wanna move without prv

Re: phlebotomists - Mr Jane says that it is very low paid work $8 - 10 per hour. Vacancies do come up - turnover is very high.

Guess Hovensa is picking up the tab for the duration where housing and schooling for your children is concerned so in answer to your question about dog food, I think the answer would be that yes, you can get Alpo and Purina locally, no problem/ Cheers!

I'm with STT Res - I can't find your question in there other than about dog food....you say you are coming in July, so that negates any reason to put forth arguments for or against coming and what could lie before you. If we're only dealing with dog food, it will be more expensive on island, as is everything else. You can get it. Can you find suitable housing with 3 kids and 3 pets? That would be my focus if I were you....again, unless Hovensa has it lined all out, you could find some major obstacles the minute you step from the plane - but you didn't ask about that, and you've been following the board for a year, so I can't add anything new (other than neither is a premium dog food) - if your animals are prone to bouts of scratching or ear infections or whatever, you will find they probably will worsen in the salt air, necessitating trips to the vet (and the vets are very proud of their services. Heartworm preventive and flea/tick treatment is a necessity.....take a ton with you or plan on having it shipped by someone stateside, it is VERY expensive on island.

thanks everyone for the comments and concern ,the refinery is picking up all thoose tabs thank goodness ,but theese kids of mine will be in the public school system first , then i will see how it goes. I am from the caribbean as well.my honey is actually from there but we live stateside for over 20 years since we met.I'll try to put a barrel of premium dog food in my container.somebody please tell me about good holygohst churches on that island. are there any like prophecy?. THANKS AGAIN.

PLEASE read the posts about public schools.....I dont know which islands ya'll come from but the public school system here is horrible. People who can afford private school put their kids in it.

TRUST ME I have seen them, they are not eggs, i am jamaican if i were going back to JA they would be in publc school the same . thanks much.

I don't know anything about holy ghost churches but perhaps you can find what you're looking for in the local phone book: http://www.viphonebook.com/Main.asp

There was an ad today in the Avis for a phlebotomist.

Jim

Barbie, Don't bother shipping dog food. There 's plenty here, all brands (almost). I think what Becky was saying was ship heartworm and flea/tick prevention products. Those are very expensive here.

My goodness......well, yes, HW and flea/tick meds are very expensive.....however, I will re-state my position....Purina Pro Plan MIGHT be a decent food....Alpo is crap, and so are most of the other brands that are readily available that you don't have to take out a mortgage for. They have lots of corn and wheat (ummmm.......anyone noticed the huge list of recalls lately?), which dogs do not tolerate. You may find your dogs develop an allergy to their normal food on island, it seems to react differently with some pets.

Flip side is, you probably can't afford what you need to feed at island prices - you might want to consider a raw food diet - if so, please PM me and I'll get you started. It's expensive, but not as expensive as dog food....believe it or not....

thanks so much everyone , becky thank you i will definately think about that , because i wanna keep my little critters safe , healthy and happy. i have already stocked up on worm,flea & ticks meds among other things for their health. but you know they eat every day so i'm a bit concerned about their food.thanks much.

So let me get this right Hovensa will pay for your children's education but you would rather send them to a school system that AT BEST will leave them with an education that is a year or two behind what will be stateside? You seem much more concerned about your dog's food then asking about the schools here.

I am not very much worried about schooling for my kids at all, i do most of that ,myself my two (2) oldest are medical students .one a vet , and the other a pediatrics student, sending them to school for us is just a formality.I have a teaching degree and i usually do most of the teaching myself. my 4yr old is reading at 2nd grade level and he has never set foot in a class room .We are gonna keep doing what we always do. by the way our two oldest went to public school in ja also and from what i understand the schools in stx are a little better than thoose in ja ,so we'll make out . trust me if i wern't who i am i would take advantage of private schooling.but thanks for the input. college is most important right now as their foundation is already is set.

Betty, you go girl!

barbie, don't take offense, please, and forgive Betty for her little outburst but I do see her point!

You haven't been living in Jamaica for 20 years. Well, things there have changed drastically in those 20 years just the same as they've changed here in the same period. The public school systems have changed in both locales over the years so please don't dismiss advice from posters on this forum about the pros and cons of public versus private schools.

It's a very good idea for new posters here to not only research this forum in depth but also go to the online, "St Thomas Source" and the online "Virgin Islands Daily News" as well as maybe subscribing to The Avis which unfortunately doesn't publish online but will mail you copies if you call 340-773-2300. Cheers!

I might have moved away from jamaica for a long time but presently i still have neices and nephews there in school, plus i travel back at least 5 times a year, i will supliment and compliment what the public school system .has to offer. i had already checked out the private school and the public school . remember my beloved husband is cruzian ,you think he dosen't know what he's doing. plus we are not burning our bridges behind us.

Sorry, sorry, sorry! Thought she was asking about Alpo and Purina. Didn't mean to step on anybody's dog food business toes! I know there is premium dog food available, just haven't been convinced. I love my dogs. I'm listening. PM me.

Island Animal Clinic on STX sells Frontline and some other popular meds for the same price you would pay on-line at Petmeds.com (just verified again last week). As far as dog food, my pups have always seemed to thrive on that Pedigree crap and lived long, healthy, happy lives. I recently talked to one of the well-respected vets here on STX about our new puppy's dog food and he said that he has fed his own dogs that Pedigree Puppy Chow crap in the past. He also said that much of the premium dog food sold at Vets offices is primarily focused on minimizing how much waste is left after your dog has finished with it, which may be a consideration in NYC where you have to poop scoop on your daily walk but maybe not so much here. That said, I am absolutely sure that there are much healthier diet alternatives for pets, just as there are for most pet owners, however, I am just not convinced that it makes that much of a difference in the long run. Just my humble opinion.

My dog has survived for just about 15 years on Costco's own Kirkland brand. He doesn't leave anything on his plate twice a day.

Sure the expensive brands have less beef eyelids, but if your dogs healthy and given exercise. I see no need for those gourmet dog foods.

/all my opinion.

If you have a friend stateside who will receive the package and mail it to you, go to www.petshed.com Same products as far as HW meds and Frontline, but they come out of Australia and are much cheaper and require no Rx. My husband is a pharmacist and has compared ingredients and they are identical. You can also buy other meds through them, worming, supplements, etc.....but Petshed will not ship to the VI. I bought $500 worth at a time and had someone re-send it from stateside (then again, I have a huge pack, it doesn't take long to spend $500).

Sorry, JE - I'm a dog food snob. Read the ingredients on the back and look at some of the comparison charts. Pedigree is crap. Science Diet and Eukanuba and Iams that are sold as premium foods? Crap.

This is a good comparison chart:

http://www.doberdogs.com/

Read the whole thing - you will be surprised to find that many dog foods contain the carcasses of dead, dying, or diseased animals.....there is little to no quality control for pet food.

Guess it all depends on whether your pet is your kid or your "just plain dog".

thank you i am feeling more comfortable now i know i can get this crap down there to feed my critters.i just love them and want what's best.

good going ,sounds great to me you guys are the best.

they are my babies , i dont think after reading that web i wanna take much chances, great web site

Becky, we have no human children and have always considered our dogs (who always live in the house with us regardless of size ) to be our true children. So maybe there is more to it than simply considering them to be "just a dog". But you did get me thinking about my wife and the way I just sit back and do nothing (other than mimic whatever she is doing at the time) while she occasionally eats junk food, has ice cream, and even indulges in wine and mixed drinks. Could it be that that the reason I apparently care so little for her health is that I view her as "simply a wife" and nothing more? I don't think so but perhaps I must give it more thought one of these days....

Barbie,
I wish you and your family the best of luck. Sounds like you did well with your older ones. I have to say though, it sounds like you are more concerned about the quality of life for your dogs than your kids. Please don't take offense at this, but you sound a little arrogant in your posts. And without being stabbing or rude - while there isn't a grammar checker there is a spell check on this board when you post a message.