nigel and wendy

hi and hello to everybody here (1st post)

i will be applying for a visa very soon after our trip to oz in mid feb,i have many many questions ,so u may be hering from us quite a bit...........my father in law asked a question about visiting us when we get there.Its about his dog,he is blind and has a guide dog.He`s already asked about getting the dog on planes ,airports etc and all is good but what about quaratine when he gets to oz,what are the rules on this ????


cheers for any help

nigel and wendy

Pollyana

I can honestly say that in all the years I've been posting, at last I'm reading a new question - I really don't think its been asked before. I would suggest searching for the details of Golden Arrow, they get recommended a lot for moving pets to Aus, or contact www.aqis.gov.au which is the Quarantine section for importation to Aus.

Be interested to read the answer.....

esperanza

My guess (and it is just a guess) would be that guide dogs would still have to do quarantine. I know that sniffer-dogs etc that work crime scenes or disaster areas still have to be quarantined. Australia seem so fussy about importing animals that I can't see them allowing one to just walk in.
It would be worth investigating though - contact aqis, or perhaps try one of the quarantine stations directly (the sydney one is called eastern creek, they have an email address) as they may have experience of this.
If the guide-dog does have to do quarantine, it might be worth contacting a charity or health authority in the area that you are going to to see if there might be a chance of 'borrowing' a guide dog to cover the period when your father-in-law is in need.

Having just re-read your post, you ask about your FIL visiting - if the dog does have to do standard quarantine it would be 30 days, which on top of the cost (£2500-3000 for a lab, oneway) might make it non-viable for a visit. Plenty of people query doing it on a permanent basis, let alone for a visit. It would have to be a long visit for it to be worthwhile, and even then it would be v expensive.

Will be interesting to hear what you find out though, let us know. Good luck!

Centurion

Actually looks as though you CAN import a guide dog without quarantine. I came across this http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/laws/australia/australia.html and this http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/laws/australia/aqis.html and although a step by step guide from the US to Australia, its mainly valid.

It seems that guide dogs are exempt from the quarantine regs but have to be cleared by an AQIS vet who meets them at the airport who could order the dog be put into quarantine or removed from the country if the inspection went badly.

Google is your friend....

YoSemite

and I would also imagine that if the dog is travelling in the cabin with its owner it's probably fairly likely that you WOULDN'T get charged any kind of shipping fee!!! (though what they charge for taking the dog on a plane is anyone's guess!!!!)

Max&Ozzy

Very interesting question. I also didn't realise the dogs could fly in the main cabin.

Just curious and I don't want to sound frivolous or demeaning about the issue but, how much aide will the dog be? I thought guide dogs were trained for special routines and locations (aside from general road etiquette etc).

Graham

GinaUK

Only guide dogs can fly in the cabin. And they are actually called "assistance dogs" as there are quite a few different types not just "guide dogs for the blind" but for example also "hearing dogs" for deaf people.

No, guide dogs aren't trained for one route or location, say home to work and back. So the dog would be able to help just as much in Australia.

Here is a website if you want to learn more about guide dogs for the blind: http://www.gdba.org.uk/

The dogs are incredibly clever! Years ago I observed one in a London tube station: They had just installed the automatic ticket barriers and everyone now had to walk through these to get to the platforms.

I saw the dog walk up to the barrier and was just about to shout a warning to the blind person (who would have slammed right into it), when the dog came to a stop across and in front of his missus (to stop her walking forward), then changed direction and walked over to the little hut with the guard in it. You could almost "see" what the dog was thinking: Oh, gosh, we didn't have these here last time we came through. Now, I can walk underneath this barrier no problem, but I don't think the missus can. We need help. I think we'll ask this man in the funny hat and clothes. It was incredible to watch.

Assistance dogs are not to be under-estimated.

Gina

esperanza

How brilliant that there are these special exceptions for assistance dogs - they really do a fabulously valuable job helping their owners.

chels

Amazing what they are trained to do, no wonder its a long and expensive process

Clippy

Oh wow, that's very clever

I remember seeing one poor dog tangled around a sign post in the middle of brum. Not quite sure how it happened but was shocked to see the amount of people that walked past and just looked without helping! I was across the square, made mad dash to help him. Obviously the owner didn't really understand what was going on but was very grateful when I untangled his lovely dog, only a young un from what I remember

They are amazing animals.

Glad to see they can go on the plane with the owner, that must be very reassuring

paul and Lynz

I came across this http://www.daff.gov.au/content/outpu...ntType=outputs whilst looking quarantine for my own dog, hope it helps

DagBoy

They probably rob you blind



sorry - bad pun, I'll leave now.

Kapri

Very funny.

I actually think it would be wrong for an airline to charge at all. The dog won't be taking up a seat. They should let them on free of charge.

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

Yes, but they would need to be seat belted for take off and landing.....anything 'loose' in the cabin is a hazard to all other passengers!

Would be interested to read the airlines policy on this!