Originally Posted by lins and Stef McLachlan

We did look at this when we came here in 2010, but space is limited and the spots had sold out well in advance. Fast forward ten years, can I ask how far in advance you booked and how much it cost for you and your family to travel...presumably one way? How many of you and how much per dog. I do know that they have their own kennel staff and a whole deck to themselves, so travel in doggie luxury. Going into Southampton appeals as that is my ‘home’ area. What was the difference between the sail v fly option?
Thank you fir your reply.

Originally Posted by KayCooper

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I have just moved back from Canada to the UK with our German Shepherd / Husky cross and tabby cat and having stressed about the whole thing for months, I wanted to write a post for those of you who are thinking of embarking on the same adventure. With some planning and double (triple?) checking along the way, the process is NOT as complicated as it's made out to be and can be easily done without the help of a pet relocation specialist. Quite honestly, other than the specialist informing you of what you need to do, and perhaps transporting your pets to / from the airport, you would have fill out the paperwork and do all the visits yourself anyway!

All pets must arrive in the UK as cargo (you cannot fly with them in the cabin, nor can they fly as "luggage"). All airlines have a specific cargo company they use - generally this information is found on the airline's website. This doesn't mean that your furbabies will be flying on a separate plane - it just means the paperwork is handled by the cargo company rather than the airline itself. We flew back with Air Transat - they use Swissport as their cargo carrier.

In short, here is the process we just completed, with some notes added for each step:
1. Get pet microchipped
Straightforward enough. Make sure your vet provides you with the reference numbers and the details of the date the animal(s) were chipped - these are needed for the health cert later on.
2. Sort out rabies injection (MUST be done after your pet is microchipped)
Ensure your vet gives you the original copy of the rabies certificate with the sticker from the vial of liquid they use. This is required for entry in the UK. We made colour copies of the cert to attach to the animal's crates, but we kept the original and provided it at the Animal Reception Centre at Gatwick.
3. Get the right size crate(s). The animal must be able to stand up and turn around. We went one size bigger than necessary to be absolutely sure. Also, a lot of airlines require the nuts AND bolts to be metal (Air Transat doesn't) You can order these replacement kits online (from the US). They must also have a crate water bottle (same style that you use on a rabbit hutch).
4. Complete Transfer of Residence form (online) to obtain a ToR number from UK Government
If you are shipping furniture etc, then you only need to fill in this form once for animals and furniture. This is only done to avoid paying VAT on your "imports". If you don't have it, it doesn't impact whether your pet is allowed to enter the UK, it just means you'll pay VAT on them (not sure how they calculate it!) You can even complete this form after you land, and claim the VAT paid at the end of the tax year once you have a ToR number.
5. Within 5 days (120 hours) before landing in the UK, your pet(s) must have a health check done by your vet. This involves filling in the Non-Commercial Movement of Five or Less Dogs, Cats or Ferrets form and if you have a dog, they need to be de-wormed at the same time.
It's worth asking if your vet is familiar with this form. If not, I would suggest finding one who is. We didn't use our regular vet because although he was lovely, he wasn't the best at paperwork. We went to another vet and they were great. They provided us with the completed form (both animals were listed on the same form). They also requested the full health history from our original vet to include with the form, just in case. The vet has to watch your dog eat the de-wormer to complete the form.
6. If you are in Canada, you will then need to get that form stamped by the Canada Food Inspection Agency.
You have to contact the agency separately and make an appointment. Once you have your flight details, I would recommend contacting them right away to secure your appointment.
7. Day of Flight. Take your pets to the cargo place 4 hours before the flight. CHECK THE OPENING TIMES before you fly. Our headache is too long to write out here, but the depot had changed their opening hours due to COVID which meant a mad dash / panic which was eventually resolved, but we could have totally done without it at 6am!) Also check if someone qualified will be there to inspect and weigh the crate / animal. Again, there was an issue with this because they didn't have a supervisor there when we arrived.
8. The paperwork that you must attach to the crate is as follows:
a) A notice of time/date when they had their last feed / water
b) A notice with their Name, Breed, Age, Your name, Flight details, contact details, and emergency contact
c) we also made some of our own "Live Animal" and "This Way Up" notices (but these are also provided by the cargo people)
d) The cargo company also asked us for a copy of the Health Check form and copies of their rabies certificates. I also included the page of the medical history which noted the date they had been microchipped for good measure.
9. When you land in the UK, they asked us for the original rabies certificates, the original Health check form, and proof of microchip. Their processing took about 3 hours (at Gatwick. I've heard Heathrow takes longer). We met a couple who were on the same flight with their dog. Their vet had written one digit wrong on the Health Check form when copying the rabies batch number and so they wouldn't release the dog. They had to sit and wait until their vet (in Canada) was open and get him to scan and email a copy of the original paperwork over. I'm going to assume they managed to get it sorted, but we left before they spoke to their vet.

So, that's the basics. It seems like a lot, but when you break it down, it's not complicated at all. Just get copies of the necessary information, and check reference numbers where applicable.

I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have - just reply to this thread

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Slalomdude

Check out the Facebook group "US Pets to Uk via Chunnel &alternative routes.