Pet Transport (domestic, transborder and international!)

Okay, seeing as I'm bringing my cat with me to England, I've done a bunch of research into it.. A lot of you know about the defra site ( http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/index.htm ) but my vet also gave me a brochure on an actual pet transport agency ( http://www.boomerangpetcarrier.com/ ). They seem pretty pricey (minimum $400), but I haven't called them as of yet, or even called the airline to find out how much it would cost if I did it myself. I was hoping I could just call up the people for this company and get some questions answered, by they might be evil and not answer them unless I'm transporting my cat with them.

Anyway, will keep you updated, as I've heard of a few people who've wanted to move their pets.

One final comment though; I live in Calgary and so far as I know, this company is based in Calgary. I don't know if they work across the rest of the country, or if it's just transporting pets from Calgary. If you wanted to try and go through them, you'll probably have to check yourself. Sorry!

Hope this helps some people, though.

Heya,

Thanks for that info - we're actually thinking about getting a dog, and of course I love to travel.so we've been looking into pet carriers and foreign pet policies. In australia you need to put your pet in quarantine for a minimum 30 days.crazy! I think the UK is more lenient though.

Usually you would have to put your pet into Quarantine for (I believe) 6 months in the UK. Which I wouldn't stand for. So after doing some research, I learned that they had a new program in the UK for travelling with your loved animals called PETS (Pet Travel Scheme). There's a lot of work on has to do for it, but. In the end I think it will be -well- worth it. I thought I'd share what I learned.

I'm currently in the middle of the whole process. I have a dog that I'm planning on taking over this summer.

There is a lot of information out there, and you need to follow the steps accuretly, or they'll make you start it all over again.

So far the most expensive step for me, was getting my dogs blood work done, and sent to the lab. The vet robbed me of $200+ I couldn't belive it. I'm biting my tongue though, because i think quarantine in England is a lot pricier. Once I get the test results back, and all is a pass, I'll just be waiting the 6 months, plus a few more heartworm tests to perform.

What stage are you at Tigerlea?

I got my cat micro chipped and given his rabies shot (as well as other shots since it was his yearly checkup) in October. January 10th he had his vet appointment for the titer (blood work) test, but I have not yet received the results. Dad didn't mention if they'd be calling me when the results came in. (I had to work that day, so my dad took him in for me. I wish I had the chance to talk to the vet myself first though.) Mine cost about the same as yours, though.

So at the moment I'm just waiting for the results. Were you told how long that would take?

And then I have to find out exactly what the deworming/tick treatment is all about and how that works, because I still don't understand. For deworming, my dog was given two pills, but there's that whole 24/48 hour thing. So I'm a tad confuzzled.

Also, I still have to have the veterinarian certificate filled out, but that has to be done within 3 months before arrival, and not far in advance.

Hi Guys!

New member - I just started the process yesterday, in quite a rush after realizing I needed to wait 6 months! My two cats have been Microchipped and Rabies immunized, which set me back $350, and am now told I need to wait 3 weeks until the blood test. It seems that there are different recommendations on how long to wait until the blood test, and 3 weeks seems to be on the faster side. Since the blood tests are going to set me back $120 each, I'm hoping I get a positive result!

As for information on transporting over to the UK, I've been quoted by British Airways and Air Canada, and Air Canada comes out ahead with a quote of $1130 versus BA at $1800 for one crate with two cats (must be under 24 lbs each to combine). Yikes! This is pricey!

Whoa, Thanks for all the info Stuff I didn't know. I'm planning on getting a cat when I move over to the Uk but if I come back I'll definately be needing this info. So Kudos to you for finding it Tiger.

Grah! $1130? Sheesh, that's almost the price of my ticket--which I haven't even booked yet! Thanks for that, I'll have to adjust my budget around it.



Heh, thanks Riverfox. What can I say, I just wanna be helpful to the extent that I can. ^-^ It's not much, but hopefully it'll get some people on the right track.

For anyone who has done blood tests for their pets, how long did you have to wait for the results? Just curious as I have a blood test appointment on the 18th, and just in case they don't pass, I want to estimate what the delay will be!

Oh! I totally forgot to mention today:

I got a call from the Vets assistant on Saturday saying that Vaun (my precious boy-cat) 'passed' the blood test. His level is something like. 2.19, and they need at least 0.5 (I THINK) to pass. So we're good to go in 6 months.

He had his blood test on January 10th, and as I said, I got the call Saturday though I was told I was supposed to get the call Friday (February 8th), so it took JUST under a month to get the results.


Also. Has ANYONE taken a step beyond the blood test yet? Whatever the next step is. I just want to make sure I don't screw up now that the 'big' things are out of the way. I'm also unsure if I have to do a final checkup within the month prior to leaving. The Vets assistant said I may have to, but she was unsure as well, and all I can find about it is that the animal "needs to have a clear bill of health and proof of this". Any ideas? =\ It's bugging me now. Despite all this research I've done.


I will try to help others along the way, though. As best I can!