thanks for the valuable information....not that I plan to live in the US for any length of time but it's always good to know..I'm bookmarking this page.
by the way, milojames, if I were moving to the US for 6 months, I'd be packing up the whole clan, too!! All the cats and the birds (might consider leaving the husband behind, though...lol).....couldn't bear to be without them for that long and I think I would be hard pressed to find people to look after the pack for so long (if I took the husband, that is...)! No apologies necessary for loving your animal and wanting what's best for both of you...