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Help Stephen Fly Home to New Zealand

  • Spring update!

      18 September 2023
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    Hello! We’ve had tons of family time since Stephen landed in our arms with a look that said "where were you guys?" Before our boy flew in, we had drama surrounding his quarantine booking and switched pet agents due to communication issues. The quarantine facilities in AKL rejected boarding him due to his needs. Thankfully Canterbury Quarantine Services saw beyond his disability. The hiccups delayed his flight date but fortunately Stephen's aunty took exceptional care of him...aaand his grandma spoiled him senseless.

    Oh! Stephen said he’s writing now!

    Hi! Ready to catch pupdates on my pawsome life adventures?

    I went kayaking with my pawrents for the first time ever. Paws up to sun time! Hats off to Ba for doing most of the kayaking because Ma kept taking pictures of me. (middle)

    I visited Ma’s work! I am the gentlest dog with kids. I didn’t know Ma had more children than me but she said I am the bestest boy so I will let her keep working. (top L)

    Baba's parents came to visit. I let them talk to my pawrents between petting me. They took us all to Days Bay for a special sniffaroo. (top R)

    GUYZ I have a masseuse. It’s Lorna from Wellington Canine Bodywork. I love Lorna so much I hop into the sunroom when she comes. She helps me relax as I gnaw on toys. Win win! (bottom R)

    One of my favorite pastimes is sunbathing. Ma and Ba move my bed to the sunbeams in the afternoon. One day they're going to come home to a hot dog on a bed! (bottom L)

    With love,

    Stephen, D, and K

      3 comments  |  Login to leave a comment

    • 19/09/2023 by Mark

      It’s so great to see it all worked out & Stephen is enjoying a loving & fulfilling life with his family in NZ ! 🤩

    • 19/09/2023 by YingMin

      Yay~~How awesome!!! Happy for you guys!

    • 21/09/2023 by David Foote

      Thank you, guys! We are so happy together and appreciative of everyone's help. 💕

  • And just like that...

      17 May 2023
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    He is home.

    Let the shenanigans begin!!!

    Love from Stephen, David, and Katrina

    P.S. - A longer update coming soon. We have been making up for lost time.

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    • 17/05/2023 by Trish

      This has totally made my day, welcome to NZ precious boy, I can only imagine the reunion! Looking forward to your update and how things are going when Stephen has settled.

  • Relocation Update

      6 April 2023
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    Hello, everyone! We send human greetings from Wellington and Stephen sends his pawsome hugs from Singapore. It is time for an update! After a lot of planning, inquiries, and a switch of pet relocation agents, we now have concrete plans for Stephen to come to New Zealand. We are expecting him to fly to NZ in early May and be home with us by mid-May. Fingers crossed everything works out with the flights! Since our last letter to you guys, Stephen has gotten up to so much fun! When is he not having fun, right? Let's check this out!

    Top left: Aunty has been crate training me again since I need to become an even bigger international symbol of a well-travelled pup. She's been giving me treats and timing me inside the crate! I've been going in there by myself at night. Getting good boy points when I can!

    Top middle: Aunty started packing her suitcase to take a trip. She said something about Coachella and I'm woofing around like, "Hello Couchella."

    Top right: Met a vacuum. Not a super fan. I skittered away and asked Aunty for protection.

    Bottom left: Had to take a break during physio. Life is tough when you have to live by the philosophy of "Train Insane" to get blueberry treats during a workout.

    Bottom middle: Enjoying my good life in tropical Singapore. This greenery makes a great backdrop for all my impromptu divo-moment photoshoots.

    Bottom right: My cat cousin brought a gecko into our house! She put it on my bed?? Someone tell me it was meant to be the addition of a third pack member.

    More updates to come. These are exciting times in our household though we remain cautiously optimistic. Eeee!

    Love,

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

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  • Happy 2023!

      16 January 2023
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    Hello, everyone! Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year! 圣诞节快乐！新年快乐！ 春节愉快！

    This update is a happy one on our end. The three biggies are: David got a job, we moved to Wellington and got an apartment, and…my visa was approved! Now that we have these things sorted, we have started the process of bringing Stephen to New Zealand. There’s still a lot of paperwork ahead of us, but we feel fortunate knowing that he has our home to go to.

    Here are the top six updates about our furboy. He really has been living the high life with his aunty so he wanted to update you himself:

    Aunty has a tennis ball court in her compound. She booked me a timeslot to go play tennis!! Well, solo doggy tennis…which is just as fun! (top left)

    Physiotherapy is going well. I am a good boy and work so hard to balance on a doughnut. This ball is hard to balance on but I do an extra good job so I get lots of treats. 3-4 minutes on my first round and 2 minutes on my second round. (top right)

    I met my uncle!! He flew in just to see me (and do something called work? I think I understand it…he had to work on giving me pets). I liked my new best friend so I looked at him ever so longingly. (middle row)

    There is such a thing as stroller envy. Aunty got a secondhand stroller for me. She took me out for a trial stroll and I loved it! All the fun and none of the work. :P She had a guest come over so moved the stroller and I thought I was going outside again.

    I have joined two wheelchair dog walks in Singapore. They are so fun! I get to meet many fur and human friends. We have been walking in Gardens by the Bay. It is perfect because of all the flat land. Woofing love it!

    Here is a link of the first walk I joined: https://m.facebook.com/groups/dogssingapore/permalink/1304647830094851/?mibextid=Nif5oz

    Well, folks. We hope this update has brought a dose of joy to your day. Hope everyone is doing well and we send you many hugs. Xoxo

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

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    • 28/01/2023 by Florence

      Thank you so much for the updates and I'm so happy for you all! Best wishes!

  • Happy life update #2

      13 November 2022
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    Hello, all! Life flies by and we hope everyone is doing well. We wanted to send a little update about how Stephen has been living life to the fullest since the last time we reached out.

    He is very nicely settled in Singapore with his aunty, who takes her responsibilities of spoiling him to the fullest very, very seriously. Stephen attended a Howl-o-ween party (bottom right) with aunt and uncle and went trick or treating for various types of dog treats. Who doesn't have fun when they are dressed up as Pawfficer Wooferson? *cue giggles*

    Life at home has certainly been entertaining. He spent some time observing plants on the balcony (top left), but ultimately decided that his bed and toys should be his number one priority. He has a new slingshot toy that is a ton of fun and has incorporated it into his collection. Sometimes he gets to model new shirts for the family (middle right) and that gives him extra credit in his Modelling 101 course he enrolled in at

    Stephen has regular physiotherapy to strengthen his body and relax muscles as needed. He works so hard during these sessions! He listens well (when there are treats around) and tries so hard to balance well (middle left).

    Stephen's aunt takes him on outings when she can! They go for walks around the compound and make new friends (middle middle). He even went to Wooftopia (pet friendly cafe in bottom left) and was confused as to why fellow humans didn't spend time petting him WHILE they were eating.

    Meanwhile in NZ, we are still working on getting settled. David is still job hunting so when we have a home base, we will begin the process to bring Stephen over to join us. Hopefully he will be able to fly over in February or March. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

    It is certainly amazing how quickly time passes and how much fun a dog can have in a short time! Sending everyone our best along with some big, big hugs!

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

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  • Happy life update

      21 September 2022
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    Hello, everyone! We hope you are all happy and well no matter which corner of the world you are currently based in. We wanted to pop in and give you a quick update on how Stephen is doing in Singapore with his Aunty. Here are the highlights…

    Stephen managed to confuse the heck out of his aunt. He nosed through a bag of dog items I left in Singapore with her. She hadn’t unpacked the bag yet and didn’t know where all these random toys appeared from. Turns out he decided to unpack his two tennis balls and Frisbee himself so he could play with them.

    Stephen visited a very kind vet and got checked. All is well! We know this to be true even without animal medicine degrees because he spent 99% of his time exploring the veterinarian office (and even tried visiting reception!! Off limits!!), followed the nurse into the backroom, and refused to leave the vet at the end of the appointment.

    Stephen got a hat from a pet fair and tried it out when he went out for a walk. It’s great for keeping the sun out of his eyes!

    According to Stephen, watching cars is a favorite pass time in our household. He could easily spend 10, 15, even 20 minutes trying to figure out these four wheeled vehicles.

    Stephen’s aunt got a free tiny dog/cat bed that Stephen ended up finding, loving, and commandeering. His aunt said “this one is just too small if he’s going to spend 6 hours a day on it.” So, she found him an oversized, fuzzy bed that he is absolutely in love with!

    All in all, he is loving life and we are loving life with him from afar while we get settled in New Zealand. We cannot wait for him to join us in a few months. Till next time!

    Love,

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

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  • Stephen made it to Singapore!

      4 August 2022
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    Hello, everyone! We hope you have all had a good start to your August. We have some exciting news to share! After a fair amount of uncertainty, Stephen flew to Singapore on July 25, 2022. Due to hot weather, he was only confirmed to fly cargo three days before he was due to fly. On the day of, the airline requested a letter stating they would not be held responsible for his disability when he landed in Singapore. After a lot of paperwork, magic, faith, and hope, he was cleared to fly. Our little trooper waited the afternoon and through three delays before finally taking off and making it to Singapore at 11pm. What a journey! He spent the night in a holding facility and was delivered to his aunt’s home the next morning. Boiboi was quite dirty by the time he got to his aunt’s house and therefore enjoyed his little bath and a lovely breakfast. We were happy to see that he drank a lot of water while on the plane as his water bottle was half empty. Stephen has settled in quickly and is causing a small amount of ruckus around the house. He will quarantine at home for 30 days then… freedom!!! He will legally be able to exit the house, meet his cat cousin, and explore Singapore on his wheelchair. Once David and I are settled, and his 6 months in Singapore are done, he’ll come to join us in NZ. Watch out for future updates!!

    Please find below some photos of Stephen during his travels and post-travel.

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  • Travel! ✈️

      19 June 2022
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    Hello, everyone! There are so many updates but just a few important ones. The movers are coming to pick up our boxes to ship to New Zealand soon. It will be nice to have all that space back on our small apartment. We wonder what customs will think of all our dog diapers stuffed into crevices. :P

    Stephen's flight date was confirmed. He will fly on July 25th to Singapore, get a health check, and the begin quarantine with his auntie there. This is exciting news!! Humans will fly out of Shanghai shortly after.

    Wishing you all the best! Have a happy June.

    With love,

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

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  • Singapore Home Quarantine Update

      10 June 2022
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    Hello, everyone! We hope you have all been well and happy. Shanghai's lockdown ended. Though we choose to stay close to home, we have enjoyed some freedom and spring sunshine again.

    We wanted to take this opportunity and send everyone an update. As Shanghai's lockdown eased, we got Stephen's titre test back and handed in his application. We chose to keep this under wraps as we nervously awaited the home quarantine results.

    Fortunately, Stephen's home quarantine application was tentatively approved a few days ago. We made an appointment for a home inspection of his Singapore home and it went well! We are now waiting for an official letter of approval. With this, Stephen can fly to Singapore at the end of July! This is very exciting news!!

    We want to thank everyone for your support. We appreciate it so much.

    With Love,

    Stephen, David, and Katrina

    P.S. Please enjoy this photo of our distinguished gentleman. He insists on crowding exercise mats as people do their HIIT exercises!

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  • Stephen is happy and well!

      2 May 2022
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    Hi, all. Just dropping by with a quick update. Stephen is doing great - and extra happy when getting scritches - since we ended the fundraiser. I have spoken to the pet relocator and we have a plan to work with once lockdown ends. Fingers crossed that is soon. Thank you very much for your help and support! ❤️

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  • Stephen Celebrating the end of our fundraiser

      29 April 2022

    We wanted to thank everyone again for their generosity. This has been amazing

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  • 筹款目标已超额完成! We surpassed our goal!

      29 April 2022
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    Help Stephen Fly Home to New Zealand

    We surpassed our goal! Thank you so much!

    帮助Stephen飞往新西兰的家：

    筹款目标已超额完成，非常感谢大家！

    29 April 2022

    2022年4月29日

    We want to thank everyone for helping us meet our fundraising goal. We are overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity you all have shown us. Because we've already overshot our funding goal we wanted to take a moment to talk about what will happen to the money we've earned over our initial target and an end date adjustment.

    感谢各位帮助我们达成筹款目标！大家的慷慨和爱心让我们非常感动和感恩。我们收到的捐款已经超出了原定目标，因此想和大家说明一下这些超额款项的未来去向，以及对筹款结束日期的调整。

    Firstly, we want to let you know that we decided on this target because we never in a million years imagined we would get there, and certainly not in 13 days. That is amazing.

    首先，我们想说说心里话：我们最初定下这个筹款目标时，绝没有想到真的能够完成，更没有想到会在13天内达成。真是太惊喜了！

    Secondly, we wanted to reassure you that any money we received over that initial goal will still go toward Stephen 's relocation costs. There was still a gap between our savings combined with the initial goal compared to the total cost of his relocation, which is 20,700 NZD. That gap has now been filled with the additional donations we received. We feel it is necessary to be as transparent as possible so we have included the quotation from the pet relocation agent we are using in this update.

    其次，也请大家放心，我们收到的所有超额款项都会用于Stephen的搬家支出。总搬家费高达20,700新西兰美元，超过了我们的存款加上原先的筹款目标，所以原本是有差额的。但由于我们收到了超额的捐款，因此这部分捐款足以支付该差额。我们认为有必要尽可能的公开透明，所以在这篇最新情况说明中，包括了宠物搬运中介的报价。

    Thirdly, as this campaign has taken off and flown like the wind, we have decided to move the end date up to April 29, 2022 1:59 A.M. If you or anyone you know is interested in donating to Stephen’s cause, please direct the donation to one of the following pages. Let’s get these furballs some help!!

    第三，由于筹款非常成功且效率惊人，所以我们决定把结束日期提前至2022年4月29日凌晨1:59。如果您或您认识的人想为Stephen捐款，请向以下这些链接献爱心，让这些毛孩子也能得到救助！

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/save-gus

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/urgent-surgery-for-mila

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/for-border-collie-jasper-with-the-kindest-heart

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/razor-the-greyhound-needs-your-help-please

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-remi-have-his-beautiful-face-put-back

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/ava-needs-your-help-to-support-paying

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-abandoned-animals-in-ukraine

    Thank you all so, so much. No words are enough to tell you how much this means to us. To everyone who donated or shared our campaign link... we love you all and look forward to all the future adventures we will have together.

    再次感谢大家！我们没有足够的辞藻来表达感恩的心情。感谢所有捐款或是分享筹款链接的人士——爱你们！我们期待未来和各位交流和互动。

    If you wish to know more about Stephen’s future updates, please rest assured that we will continue to update everyone. If you use Instagram, feel free to follow Stephen @howstephenrolls

    如果您想了解Stephen的未来动态，请放心，我们一定会继续分享他的最新故事。如果您使用Instagram，欢迎关注Stephen的账号：howstephenrolls

    We look forward to keeping in touch!

    让我们保持联系！

    With love and gratitude,

    满怀爱和感激的，

    Stephen, Katrina, and David

    Stephen, Katrina和David

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  • We surpassed our goal! Thank you so much!

      29 April 2022
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    We want to thank everyone for helping us meet our fundraising goal. We are overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity you all have shown us. Because we've already overshot our funding goal we wanted to take a moment to talk about what will happen to the money we've earned over our initial target and an end date adjustment.

    Firstly, we want to let you know that we decided on this target because we never in a million years imagined we would get there, and certainly not in 13 days. That is amazing.

    Secondly, we wanted to reassure you that any money we received over that initial goal will still go toward Stephen 's relocation costs. There was still a gap between our savings combined with the initial goal compared to the total cost of his relocation, which is 20,700 NZD. That gap has now been filled with the additional donations we received. We feel it is necessary to be as transparent as possible so we have included the quotation from the pet relocation agent we are using in this update.

    Thirdly, as this campaign has taken off and flown like the wind, we have decided to move the end date up to April 29, 2022 1:59 A.M. If you or anyone you know is interested in donating to Stephen’s cause, please direct the donation to one of the following pages. Let’s get these furballs some help!!

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/save-gus

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/urgent-surgery-for-mila

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/for-border-collie-jasper-with-the-kindest-heart

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/razor-the-greyhound-needs-your-help-please

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-remi-have-his-beautiful-face-put-back

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/ava-needs-your-help-to-support-paying

    https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-abandoned-animals-in-ukraine

    Thank you all so, so much. No words are enough to tell you how much this means to us. To everyone who donated or shared our campaign link... we love you all and look forward to all the future adventures we will have together.

    If you wish to know more about Stephen’s future updates, please rest assured that we will continue to update everyone. If you use Instagram, feel free to follow Stephen @howstephenrolls

    We look forward to keeping in touch!

    With love and gratitude,

    Stephen, Katrina, and David

      1 comment  |  Login to leave a comment

    • 29/04/2022 by Annie

      So very thrilled to hear this good news. Cant wait to hear Stephen is on his way to safety. Despite the awful things happening in the world today there are so many kind thoughtful people doing fabulous things to help humans and animals. We need these angels more than ever. Thank you Stephen and Katrina for allowing us to be part of this rescue mission. Kia Kaha Kia Maia

  • Busy media day

      27 April 2022
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    It's been a busy media day. We were on 1 news tonight and big thanks to Mina Kerr-Lazenby and Stuff for this in-depth article on our situation.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300573065/covid19-kiwi-in-shanghai-desperate-to-leave-after-weeks-of-strict-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR12xCeMT9PsKNGIvqjSOmDjc4FseEoeF0r9Om7BiHtZR8NkawWPvfsHIKY

    Thanks also to Laura James and 1News, although I will note they didn't share our donation link.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/27/kiwi-living-in-china-describes-lockdown-conditions/

    Please consider sharing these on your socials guys, along with the link to this page. We appreciate everyone's help so far, we need a bit more help to push us over the line.

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  • We started an instagram for Stephen

      25 April 2022
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    We wanted some way to keep you guys informed on his lockdown adventures and future travels. It's a bit bare-bones (pun intended) at the moment but if you are interested you can find him @howstephenrolls

    https://www.instagram.com/howstephenrolls/

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  • Wo-oh we're half way there

      22 April 2022
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    Our profound gratitude to everyone who has donated or helped to share this campaign. In the last 7 days this campaign has been a bright spot for Kat and I during an extremely stressful time. We are humbled by your generosity

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  • A quarter of the way there!!!

      20 April 2022
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    Our sincere gratitude to everyone who has already donated. The response so far has been overwhelming and thanks to you we are a quarter of the way to our goal of raising the money we need to bring Stephen home to NZ with us. Please consider donating if you haven't already and please share our campaign on your own social media. Every bit helps

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