All my dog however have come or gone to/from Finland and I have to say the Finnish are major dog lovers and do care. If you are concidering this option this will tell you the basics but it will vary slightly (generally the shipping) from country to country. Procedure as follows:- Firstly your puppy or adult dog must be fully vaccinated. Then Microchipped. At a minimum of 3 months old you can then take your dog to the vet to have it's rabies vaccine. At anytime after the rabies vaccination you can have the dog blood tested. This can be done the day after but the manufacturers recommend 30 days for the best result so unless your working to a tight deadline I would leave it at least 20 days. The result must be equal to or above 0.5IU/ml to be acceptable. Should your dog be less than this then you will have to have the dog re-vaccinated and blood tested again. Once you have a satisfactory result then you must wait 6 months from the date the blood was taken before you can re-enter the UK. This means that you may travel abroad before this date but not return before this date or the dog will be put into quaranteen. After the passport has been issued you must take very good care to keep all vaccinations up to date, annual booster and rabies every two years (some countries may insist on annual) Late vaccinations may result in having to start from the beginning again. So thats getting the passport! Travelling by plane. Having now travelled on 5 flights with dogs in the hold I have now learned to relax! All I must say have been with Finnair who I can give a big thumbs up and 11/10 for their handling of the dogs from start to finish! It must be noted that you can now travel your dog as excess luggage when leaving the UK but NOT on return. This is only available up to 50kg so your dog and the Vari Kennel must weigh no more than this together. This is a much better and easier way to fly your dog, the biggest hitch is finding a long stay carpark prepared to transfer you and the dog to the terminal. Usually if you go to an agent they will do the leg work and ring around on your behalf but be aware you may be in the middle of nowhere so make sure you allow plenty of time to find the place. When you book your ticket you must speak to the ticket agent even if booked online and explain that a dog will be travelling as excess luggage as the airline needs to know this. You will then need to arrive about 2 hours before your flight. I had my own check in desk which was great concidering the queue's. They will handle the paperwork etc. You will then have to go to the foreign exchange desk to pay for the dog, this is cheaper than sending them as cargo. The staff were most helpful and held the dog while I queued to pay. You will then need to assemble your Vari-kennel and then wait for security to come and get inside the kennel to make sure your not smuggling drugs or anything else inside!!!! Once done a very nice man comes and puts the dog crate on a trolley, the dog gets in and if you give them a bottle of extra water they will make sure that the dog has plenty for the flight and off they go, usually straight onto the plane with no hanging around. Note this is the procedure for Terminal 1 Heathrow. Sending as Cargo This is not something I enjoyed doing but the dogs arrived safe and sound. Again when you book your ticket, making sure the airline is approved to travel the dog you will need to ring the cargo centre for that airline and book the dog on. They will need to know the approximate weight of the dog and also the measurements and weight of the kennel. You will be required to pay at the cargo center. Now if you are travelling with the dog it would be a real headache. You must leave the dog 3 hours before the flight in it's crate in a cargo hall, not my idea of fun. Then if you are going to get yourself to your car park and then to the terminal. Nerves of steel for this one. Returning with your dog You will need to fax copies of all your dogs documentation to the airline cargo office who will check and forward on to the Animal Reception Center Heathrow. When you arrive at Cargo with the dog you will need to pay for the flight which can be a bit of a shock, it cost nearly 900 Euros to fly Miska home. On arriving back in the UK you will need to collect your car or be picked up and drive around to the cargo center for your airline and pay a cargo handling fee. They will also check the paperwork. This can be a long process, at times hours and hours but you must get angry if it drags on. Things can be speed up a little if you have the Airwaybill Number but to them it is just cargo, to you it is your prized possession so keep on at them. When they finally issue a release you then need to drive around to the Animal Reception Center with your release note and the dogs passport and within minutes you should be reunited, they generally come out wagging. Travelling to Europe By Train I have to give a big thumbs up to Eurotunnel. This is a fast and easy way to access Europe. It means that at no time is the dog left in the car. As with flying you must have your dogs passport and the dog must be booked on the ticket. £30 per dog. You will be given a ticked to display with the pets passport logo so they are aware dogs are travelling. You may or may not be checked on the way out but on return you MUST take your dog to the Pets Passport check point where the dogs microchip will be scanned and checked against its passport, you then continue on to queue for your train. By Boat It's a few years since I travelling by boat but then it worked the same, the dogs may or may not be checked on the way out but must be checked on the otherside before return. They may also be randomly selected on the UK side for checking. RETURNING TO THE UK..... PLEASE READ Before you can return to the UK via any route your dog MUST be treated for Ticks/Fleas etc. The most popular spot on that kills the European nasties we don't have is ADVANTIX available from your vet. The dog must also be treated for worms, Drontal Plus is recommended. Take these treatments with you, it's much easier. Both of these treatments must be carried out 24-48 hours before return to the UK. The vet carrying out the treatment MUST stamp the passport as well as signing or you WILL NOT be allowed to return to the UK. If you are travelling to a show and will only be abroad less than 48 hours you can have this treatment done in the UK but the same rule applies, you can't return less than 24hours or more than 48hours of the treatment being carried out. |
