Dreamer23

I am in the U.S. and I am planning on returning home to England. I have been making plans etc. but I really don't know what to do about our pets. My cat is 17.5 years old and my dog is 10. If they were younger I wouldn't hesitate to take them but now that they are older I am worried that the journey would be too much for them to handle. I am just getting stressed out about this. I have no one who I can leave them with and it just breaks my heart when I think of giving them away.

Has anyone here traveled abroad with older pets?

sel

My cat was 16 (possibly older) when she travelled to Australia. She was absolutely fine and so was the dog (he was 5).

As long as they have the all clear from the vet then I would send them ... you would worry anyway, regardless of their age

cricket1again

I can sympathise with your dilemma. Here's what i would do before you make a decision. I would find out as much as possible about what's involved in the journey on the plane, what's at the other end and what kind of quarantine regulations, if any, your pets might need to go through. I think it's a very different scenario sending pets back to the UK.
I don't know if you can recall EU Commissioner & governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten, but when Hong Kong was handed over, he returned to the UK with two small dogs. He was horrified at the quarantine standards and he raised the issue through the media. I believe things changed significantly for the better after this.
Whatever you decide, get as much advice as possible beforehand and find out the facts. If your pets are healthy and you are happy to take a chance on letting them travel, then at least you've made an informed decision. Talk to a UK vet and see what they think too. Information is the key.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Juswus

this is very true



what a horrible dilemma to be in. Hoping you find some solution that's best for everyone

Marmalade

Seeing you are in Pennsylvania, another option for you would be to go by boat. A few people have taken their pets back to England on Cunard (St. Mary II). If you are interested, look up Cunard's website. Seems like it would be less of a stress. On the journey the pets are well taken care of, and you are near New York, where they sail from. They sail to Southampton. Just a thought.

sel

You will need to get rabies jabs done if havnt had already. You will need a clear 6 months before they travel, microchips, vaccinations etc.

Check out the link for DEFRA .. all the info you need is on the there. I would consider using a company that deals in transporting pets as they will guide you through everything that you need to do to ensure everything goes smoothly. Defra can also help you regarding companies in your area.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...res/owners.htm

Scout

I stressed for an entire year before we left the States. It was by far the most stressful thing about our move and I know EXACTLY how you are feeling.

There was no way I could leave my dog Scout behind. First of all, I couldn't bear to be parted with her and second of all I couldn't trust anyone else to take care of her and third, she was blind, arthritic and diabetic and needed twice daily shots of insulin. So I stayed on top of all the rules and regs to get her here without quarantine, researched, nagged my Vet in the States, nagged the state USDA Vet (bless her), called the Vet here in the UK before we moved, called DEFRA SEVERAL times, bugged British Air and yes we did bring Scout with us. She skipped two doses of insulin enroute (at our vet's suggestion) and she came thru tired but in one piece. British Air was fantastic with her and I had her with me for our first 3 years here in the UK. She's over the rainbow now, but it was worth all the stress and expense to bring her with us. You can do it. PM me if ever you have questions or post them here on the open board. There are several of us here that will jump in with advice.

miss piggy

Scout -really interested to pick your brains. I'm leaving Oz in early December & bringing my 2 dogs with me - one 8 year old GSD (elderly in big dog terms),who suffers from arthritis,pancreatic insufficiency & gets stressed with noise/heat,& one 4 year old Schipperke, who suffers from occasional,unpredictable epilepsy (petit mal thus far) & again is susceptible to heat stress.Like you I can't bear to leave them & wouldn't be able to find anyone to take them on (especially the old girl who costs a fortune in vets bills !)


I'm worried about anything & everything- stress & heat while waiting to be loaded / stress of the noise (my GSD is frightened of the washing machine on spin cycle so what she will make of a 747's engines I dread to think) /effect of being in a locked box for 26-7 hours,especially when arthritic etc etc.

Whilst I obviously won't sedate them, my vet has suggested a very very low dose of Xanax might be appropriate just to get her through the loading process. I have got her a ridiculously large crate,which she sleeps happily in already & looks more spacious than most economy class seats & have requested that the transport people put double the normal water bowl allocation in (partially frozen) - obviously it's summer here & the moment & Sydney can get v hot in December. Can't think what I can doto avoid the Schipperke having a fit - other than pray !

ANY tips you can give me to help ease the horror of a 24 hour flight for my babies would be very gratefully received. I have swapped my flight over so I will be on the same plane as them so will be in a position to nag cabin crew etc.

dunroving

If it's any consolation, Suzy is also scared of anything that makes a noise (including the steam iron, washing machine, the "clickers" that are used for dog training, thunder, and fireworks), but she seems to travel in jet planes with no noticeable after-effects.

miss piggy

That's very encouraging to hear ( & I thought I was the only one whose dog was afraid of the washing machine !).

Of course I am terrified of flying myself so I'm probably projecting my fears onto her as well.

TruBrit

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...3&postcount=17

Scout

I did consider taking Scout on the Queen Mary but in the end decided that a five day crossing may be too long for her to be kept in a kennel.

My best advice is to follow your vet's advice about your particular dog in transit. I know that most all vets tell you NOT to sedate the animal....With a really long journey from OZ to the UK, I would consider breaking the trip up into segments if possible and maybe have a layover in one country half way for a day or two....but I don't know if that's even possible.

In the States, the airlines won't fly a pet if the temps are over 90 degrees farenheit and we purposely prepared to leave in colder weather so Scout would not be exposed to extreme heat at the airport. With British Air she was kept in her crate at Animal reception with the staff until it was time to load her on the plane (same plane we flew on). The cargo hold is climate controlled and they have a good rep with flying pets. Other airlines do as well so you need to research who you fly with. There's a site for flying pets in the US that tells you the stats of airlines and their safety records with animals. It just went online about the time we flew out so you may want to check out that to see who has the best safety record.

My Scout was terrified of fireworks and being a diabetic she would throwup when she heard them....we would give her a mild sedative to get her thru Bonfire Night here in the UK, but we didn't sedate her in any way to fly her.....I think because the hold is quiet with the background noise of the engines she was fairly calm during transit and a good airline will check on them enroute to make sure they are ok.

With smaller dogs, I've heard of some people flying into France because they could fly in there and keep the dog in the passenger cabin with them on their flight and then cross the Channel...I don't know if this is still possible, but it was at one time.

We had an epileptic dog when I was growing up and would put her on a blanket untl her fit passed. Put a favorite blanket or towels in the crate with them now to get them used to it and to have their scent on it. Have them spend several hours at a time in the crates to get them used to them....they will feel secure in the crates and it will be less stressful once they do actually fly.

Kath & Graham

We brought our 11 year old westie back from Oz she flown out there and came back within three years and is fine!!

TruBrit

they are not kept in their kennels all day, they have a play room ...spoilt rotten

islandergirl

I have balanced up a stressful 36 hour journey for my old pets vs the rest of their life with me happy in the UK - and it's not that hard when you look at it that way, they are coming with me of course.

They have flown before quite a few times, basically have been dragged all over Aus with us already, and they were fine once they saw us at the other end, they will be fine again when they get to the UK.

Only another 3 months for me and they are cleared to fly without quarantine, will be the best $6k I have ever spent.