DandNHill

Yup. Seems to be much more dangerous than any of the other highways.

bats

Have paths replaced journeys now?

glendem4

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley." = The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Well it is only 54 days to our departure for Ontario. The house sale fell through a few weeks ago. We have decided to relist the property around Easter as the house is a tip at the moment. It is amazing how much you gather over the years. Every weekend I am either at the tip or visiting a charity shop. We've decided to donate anything of worth to good causes.

Removal companies are coming next week to give us a quote. We are just moving personal items and small kitchen utensils and some bedding, no furniture. It's amazing how you can fill 30 boxes. We are getting quotes from Britania International, Pickfords and White & Co Removals. White & Co have had quite a few good postings on this forum.

Pickfords online quote for 30 boxes shipped was around £900. As we will have computers and knitting machines to ship as well, it will probably exceed £1000 in total.

Still considering whether to transport our 3 dogs ourselves. The OH does not like the idea of leaving the dogs 24 hours before we fly. As they are all small dogs, we don't need to go down the Cargo route.

Pros
1. Dogs will be with us right up until check-in
2. We can pick the dogs up quickly at Pearson, instead of waiting at the Cargo section.
3. Cost to send 3 small dogs in the hold and buying 3 IATA crates is less then £1000, compared to £2000 for a private company.

Cons.
1. Traveling to the airport with the dogs.
2. Having to do all the paperwork ourselves. Contacting DEFRA.
3. No fallback option if we get anything wrong.

We can not find anywhere online that definitely states what vaccinations the dogs require. All our pets have their annual boosters up to date. We are coming from a Rabies free country, so no requirements for Rabies jabs. Our vet will provide a fit to fly certificate 72 hours before we fly. We are aware of the crate dimensions for the dogs. We are aware of the fees when importing dogs into Canada. is there anything else we need to consider?

Tomorrow, it's another day at the tip and clearing out our loft..........

aerivona

I thought that you don't need to contact Defra. I remember reading on the official guidance that if you are bringing a dog from the UK to Canada (which we are as well) you just need to get the dog a rabies vaccination, then get an EU pet passport which is confirmation that they come from a rabies free country (the official website says they accept the pet passport for this reason), then 5 days before the flight they need to be checked by the vet to see if they are fit to fly, then I believe the vet issues a certificate. We aren't contacting DEFRA as I believe we don't need to. We are putting our small cockapoo in the baggage hold. Organising this ourselves hasn't seemed too difficult so far and for me was better than paying PetAir to do it.

Hurlabrick

Very sorry to hear your UK house sale fell through and hope a new buyer emerges soon, right time of year to sell in the UK. Recently accepted an offer on our UK house, hoping it all holds together and actually completes!

TheNorms

My wife is sorting out getting the dog over but she said she is only doing what you have said. Passport and health certificate, She is flying out after me and due to airlines not liking to take flat nose dogs in the hold she is going over to Paris to fly with our Frenchie in the cabin with her. Lucky she is small enough otherwise it would have been a cruise to New York on the QM2 then a long drive.

glendem4

You contact DEFRA when your pet DOES NOT have a rabies vaccination, as the UK is a rabies free country. You only require a pet passport if you are bringing the dogs back to the UK. The Vet certificate fit to fly has be to completed WITHIN 72 hours of departure.

DandNHill

But contrary to your earlier post your dogs do need a rabies shot.
Depending where you live Barrie/Innisfil you will need to prove the dogs have had rabies shots to get their licenses.

TheNorms

Just want to clarify the requirements re rabies, I personally would get the rabies vaccine done to save any potential issues. But that’s my personal preference.

The veterinary requirements for dogs and cat to fly to Canada are pretty simple. They need a microchip and a rabies vaccination and a health certificate within 5 days of the flight. If they don’t have a rabies vaccination, then they can have DEFRA export paperwork completed which confirms to the Canadian authorities that UK is rabies free and so they will accept an un-vaccinated dog or cat from the UK. There is currently no quarantine for dogs and cats travelling from the UK to Canada.

dbd33

You'll also need the certificate if you have to board the dog and you should have it in order to take the dog to America (in very many crossings no one has asked for it but the idea of the dogs being impounded in either Niagara is not an attractive one).

In any case, no one wants a rabid dog around the house, why wouldn't you get the dog vaccinated?

rawsalad

Sad to hear the house sale falling through. The trials of a house sale in England sadly. I once heard a couple had two house sales fall through and then they went the "webuyanyhouse" route and got screwed over - the company reduced the price offer two days before the couple were leaving.

Our house just up for sale now and cross fingers we get a offer and it completes. Started car-booting the junk we are not taking as Gumtree is hopeless.

Wish you all best of luck on the house and move.

rawsalad

Didn't think micro-chip of cats was necessary in Canada. Importing or Travelling with Domestic Cats - Three months of age or older from countries recognized by Canada as being rabies-free - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

glendem4

Just to clarify on the rules for importing pets to Canada from the UK which are more than 8 months...Importing or Travelling with Domestic Dogs - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Requirements

Dogs may enter Canada if they are accompanied by rabies certification, which means they must have:

a rabies vaccination certificate OR a veterinary certificate.

Canada is not rabies free. Rabies vaccinations are recommended for dogs three months or more coming to Canada.
Rabies Vaccination Certificate

The European Union pet passport is an acceptable alternative to the rabies vaccination certificate as long as all the required elements outlined below are included.

The rabies vaccination certificate must:

be written in English or French;
be issued and signed by a licensed veterinarian;
identify the animal (breed, sex, colour, and weight);
state that the animal is vaccinated against rabies;
indicate the date of vaccination;
indicate the trade name and the serial number of the licensed vaccine; and
specify the duration of immunity (otherwise, it will be considered valid for one year from the date of vaccination).

Veterinary Certificate

The veterinary certificate must:

be written in English or French;
be issued and signed by a licensed veterinarian;
identify the animal (breed, sex, colour, and weight);
state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least six months immediately preceding shipment to Canada; and
be accompanied by documentation from a competent government authority, stating that rabies has not occurred in the country of origin for at least six months immediately preceding the animal's shipment to Canada.

A competent government authority refers to a veterinary agency or other government agency that manages a country's animal health and welfare situation, as well as handles the responsibility of veterinary certification for the purposes of international trade. The document can be either:

a letter issued on the competent government authority's letterhead, dated, stamped, and signed by an official of the competent government authority in the country of origin; or
a signed letter by the licensed veterinarian who issued the certificate, which must be endorsed by the competent government authority.

Animals That Do Not Meet Canadian Rabies Import Requirements

If a dog does not meet the Canadian rabies import requirements, owners will be required, at their own expense, to:

have the animal vaccinated against rabies within a specified period of time; and
provide the vaccination record to a Canadian Food Inspection Agency office.

Please note that the option of rabies vaccination upon arrival is not available for dogs less than 8 months of age imported under the commercial category.

TheNorms

glendem4

44 Days until departure to Canada.

We've now received 2 quotes to ship 40+ boxes to Toronto, Canada.

White & Co quote £1880, but can not confirm shipping time
Britannia International Removals quote £2150 with a 8-10 week delivery time

OH wants to go with Britannia as she is not happy waiting more than 10 weeks for delivery.

Does anyone have recent experience of shipping with White & Co to Ontario and the delivery times?
Another good thread on shipping with Whites....http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...advice-882682/

Tonight we are visiting our Vets to go through the paperwork to transport our 3 small dogs on an Air Canada flight to Toronto. We have decided to do the transport ourselves. We've already ordered and received 3 IATA crates which the dogs are using as bedding at the moment. The more they spend in the crates, the better it will be to transport on the day. We have hired a 6 seater taxi to take us direct to the airport. We will look to fly out mid afternoon from Heathrow, so that we have time in the morning to exercise the dogs. We have taken the advice to get all 3 dogs vaccinated at our Vets for rabies. This will save us the effort of arranging when we land in Canada. We have spoken to DEFRA and got the Export Health Application form (EXA01) and 3 V5:2923 EHC Export Health Certificate forms. We need to submit the completed forms at least 20 days before our flight, as DEFRA takes up to 10 working days to process the paperwork before sending to our Vet and the Vet needs to perform the Health check within 72 hours of our departure.

Today was also another significant step on the road. I handed in my notice at work.......

More updates to follow over the next 6 weeks............