carolj00

Hi, myself and my husband are moving to Barbados next spring, I am bringing my dog with me and I am worried about the flight. He will be 12 years old, but fit, any suggestions

Sunniebgi

HI Carol,

I'd recommend searching through these posts for information. I'd also recommend speaking to your Vet and also checking out the Barbados Government pages regarding bringing dogs into Barbados.

I'm guessing, since you are on this board, that you are coming from Great Britain, which means that it will not be as difficult as coming from the US or Canada but you still need to get all the info.

carolj00

Thankyou for your quick reply. I have been to my vet with my dog and her reply was that today he is fit to travel, but it will be about 7 months before we are due out there, so he will need another check nearer the time.
Do you know the conditions in which animals are treated at the airport when they land ?

zanne

Based on my experience it is probably best if your pet travels on a different flight than you are on. What I would suggest is that maybe the dog comes a week or so after you arrive here. My cat came from the UK many months after I arrived here, and I cannot imagine trying to clear the animal through the airport after just arriving myself. When I went through all of this Barbados was limiting the flights that could actually carry animals to BGI. This is my suggestion:

1. Get intouch with the government vet to organize the import permit; they are in Pine Basin. When you speak to them ask them to give you the name of a customs broker, you will definitely need a broker.

2. If your vet doesn't board, find one that does in the UK to handle the export of the animal to BGI.

3. My recollection is that between the import permit, government vet on overtime, the import duty, VAT (now 17.5%) the customs broker and the ground handling fees for Seawell to bring the animal to the Animal Reception Centre I spent almost $1000.00BB. It's not cheap.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

berkscannuck

Hello,
We moved here with our chocolate labrador in July.
Previous comments are correct, its not cheap. But you pay to keep your 'family' together. Our bill came to approx 9,000 BBD.
May I recommend you get in touch with a pet travel agent in the UK. In fact if you travel with BA, they insist that you use such a service.
We used PetAir UK. They have a great web site, and were amazing. They can kennel your animal prior to flying, and pick up from your home address to make life easier, it all adds to the cost of course. They custom make a wooden cage for the dog, then the animal feels as comfortable and safe as possible. Water is provided throughout the flight, but absolutely NO sedation. The cage is spayed with doggy pheromones as a natural calming agent.
When we came over, our family split their travel to avoid the situation mentioned by Zanne; all arriving at the same time and being exhausted. My husband came ahead of the rest of us, and then went straight to cargo when we arrived on mass a few days later.
Plus there is documentation that your broker would need in 'original' form, to present at customs and to the verifying vet on entry. Arriving ahead of the dog allows you to organise this.
The cargo process took about an hour, and actually was very smooth. This was definitely helped by the advice provided by the pet travel group.
Think carefully about flight times, as once you approach 'out of hours' for the receiving vet, both cost increases and potential delays.
Hope this helps!

nilocp

Berkscannuck, just out of interest, where have you moved from? That looks very expensive!

Colin

berkscannuck

UK flying from London Gatwick.
This price took into account kennelling costs, at home pick-up as we were without our own car prior to moving. Pet passport checks/vaccinations/blood test. Air transport costs for a 'large' sized dog. Cage to adequately fit dog. Brokers fees. Customs Fees both in UK and Barbados. Vet checks in Gatwick & Barbados. Fees for pet travel agent....trust me it all adds up!
Air freight fees alone were 3800 BBD.
The air freight cost is worked out on the volume of the cage needed, and the cage has to be a certain width and length to allow the dog to be comfortable.
You can cut costs and take some of the customs based stuff on yourself in UK, and also get your dog to the airport plus appropriate cage by yourself. However, I could not imagine trying to transport dog & cage plus family and bags all at same time.
The process has to be adhered to the letter, one wrongly completed form can result in transit being denied, and I was not brave enough to risk that. Plus its probably one of the reasons BA insist that you employ a pet travel agent.
That in turn adds the risk of additional kennelling costs whilst you sort out the error.
I don't regret the amount paid, our family are happy, I could not imagine being separated from our dog for our work term here. The move was extremely well managed, happy dog and happy family!

BlueMooon

Hi, did you move yet? I can't give you any advice -
sorry, but I am moving back to Europe around July - August myself
and taking my 2 dogs with me. One is 8 years old,
and I am a bit worried as well, but I think if the
vet says he will be ok, you should not worry.

I am looking for a second transport box,
a large one (min. 27" hight), and when
I read your post I thought maybe I can buy
your's if its big enough.

I can't get any at the petstore here,
they are too small, and ordering online,
the shipping will take forever.

BlueMooon

Hallo - I am looking for a transportbox for my dog. I am moving back to Europe in July/August, and can't get any on the island which is big enough.
I could order one online, but it takes forever and I am afraid that it might not be here in time.
So my question is if you would sell me yours.

Sunniebgi

bluemoon I've posted on a facebook buy sell group for Barbados to see if anyone has one.. and will let you know.

berkscannuck

Hi Bluemoon,
I really sorry, but its not for sale...we'll need it in the future to return to Europe!
Have you considered getting one made? The crate we have was made to measure by the shipping company, and is a simple wood design. That way you get the exact fit for your dog!
If you browse some of the UK pet shipment pages, there are images of such crates...it should be easy to replicate here, and cheaper than shipping in!
Good luck with your move!!

Serendipidy

Brilliant idea Berks and if you want to look into this Bluemoon i can give you a number of a guy who I know makes dog houses so that should be a simple request to fullfill... love it when a play comes together A TEAM

Sunniebgi

I've asked, but nothing as yet.. (some smaller but not the right size).. a suggest, as above, was to have a simple crate made to yours (and the airlines) specs...

BlueMooon

Thanks, a friend might bring one for me.

Sunniebgi

Blue Moon. I have a friend here in Barbados that has one that approx 27"x40"

she has a very large doberman. if interested let me know.. and I'll get the 2 of you together..