his advances. You can just glimpse him in the background.

Spotted along the way: a herd of sheep in the charge of six Maremma sheepdogs and two venerable shepherds

More autumnal colours — this time against the snow-clad slopes of Mount Etna

The view from Etna across the lava field

To get back to the Italian mainland, we boarded the ferry from Palermo to Genoa. The ferry had pet-friendly cabins and plenty of deck space for dog walks. And we were lucky with the weather!

Indi seemed to settle in to her life as a sea-dog

Walking on deck

A glimpse of the Island of Montecristo, whose main claim to fame is that it provides the setting for part of the Alexandre Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. Today it’s an important and well protected nature reserve, home to rare Mediterranean plants and animals.

With Indi safely delivered, Amy wrote to say:

“Thank you for getting Indi to our new home. I am sooooo pleased to have her back. Now to settle in! Thanks again for everything you did to pull this off!”

Amy sent us this super photo of her and Indi taking their first proper walk in Amsterdam