mclayton

Hi Everyone, I’m new to this forum and just starting out gathering information needed for our relocation from UK to the US (together with my wife,3 children, 2 dogs and a cat I will be heading to the US in the summer of 2024).

Currently I’m looking for advice about removal services from the UK to US. Does anyone have any recommendations for door to door removal services for household items, furniture etc and then also how does it work with pets - 2 dogs and 1 cat? Thanks in advance for your help - such a lot to do and difficult to know where to start with it all.

Noorah101

Just curious, what visa will you be using to move to the USA?

Rene

Noorah101

I think you'll have to contact the airline to see what their pet requirements are.

Rene

mclayton

Hi Rene. It’s an L1A that has been applied for.

Irish_Girl

We used PSS movers to go from Leicester to Georgia back in Nov 2020. They were good, we were pleased with the service. However, when we were researching I heard horror stories about nearly every moving company and I think, as with most things, people are more likely to review and talk about bad experiences - but still worth researching each company and getting quotes. I think some of the issues arise in that once the items arrive in the US it's often third party movers are used to get it from the port to your home. You don't know who they will be or how good their reviews are etc. But like I said, we used PSS and were happy.

Pet wise, we brought over 2 cats and used PetAir. They were great (it's not cheap) but they were great at communicating and sorting everything out. They picked the cats up the day before the flight with custom made wooden crates for their size and they stayed overnight and were checked by their vet before flying. They sent us updates as well, which was nice. But again, issue arrises at the US end as different airports add different charges upon pick up. This is out of the pet couriers control as far as I know. When we went to pick our cats up we were prepared for this, but then it turns out you had to pay via money order and we had no idea what that was or how we went about getting one. We managed to do it at a gas station close by but it was very confusing - so just giving you a heads up in case that is the case for you.

It is my understanding that you can not fly with a pet in the cabin with you from the UK (this is a UK rule) but I saw stories of some people who drove to France and flew out of France to the US with their pets in cabin. This all depends on the size of your pets as well. They have to be fairly small and it's one pet per person.

Hope this helps

Glasgow Girl

For pets you usually need a fit to fly certificate from a vet which just confirms that the animal is healthy enough to fly. You will need to be up to date on all vaccinations so make sure of that and do not leave it to the last minute because there may be restrictions on when they received the vaccinations. You must use airline approved containers, and they will fly in the hold. It is probably more stressful for you than the animal although no fun for them either.

Most airlines will refuse to fly the pet if the forecast temperature is higher than 85 degrees F at either the departure or arrival, and will kennel them (at your expense) if they consider it unsafe to fly. You should be okay in June, but earlier in the month is better of course. The further you get into June and July the more likely it is that the temperature could exceed 85 in Chicago on any given day, causing delays for the pet.

There are several companies out there that will organize this for you, just google pet transport UK to US. You will get all the information you need. You can do it yourself but with your family in tow it might be worth the expense to have the animals taken care by someone else and get settled in your accommodation for a day or so before they arrive.

I brought a 16 year old cat with me when I came over permanently. She travelled in the hold on the same flight and I arranged it directly with the airline (AA). Cost all of $75 but that was a while back. She arrived just fine, was a little stressed for a day or two but recovered fast and lived for another few years.