Hi All,

Am starting to think seriously about getting organised for a potential move back home next year. We are still using the December trip to Blighty as a final decision-making exercise but I don't want to then get stuck here if we decide it is all systems go.

I have had a look at the DEFRA website and think I understand the implications for 2 cats and a Dalmatian. They are all microchipped so I think it's just the rabies vaccine, then blood tests, then 6 month wait. Is that right? What happens after the 6 months exactly? Do they have to get tested again?

I've found a company here that will handle the transportation, supply crates and do the vet check/worming etc 48hrs prior and have quoted me $3500 all up. I think that's quite reasonable based on what I have read? Has anyone used Petmovers from Melbourne?

I've also been told that only certain vets can administer the rabies jabs so again, was wondering if anyone in Melbourne had a recommendation? Preferably someone in the Western suburbs.

I am planning to get the crates asap so that I can have them in the house, plaster them with Feliway spray and get my cats to love them by the time they are stuck in there for 24 hours!!

Anyway, any help and/or advice appreciated.

Em

I can help you with some of your queries. I am moving back in March 2008 from Sydney not Melbourne but have had my dog vaccinated for rabies. The process is that you have to take your dog to an an AQIS accredited vet, there is a list on the DEFRA website but check with your vet anyway as its not always accurate. They give the animal an injection and one calendar month later you take it back for a blood test. You are then given a letter saying whether the dog has passed the rabies test. Then 6 calendar months after date of the blood test the animal can travel to the UK. The people who move your pet usually take it the day before because they have to ensure that it has had flea treatments etc within 24 hours of coming into the UK. So check that the price includes everything because that is a very cheap price for 3 animals. When your pets arrive in the UK, there are no more tests as long as all the paperwork is in order. I haven't used petmovers but have used Jetpets and Pet International, both good.

Just to clarify, the 6 months period starts on the day the blood is drawn for the rabies titer test (i.e., not the date that the test is carried out at the lab). You may have meant this, but I know for some people, every day counts
so thought I'd add this.

There's a long period of about 4-5 months when you don't have to do anything (except worry!), in between getting the (hopefully) positive titer test results (PUT THEM SOMEWHERE SAFE!!!!) and starting the last part of the process (3rd country cert, booking flight, etc.)

To be exact, the 'Tick & Tapeworm' treatment should be administered 48-24 hours prior to arrival in UK.

Actually, to be completely pedantic, I believe it is 24-48 hours before boarding the flight, not arriving in the UK.

So many bloody things to get exactly correct in the procedure, it makes you paranoid!

Edit: Yup, here it is from DEFRA site: The treatment must be carried out not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before the pet is checked-in with the approved transport company to travel on the return journey to the UK - so neither of us was correct - not arriving, not boarding, but checking in. Lawdy, it's enough to make you dizzy!

What happens if something throws a spanner in the works though? What if the house sale etc etc hasn't gone through and the 6 month thing goes sailing past? Do you have to go through it all again? How long is the rabies jab/paperwork valid for before you have to start all over again? Its probably written somewhere and I've missed it

w.r.t. RNATT result within PETScheme: No further testing is required and the paperwork remains valid as long as the rabies vaccination is kept up to date (i.e. boostered as recommended)

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...info/btest.htm

Thanks for that Polyphemus, what a relief.

You still have to have the Tick & Tapeworm treatment done again though, even if only slightly out of the 48-24 hour window.

Example: a couple of weeks ago I was moving 8 working dogs through the tunnel (Calais to Folkstone) and for an unavoidable reason our planned travel was delayed by 24 hours: cue fast phone calls to the Euro-vet we use to do the T&T treatment again 24hrs after the initial treatment!!

So............... if you already have your pet microchipped, shipped it to Oz originally, did the 30 days quarantine here and then you want to go back, providing you do the rabies thing does this mean the pet doesn't have to do ANY quarantine when it arrives in the UK? Do you just "pick your pet up off the plane" once you've collected your bags so to speak??

*pearly*

the rabies thing and 24- 48 hour treatments that was discussed above,are all you need to concern yourself with. Then the dog usually clears UK customs in about 4 hours from the plane landing. So no quarantine at all in the UK.

So long as you have kept the rabies vaccinations up to date (i.e. yearly) you don't have to go through the whole process again if you have been in a pet passport compliant country.

All that is needed is the Tick & Tapeworm treatments (48-24 hrs before) and the 'health certificate' in the back of the pet passport signed by an authorised vet.

No quarantine when you get to UK!!

We're planning on going back to the Uk in about 3-5 years time. Been here in Oz for 8 months now.
When would I have to get my dog vaccinated with the rabies jab then??

*pearly*

The better option is to ensure you (well, your pet!) have an annual rabies vaccine; don't allow it to get even one day out of date (i.e. one day more than a year).

If you don't want to do that, the other option is to go through the whole process from scratch. It takes 7 months from start to finish that doesn't allow any 'slack' - sometimes when the blood is tested the vaccine hasn't worked and straight away that's at least another month added to the process.

I always strongly advise pet owners to keep their pet passport in date (by having annual rabies jab). That way, even if your plans change at very short notice, your pet can still come with you and won't have to go through quarantine.

Your post made me laugh, thats exactly what we are doing, we have pretty much decided that we are going back but I guess our christmas trip will be the final decider. We took our cats to the vets yesterday to get them their rabies jabs, $120 each. We are then getting them blood tested in Jan at a cost of $400 each, then hopefully they will pass and we will move back home end of july, beginning of aug. I am waiting for quotes from jetpets and skypets, I remember getting a quote before from jetpets and it was about $3000 I think. Thinking of doing it myself, but not too sure, may be too much stress at an already stressful time.