# Bringing a dog from the US to UK



## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

I'm curious on everyone's opinion about this. I am not worried about the microchip, rabies vaccination, etc. I am just worried if it is safe to do this, because I know that the dog has to be in the cargo area of the plane, if I'm not mistaken? I have a cavalier king charles spaniel, so I know that he could only fly certain months of the year, definitely not in the summer. Has anyone had experience on bringing a pet over from the US to the UK? If you have, could you please tell me about your experience and if you think I should bring him with or keep him in the US? I will either be flying out of Minneapolis/St. Paul or O'Hare and not sure if I'd go to Gatwick or Heathrow, but I'm assuming Heathrow. Thanks everyone!

Erica


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I flew my two cats from San Francisco to Frankfurt several years ago. They arrived just fine - a little jetlagged and definitely upset, but none the worse for wear.

What's important to consider is your dog's age and overall condition, and then you need to research the best airline and receiving facility. Some airlines don't take animals at all, and some are better than others in the pet handling department.

Professional pet transporters have all this information available (some even post much of it on their websites), but their fees have risen in the past years. (I sent my cats via a pet transport service because I had to be in Germany a week or more before my apartment would be ready.)

Take a look at this site Pet Transportation, Travel & Relocation Specialists - Pet Express (it's the transport company I used many years ago). They have some of the basics on pet transport available on their site and you can decide from there.
Cheers,
Bev


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## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks for the input! It definitely makes me feel safer about bringing my dog with me to the UK.


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## pug_lover (Oct 31, 2011)

Hi Erimou,

I brought my pug from Australia to the UK - a 26 hour flight - and he was fine! In fact he got out of the crate as if he did it everyday! I did use a pet transport company, (which cost more than a human!) because he was flying unaccompanied (I was already in the UK) as they have handlers at the airport to supervise all stages of the process. If a pet has to change planes they make sure it all happens smoothly and check the food and water etc.
As I also handle HR in a large International Company, so have managed the relocation of many people from the US to the UK and have handled the relocation of their pets, with absolutely no problems. Although I have always used a pet transport company, it's not essential if you can organise to be on the same flight as your dog. I definitely wouldn't recommend tranquilising your dog (as some people do) as he will be in the hold unsupervised and may have a reaction to the medication. If you are on the plane - I would mention to the air hostess that your dog is in the hold and would she mind reminding the pilot. He has to flip a switch to ensure the air is pressurised down there!
I would recommend flying the shortest route possible, with as few change-overs of aircraft as possible. And yes, try to fly where it's not too hot! You have to fly approved airlines and routes - see the DEFRA website. And for example some airlines won't accept certain breeds, BA have banned pugs, bulldogs and boxers. The pet transport company built our pug a special crate with dry ice in the floor to keep him cool - as he was flying through Singapore and we didn't want him getting hot! 
The UK is fantastic for dogs - great walking, lots of great B&B's that accept dogs, and ours love going to the pubs, where they're always welcome. So yes, it's well worth it! Good Luck!


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## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

pug_lover said:


> Hi Erimou,
> 
> I brought my pug from Australia to the UK - a 26 hour flight - and he was fine! In fact he got out of the crate as if he did it everyday! I did use a pet transport company, (which cost more than a human!) because he was flying unaccompanied (I was already in the UK) as they have handlers at the airport to supervise all stages of the process. If a pet has to change planes they make sure it all happens smoothly and check the food and water etc.
> As I also handle HR in a large International Company, so have managed the relocation of many people from the US to the UK and have handled the relocation of their pets, with absolutely no problems. Although I have always used a pet transport company, it's not essential if you can organise to be on the same flight as your dog. I definitely wouldn't recommend tranquilising your dog (as some people do) as he will be in the hold unsupervised and may have a reaction to the medication. If you are on the plane - I would mention to the air hostess that your dog is in the hold and would she mind reminding the pilot. He has to flip a switch to ensure the air is pressurised down there!
> ...


Thanks for the info, pug_lover! Do you think I should go with a pet transport company if I need to switch planes? Or do you think I can handle it on my own? I just want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Thanks again!


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## pug_lover (Oct 31, 2011)

erimou said:


> Thanks for the info, pug_lover! Do you think I should go with a pet transport company if I need to switch planes? Or do you think I can handle it on my own? I just want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Thanks again!


Of course! I was quite stressed preparing our dog to come over! I did choose a transport company as I felt more confident that they would be able to handle the flight change-over. The problem is your dog is technically treated as "cargo" so you'll (usually) take it to a special area of the airport 3 hours before your flight - and not see it again til you can collect it from the special animal area at either Heathrow or Gatwick. 
You usually won't be allowed to see it when you change planes - as you aren't allowed on the tarmac when it's being unloaded and you won't usually see it being loaded onto your next flight (you can ask the air hostess to check with the pilot as he should be told by the cargo loaders that they've put an animal in the hold) 
If there's any delays to your next flight - there's no guarantee that the airlines' cargo people will take any special notice of your dog during the wait.
Whereas the pet transport people are allowed to go airside to supervise the unloading of your dog and should take more care to ensure that your dog is happy and healthy and gets on the next plane. 
However, airlines are all different and things are changing (I brought my dog over 6 years ago) Some now have special animal transport departments, I've used the Virgin Atlantic one and they were great. Maybe check with the airline you were thinking of flying as to what service they offer?
Maybe do some cost comparisons? I would say the considerations to make as to whether to choose a transport company could be - how long is the delay between your two flights? What temperature will it be at the changeover airport when you're flying? If it's a long wait and if it's going to be hot - a transport company should ensure your dog is well looked after (it gets hot out there on the tarmac!)
Loads of people travel with their pets so it is becoming more common and is very safe - and well worth it to have your pet in your new country with you - it's how I've made some of my new best friends!


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## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks again for your reply! I am starting to feel better about bringing him with me.


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

My dog will be flying into the UK from the US in about a week. I'll give you an update on everything once he arrives safely, but at the moment I just have to say make sure you go onto the DEFRA site and make sure you fly him along an approved route with an approved carrier. DEFRAs Pet Scheme information site will have these listed. They are also very friendly and helpful if you have to call with any questions. Sorry I can't post the link. Apparently I am not "Active" yet...

My dog will be flying from Newark, NJ to Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic. At the moment Chicago is listed to Heathrow with either BA, Virgin, or KLM. Minneapolis is listed to both Gatwick and Heathrow with Northwest Airlines, or to Heathrow with Delta or Iceland Air. It may not be a problem if you are flying with the dog, but because my dog is flying unaccompanied Delta would not ship him from Syracuse, NY to JFK then to Heathrow because the UK says they must fly directly from approved port to approved port. (I did call DEFRA and they said they only care about the last stop in the US being an approved port, but Delta wasn't willing to take that risk.)

The other thing to be aware of, which I wasn't, is that your dog will need at least two separate documents to travel to the UK from the US. One is a health certificate that your vet fills out that says he is fit to fly. The other is an official third country veterinary certificate that is filled out by your vet and must be endorsed by the FDA. (My vet didn't realize there were two different forms so it made it fun trying to sort it all out with my mother who will be shipping him next week.The rules are changing in January, but as far as I can tell, it only affects the tick and tapeworm treatment that must be done before the flight.

I shall write a full report about it when he gets here safely, but those were the big stress inducing experiences I had last week. If you're planning to use a pet transport company they should take care of it all for you. Good luck.


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## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

I'd love to hear how things turn out, Liz! I am closer to Minneapolis, but I'm thinking about flying through O'Hare, because I can hopefully just get a direct flight to Heathrow. Minneapolis sometimes has direct flights, but they are harder to come by, I think. But, yeah, please let me know how things go! And thanks for letting me know about the two documents! I only thought there was one as well!


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

When I said the Third Country Veterinary Certificate had to be endorsed by the FDA I actually meant USDA! So many silly acronyms....And I had been watching Grey's Anatomy earlier....Whoops. But anyway, I shall let you know how I get on with it all as I'm doing it myself (with the help of family who are currently keeping him) and not through a transport company.


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## pug_lover (Oct 31, 2011)

Liz in UK said:


> When I said the Third Country Veterinary Certificate had to be endorsed by the FDA I actually meant USDA! So many silly acronyms....And I had been watching Grey's Anatomy earlier....Whoops. But anyway, I shall let you know how I get on with it all as I'm doing it myself (with the help of family who are currently keeping him) and not through a transport company.


Good Luck Liz! Hope all goes well!
Your story certainly highlights the differences between using a transport company and doing it yourself.
The transport company know everything and do everything for you. They know the approved routes and all the documents that are needed and have internationally certified vets that do all the tests and paperwork for you. You basically ring them and then they take everything out of your hands! But of course there's a cost involved, so it's up to whether you have the time and energy to research everything yourself and ensure your vet does it right, or pay someone to organise everything for you! Especially for me with a pug nosed dog, that is banned from many airlines and gets overheated if left in the sun, its good to have someone handling all those special requirements! 
But it's certainly achievable either way, so get some quotes & read the DEFRA website to ensure you have all the facts!


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## erimou (Feb 24, 2011)

Yeah, I'm still debating going through a transport company. I mean, my dog isn't a pug, but he does have the short snout. I have seen cavalier king charles spaniels on the no fly list for summer months for some airlines. Hopefully I'll be in the UK before summer arrives!!!


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## Citizenofacity (Oct 3, 2011)

Hi, 
We're flying our dog over in the winter from Canada. Terrifying, but the more we learn about it all, the more secure we feel.

One thing that helped us was just calling the freight/cargo department of the airline we're using and asking them questions about it all. They really did put us at our ease.
From Canada, we're flying with an airline that keeps their cargo hold pressurized and the exact same temperature as the cabin.

It's going to cost us a fortune to use the a professional service, but we've decided to suck it up and pay it; this move has enough complexities without us having to handle all the minute details.

Good luck, and keep us posted!


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## Vegasgirl94 (Feb 12, 2011)

My dog (rat terrier) just got here from Omaha three weeks ago. He was unaccompanied as I was already here. He was fine, and yes I was so nervous! He hadn't seen me in 6 months due to quarantine, but he was fine once he sniffed and saw me, he would not let me go! There was another dog in the hold with him, so I don't know if that helped or not... But he did have a layover in Houston before coming to Heathrow, so we had to pay an extra $75 for kenneling. They let him out, let him use the restroom, and let him eat and drink before the 8 hour flight to London. 

I didn't use a service as the $1300 it cost for him to come here was enough! All I can attest to is that you don't necessarily need the service as the airlines will definitely take care of him. I flew him through Continental btw, it was the cheapest. 

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

Alright, I promised a full and more detailed reply once my dog had arrived and we picked him up at Heathrow yesterday morning, so here we go. Most of this will already be things you know and may have found out for yourself, but it helps to have it all in one place. I did not use a company that specializes in moving countries as it was already very expensive to bring him over. You will also need to allow yourself about 7 months to do it all.

I started the process to make it possible for my Jack Russel Terrier to fly in April. The first step is to have your pet microchipped. Make sure it is a format that can be read by the scanners in the UK. Some US chips use a different radio frequency, and those may not be read by the scanners in the UK. DEFRA should have details about the format needed on their website, but I believe it is called an ISO chip. If you already have your pet chipped with something other than an ISO and don't want to get another chip, I believe it's ok, as long as you include a scanner that can read that chip. 

The next step is to have the rabies vaccination. This must be done after the microchip is inserted, and even if your current vaccination is not expired yet. It also shouldn't be done the same day as having the microchip inserted, otherwise the timings may be confused and they may think that the rabies was done first, invalidating everything.

Next is the rabies titers test to check your dog has the appropriate levels of rabies protection. You need to wait 21 days between the vaccination and taking the blood sample for the test. Your dog is then eligible to fly to the UK 6 months from the date the blood sample was taken, provided the test shows the appropriate levels. (Be aware this test cost me between $300 and $400.)

When you go to book your dog's flight, he has to fly as cargo. Many airlines will carry pets. They fly in the cargo hold, but it is pressurized and temperature controlled. We were told it would probably be around 65F throughout the flight. (That probably changes depending on the time of year you fly.) Shop around for quotes. Some airlines charge based on the size of the container, others, like Delta, have a flat rate for shipping to certain destinations plus an additional charge per kilo of weight. When getting prices, also make sure you have checked that you'll be flying with an approved carrier along an approved route. DEFRA has them all listed on their website, but the airlines will also most likely know. The airlines that ship pets seem to pride themselves in their handling of animals. Most of them say that an agent from their cargo department will be with your pet to take them to the plane, transfer them between aircraft if necessary, and to take them to the animal reception centre. Because my dog was unaccompanied, they even took care of all of the customs clearance procedures. All I had to do when I got to the airport was pick him up. Another thing to consider is whether you are a member of any airline's loyalty scheme. My husband is part of Virgin's frequent flyer program, and the dog's flight earned him some miles.

Before you can fly you need to do a lot of paperwork. When you were having the rabies vaccination and blood test, your vet should have been scanning the microchip and documenting it on the certificates/paperwork. In order to enter the UK, you need a third party veterinary certificate filled out by your vet and then sent to the USDA for endorsement. I still can't post links, but if you Google "USDA APHIS" you will find all the information the US has on traveling with your pet. Their website will have a list of places you can send your paperwork for the endorsement in your state. Earlier I said you will need two documents; the third country veterinary certificate and the health certificate. The first has all of the information about the microchip, vaccination, blood test, tick and tapeworm treatments, and is endorsed by the USDA. The second is just a certificate saying that the animal is fit to fly. Virgin emailed me the certificate they wanted used. The certificate is only valid for 10 days and most people have their veterinarian sign off on it when they take the animal in for the tick and tapeworm treatment. You will need a third document which is the customs declaration form and was emailed to me by the airline.

Before you fly you will need a tick and tapeworm treatment. However this changes in January, so make sure you check DEFRA's website to stay on top of the latest information. These have to be given not less than 24 hours before the flight and not more than 48 hours. As an example, my dog had his treatment at 11:00 am on a Saturday and flew out at 9:00pm on the following Sunday.

When you go to check in, you will take your pet to the airline's cargo center. This will vary from airline to airline, but my dog had to check in 4 hours before he was scheduled to depart. He was fed about an hour before my mother dropped him off, given water on the plane, and I believe he was fed when the plane landed.

My dog flew unaccompanied as I moved to the UK in June, and as far as I can tell was very well taken care of by Virgin and DEFRA when he landed. Because he was unaccompanied he had to undergo a health check by a veterinarian. I don't know if accompanied animals have to go through it, but all unaccompanied pets get checked. Processing times for pets through the animal reception center can take up to 4 hours, but I believe the average is 2 and a half hours. My dog landed at 9:15, I called Virgin at 9:45 and asked how things were going and he had just been dropped off at the ARC. Virgin called me back at 11:50 to say DEFRA had finished so he was being cleared through customs, and we were then on our way home by about 12:50.

As for cost, I would say, depending on the size of your pet, have between $2000 and $3000 set aside. It is a bit cheaper with some airlines if you are flying with the dog, and the charges you get hit with when you land are also slightly less if your pet is accompanied. But you're looking at the cost of the micro chip, the cost of the rabies vaccine, the $300-$400 for the blood test, the cost of the USDA endorsement which is about $125 or $150 at this time, the tick and tapeworm treatments, plus whatever your vet charges for every office visit. The cost of shipping varies from airline to airline, but as an indication, my 11lb Jack Russel cost $845 to ship. When he landed I had to pay £315.00 in handling charges and customs clearance. At the current exchange rate that brings it around to $1300 for the flight and all charges. I also had to buy a crate for him to fly in.

Anyway, I think that's about it. Let me know if you want anything cleared up, and good luck!


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## Liz in UK (Jul 31, 2011)

I forgot to say that this was following the UK's PETS scheme and the 6 month wait between the blood test and being able to fly to the UK is basically the quarantine period. So if you get the timings right and you and your dog fly together, you never need to be separated except for the flight and the time it takes to process him. My dog got to do his quarantine at home with my mother, so not as good as if I'd planned a bit better and been able to bring him with me when I moved, but better than being stuck somewhere in real quarantine.

However, if everything is not in order your dog may be sent back or be held in quarantine until he meets the requirements. But I gather that's relatively rare.

Also, for those of you that are worried, I'd just like to say my dog is 13, and he seemed perfectly fine when I picked him up. Though perhaps a bit jet lagged.


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## StacyG (Nov 7, 2011)

Liz- thank you so much posting all of this info. I can't tell you how much his put my mind at ease. I've been sick thinking about my poor dogs flying for such a long stretch and this makes me feel so much better. We've decided to bring both of our dogs over, when we relocate in Jan. I can't thank you enough for this post. It really put my (extremely nervous) mind at ease.


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## kiwifruity (Dec 5, 2010)

Our pets are much tougher than we give them credit for. Age and condition of a dog is not always the problem, it is the stress, sounds of the plane. Many years ago, we flew our dog from Australia to the UK, and was told by a cargo worker what scares them is the noise of the engines etc.......as they are getting into plane, and you can just imagine how loud that must be for them. Besides that workers are shouting to one another over the roar of engines, which also freaks them out!

But these pet transport agencies are top notch, our beloved dogs/cats are looked after superbly! And at that cost, should bloody well hope so!

Good luck to all - it is a very emotional thing to go through, after all, they are our babies.


Roxanna


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