Moggiemiss

Interested to read your comment about the size of the crate. No-one checked that the crates were sufficiently large enough for my dogs. One was borderline for a 28 inch crate so I bought a 32 inch one to be sure which increased the shipping costs.

The paperwork does seem to be the tricky area ....

My three seem very happy and quickly recovered from their journey.

Jerseygirl

The size of crate may depend on the airline...worth checking with the airline. I thought the general rule of thumb was that the pet should be able to stand and turn around comfortably in the crate.

Stelly

It was on letterhead (although would you believe they don't really have letterhead, so we settled on fax-letterhead!) and simply said "To whom it may concern, I certify that on 4/30/12 Josie Lastname, female boxer dog, was scanned for ID chip #xxxxxxxxxx prior to administration of a 3 year rabies vaccine, manufacturer, batch#."

As I said before, seems really silly because her chip was put in YEARS ago, but apparently DEFRA like to be difficult just to be difficult (so the man at the ARC told my Dad).

pennylessinindia

I would remove the collar 100% could easy get caught on something.

CTland

Thanks, Our vet who put the chip in and did the vaccination suddenly decided she wasn't available on the threadworm day so i am straddled between two vets to pull the paperwork together

Stelly

That's not nice! Hope it all goes well.

ehl250

DEFRA Regs state that a pet entering the UK must have an EU Passport. Doesn't say if they're available in N.America (Canada) only gives an English address. ???

Moggiemiss

There are no eu pet passports available ... Or equivalent in North America.

My two small smallesr dogs travelled with their collars and they were fine. There was nothing on their crates that they could catch their collars on. I took Mollie's off as her collar was larger.

pennylessinindia

Don't want to sound horrific - but the metal door could catch on a collar, I just did not want to take the risk so I took it all off!.

The EU form is downloaded from the internet - well mine was - does that help?

Tanto

Am trying to get my cat from Los Angeles to London, Gatwick. Does anyone have info on prices and airlines - my head is about to explode.....
Thank you,
Tanto (back after many months)

Back2UK

Do you need a pet agency? if so try Ladyhaye UK

Its a stressful time so keep your chin up.

Poppy girl

Just flew my cat back to England 2 weeks ago from SFO to LHR with Virgin Atlantic.......here are the prices I paid below, please bare in mind my kitty was flown from California on the west coast to London Heathrow, so the east would be cheaper and airlines may vary, we flew Virgin Atlantic and they were 1st class superb....I did not use a pet carrier company.

Vet fee for Pet Certificate and exam for Virgin and Defra = $204
USDA for approval of pet to fly and rabies/micro chip correct = $37
Pet airline ticket/cargo depends on the dimensions of the cage = $886
Crate from Pets Smart = $67
Import fee into the UK = $444.70 (at todays rate) = everyday rate 290 quid

Total $1638.70

NO YOU DO NOT NEED A CARRIER, I DID IT MYSELF.

Poppy girl

I would highly recommend Virgin Atlantic.

Everything has to be done in order, as per the defra website.

You must have your kitty micro chipped 1st there is no exception to this rule, then he has to have his rabies injection, you may have this already in place if thats the case, then you will need to have a vets certificate done within a 10 day window of kittys flight, Virgin will want a cert for the cat to travel and also Defra (within 10 days as well)..... (BEWARE IT COSTS MORE IF YOU ARE NOT FLYING WITH PUSS)

If kitty does not have a micro chip get it done today along with the rabies injection, YES he/she must have a 2nd rabies injection even if they are already chipped..........(Tip make sure that the vet puts the micro-chip number on the rabies cert, this proves he has read the chip if previously implanted or that he has now implanted it) this was causing problems at the ARC (Animal Reception Center) as Heathrow folk did not have this info together.

Once you have the micro-chip and rabies, vets travel certificate to fly cargo with your airline of choice and the vets SEPARATE cert for Defra, you will have to go to the USDA to get a stamp and approval of the paperwork.

Now then if kitty does not have a rabies injection at the moment, from the day you have it done you have to wait 21 days before they can fly (no exceptions)

I was the only one at the ARC that had the correct paperwork that makes a change usually the one with it all incorrect lol.

Tanto

Poppygirl and Back2UK,
Many thanks for this concise and helpful information, most appreciated!
Poppygirl, did your puss fly with you or unaccompanied?
Tanto

Poppy girl

Yes he flew on the same flight as me in cargo, you can only fly on certain flights each day, so check with the airline 1st