katesbackagain

Well, I took my baby to the vet's today, and as usual she was a lil trooper. (If completely hyper! )

She had her microchip fitted, and then her rabies shot. I tell you, I have never been so impressed by a vet in my life as I am of this one. She is so great. She wasn't sure if they had the right chip needed for my pup to travel to the UK, so she called the manufacturer just to be sure. She had also called the lab they send the rabies titre test to, and they confirmed which test it is, and they also said that she can be tested as early as the day after the rabies shot. The vet advised me to wait a couple of weeks, though, just in case.

The needle for the chip is pretty big, and my pup is tiny, so I was very worried. The vet and the assistant said they would take her out the back just so she doesn't associate the pain with me, and some little dogs cry a lot so they didn't want to upset me. They came back laughing, and said that she just needed a treat to be distracted with, they stuck her with the microchip needle and she dropped the treat and whimpered once, and then went right back to eating the treat! I've been watching her closely for any allergic reactions due to her already having a shot recently, and she's been fine all day, so yay!

I checked the rabies certificate, and it has the microchip serial number on it, and the girl at the front desk advised me to physically go to the USDA vet in Miami nearer the time, as sometimes the vet's certificates will sit on someone's desk for weeks before being endorsed and sent back to the owner. It's a long trip for me, but it'll be worth it to avoid the worry of waiting for it to come back on time for travel.

I have her rabies titre scheduled for 2 weeks from now, and then the 6 month wait begins. Woo hoo!!!!

Kath & Graham

Thats the worse things about having animals abroad all the expense and worry over the rabies injections!! mind you we wouldnt have it any other way would we??

TaraC

Me again. Good to see that you and I are going through EXACTLY the same stuff in preparation for going home. I keep telling myself it'll be worth it (but my cats are getting really hacked off at going to the vet constantly).

i have a question re. the USDA vet. My vet is USDA accredited, which I thought was ok for signing off on the certificates, but after reading some of these posts, I'm now wondering if that's not the case. Do I have to physically go to a USDA office and have a vet there sign off on the form, or can I have my USDA-accredited vet do it? I've gone through the DEFRA site, and they never actually define what they mean by a govt-regulated vet!

Help.

katesbackagain

I just got word back from the USDA, as I had asked if I would need to go to one of their offices in person, as I heard from my vet (who's not USDA accredited) that sometimes the certificate can sit on someone's desk for weeks before it is endorsed. The USDA told me that I can send the cert overnight, and as long as I enclose a pre-paid envelope to have it returned to me overnight (along with the $76 endorsement fee, friggin rip-off for one little signature!), there should be no probs. They didn't say how long it'd be sitting on someone's desk, though!

I would give them a quick call to see if your vet is approved by them to endorse your cert, and if they are...... Lucky bugger!!!

I don't have a phone number, as I emailed them, but here's a link for their pet export page. You should be able to find what you need on there. Hope it helps.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_exp...rts_pets.shtml

TaraC

Thank you so much for this. You just saved me making a big mistake; I was going along with my vet in thinking that she could handle everything as she's USDA accredited. I just called my local USDA office, however, and while she can fill out all the paperwork I do still need to take it down to them (they're in my town thankfully) to certify. Plus, she also needs to fill out the International Health Certificate AND the third country veterinary certificate 10 days before I travel, which I also didn't know! I thought it was just the third country certificate. Can you imagine if I'd found that out right before i left? Funny how everything I've read -- and it's been voluminous -- never really identified the process. I've been so worried about the DEFRA side that I never figured out the US side. This is a great website!!!!!!

katesbackagain

I believe the third country vet certificate is valid for 4 months, but as you're in the same place as the USDA vet, it won't be an issue for you, as you can just go in person. I'll be sending mine for endorsement about 1 month before I travel, just to be safe.

Also, keep in mind that your vet (the one who'll be filling in the certificate) will need to sign it to say that you've given the pet tick and tapeworm treatment 24-48 hours before it travels. This part can be done after the endorsement if you wish.

The health certificate is just for the airline to say that your pet is good to travel, not for DEFRA or USDA. I'll get mine a few days before travel, as it isn't valid for long.

TaraC

I have the PETS health certificate from Virgin, which they said I needed to exit the US, but the USDA office said I also needed an international health certificate, which is a six-page carbon page document that my vet should have. Have you heard of this? I think I'm going to play it safe and have all three, just in case!

Alternatively, I've been playing with the idea of using a transport company. Do you know if there are any benefits to this, or whether they are just outrageously expensive and not worth it?

katesbackagain

Hmmmm, don't know about the 6 page thingy, but have a look at this link from DEFRA. Scroll down to the "Private Veterinary Health Statements" part. I would copy and paste it but I don't know if I'm allowed...

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...ocuments.htm#2

I assumed this would be something the vet would have, either an official form like the one you're describing, or they would just write something and sign it, and that would do for the airline also.

You're saying that you have the health cert from Virgin (who I'm also planning to fly with btw, they rock!) so now I'm all confused. If you would let me know where you got that, I could take it to my vet on Saturday and have her look it over to see if it's the same thing she would use, or something like it.


As for the travel companies, the only reasons I would use them are:

1. If it were mandatory for the route/airline I wish to use
2. If the paperwork was so insanely difficult I wouldn't want to risk it myself
3. If they could fly my wee baby in a luxury jet of her own with doggie biscuits on hand, but alas, she'd still be confined to a commercial jet cargo hold, so I won't bother spending the extra money

TaraC

Virgin sent me the certificate (they sent a whole bunch of different documents, including the PETS Health certificate and the C5 customs certificate). You may want to call them and see if they can email it to you (that's what they did with me). Alternatively, if you want to email me, I can send you the packet they sent me. I think I'm still going to talk to my vet about the six-page, carbon copy one the USDA woman told me about. though So confusing.

BTW: I just spoke to DEFRA about something else (namely they keep talking about the EU cert being one page, but mine is three so I was nervous -- they said not to worry). Anyway, they said that Virgin is a great way to bring over the animals. Very nice, know their job, etc. So that's good to know. My main reason was that they fly non-stop from Washington-Dulles, and I didn't want my babies to have to transfer or sit on the tarmac somewhere.

I hear you about the companies -- I was just wondering whether there were any benefits, but you're right, unless they're in a first-class cabin somewhere I think I'll just do it myself and hope for the best. So far, everyone's been very nice, and the DEFRA people really seem to be quite laid back about it, very reassuring, etc.


I tell you this is the hardest part about moving home. Getting into business school was easy peasy compared to this!

katesbackagain

Just called Virgin and they're emailing me over some info.

What did DEFRA say about the 3 page-cert? I had the same concern. How do you photocopy a 3-page document onto one sheet? If it were a 2-page, and the 3rd page is just notes for the user or whatnot, all well and good.

I talked to Virgin Cargo about my pup's flight estimate, and she said for a dog that small, I'd probably be looking between 300-800, and I thought that didn't sound right, but now I'm thinking maybe she means GBP? I'll wait to see what the paperwork says that she's sending.

Also, I asked about them flying live animals in January (due to how cold it would be in the UK at that time) and they have no restrictions for then, but she at first thought I was asking about August, which is when they DO have restrictions on their flights. Just thought I'd throw that in for anyone who's interested.

TaraC

DEFRA said that the 3-page cert is ok, but I'm still going to do a double-sided copy so I just have the USDA stamp on the third page. I'm not sure why they make such a big deal about it being a single page when the form they give you is three pages, but there you go.

Virgin quoted me $507 (US) to fly both the cats in two kennels, so your $300-$800 may be right. I'm going with the Sky Kennel 200, which is quite a large kennel (says it's big enough for Shelties/beagles,etc.). Since I want to be able to put a litter box in for them, i decided to go bigger. In addition, there's a 230-pound charge to get them cleared in the UK (I think this covers both animals, but it may be per animal - yikes). If they travel unaccompanied, you have to pay an additional 25 and 10 pounds per cat for pick-up, etc. You need to be able to pay this by cash or check, no credit cards (yikes). There's also a $125 (US) handling fee at the US airport.

so, it's expensive, but it'll worth it to have the little darlings (right????).

katesbackagain

Damn that was fast!

Just got the info the lady promised she would send me. Bunch of good stuff in there, but there was no customs form. Hmm.

I looked at the rate sheet (going from Miami), and this is what it said:


Minimum charge……………….. $245.00
Under 100 kilos…….…………... $ 15.87
+100 kilos……………………….. $ 9.13
+300 kilos……………….………. $ 6.13

Additional Charges

Handling Fee in the U.S…$125.00
Arrival Fees at London Heathrow…*230GBP

* Does not include VAT and Duties deemed applicable by UK authorities [Note: Rates are subject to change]

Please note that until further notice, all fees must be pre-paid in cash in local currency.

If I'm reading it right, I would pay the minimum $245, the $15.87, (she's a Min Pin and probably only going to be around 10lb's fully grown, and her kennel won't weigh enough to take it above 100 kilos) the handling fee of $125, and then the UK part, 230 GBP. So looking around $845 for the lot. Hopefully, I can pay the UK portion in the US, though. Pain in the arse if I have to pay it at Heathrow.

The note underneath that scares me, as well. "Does not include VAT and Duties..." anyone have an idea of how much that would be?

Not as shocking as I thought it would be, but she is tiny, so I suppose that helps!

EDIT: Oops! Just saw your post above! Doh!

TaraC

[QUOTE=katesbackagain;4977059]Damn that was fast!

QUOTE]

On a muted conference call, so it's a good time to do my emails!!!

I've sent an email through to Virgin asking them to confirm EVERYTHING I'm going to have to pay. Hopefully they'll give us some idea of VAT /duty, although since they're non-commercial animals, I wouldn't think they would need that (of course, who knows). Once I get a response I'll post it here.

From what Virgin told me when I first reserved the flight, you do need to pay the UK costs in the UK. He just suggested taking a bunch of cash -- lovely, especially with the exchange rate. I'm in the process of setting up a UK bank account so will hopefully just be able to pay by check.

Isn't this fun?

katesbackagain

[QUOTE=TaraC;4977121] LOL! I think I found a grey hair. It's so funny how transporting a pet is more hassle than transporting a human! Ah well, she's worth it!

I just looked at the vet's certificate, and on the third page, it has the boxes the vet needs to fill out for the tick and tapeworm treatment. Kind of important, so if they want that on the one page copy also, I don't see how it can be done.

I just checked out a previous thread where Dunroving and Scout had been very helpful. Guys, did you have a problem having that second page with the tick/tapeworm treatment info? I know that part doesn't need to be endorsed, so you just sent USDA the 2-page part copied onto one sheet and then attached the 3rd page for the last vet's visit and traveling?

Also, do you remember what you paid for the hidden VAT/Duties part?

dunroving

[QUOTE=katesbackagain;4977185]
My recollection and understanding is that the 3rd country cert had 3 pages, the third of which was just information. The 2 pages that include the "form" must be printed on one page. If you don't have a double-side printer, do what I did - print page one, put the paper back into the printer and print page 2.

Also, print a couple of copies, in case your vet screws up so you have an spare blank form. My vet was useless, had some sort of numeracy issue, so I wrote all of the numeric information (dates - MUST be written in UK order of date/month/year, not the US order of month/date/year - and chip number, etc.)