old fat biker bloke

I found this link very useful indeed!!

http://www.wikihow.com/Ship-a-Pet-to-the-UK

Any other tips &/or stories, please post 'em!!

Scout

Here ya go:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...27#post6520027

Steps for shipping your pet from the US to the UK
(microchip the pet first)
Steps:

1. Get the rabies shot
2. Wait about 4 weeks and have your Vet draw blood and send to the Kansas Lab for results.
3. Once you get the results of the titer test wait 6 months.
4. Have the certificate endorsed by the USDA (Federal) Vet ....this is not the same thing as a USDA Certified Vet. A lot of Vets are USDA certified but the Federal Vet works for the USDA......once the certificate is endorsed it's good for 4 months....if you don't leave the country in that time frame, the Federal Vet must endorse a new certificate. Make sure you do not let your rabies vaccination expire. Get it renewed at least a month before it is due to expire.
5. Once you are ready to fly and have your date booked, get a Health Certificate to fly your pet out of the country. It must be issued within 10 days of travel. This is not the same certificate as the UK Pet Travel Scheme one. This is the certificate required by the airline to fly any animal in the US anywhere. This certificate may say that the Federal Vet needs to endorse it as well and British Cargo incorrectly advised us it must be endorsed by the Federal Vet, but the USDA tells us it is not required..........I had the Federal Vet endrorse it anyway (on the day we flew out no less) because after all the wrong advice we got from our Vet and maybe inadvertantly BA Cargo, I no longer trusted anyone to know what they were talking about.
6. Between 24 and 48 hours of travel, have your Vet give the dog the tick and tapeworm treatment. Make sure to read the DEFRA requirements for the proper drug that must be used. Make sure your vet completes the Pet Travel certificate regarding the tick/tapeworm treatment.
7. BA requires that you arrive at cargo with your pet at least 4 hours before flying. .........when you count that extra time, the length of the flight and the time it takes to pet to clear customs, you are probably going to have a somewhat soiled and smelly dog on your hands when you collect her/him. BA was great at Gatwick for helping us to clean our dog Scout up and provided loads of blankets for her to rest on in the car. Our dog messed her crate 5 minutes before we picked her up. If British Customs had been a bit more speedy and hadn't taken 4 hours to clear her we would have been fine. DEFRA cleared her almost immediately, but Customs took their time.

Our dog is blind and diabetic. She was exhausted the day after the flight but has since perked back up a good bit. I would advise a visit to the Vet for any animal with a few days arriving back in the UK to give them a quick looksee.

We faxed our customs forms to the UK several days prior to our flight as BA told us to do, but don't count on that speeding Customs up any.


Good look to anyone shipping their dog over. I have to say, it was the most stressful part of our move.....at least to me.

old fat biker bloke

Thanks Scout!!

Anyone know what to do/what happens if rabies shot was given BEFORE microchipping? We had our cats shots done before we decided to go home... I did email DEFRA but no reply to date.

Scout

Get another one. The microchip has to be first.

My dog received a rabies shot yearly in the States and had gotten her yearly jab just a month or so before she was microchipped. She HAD to have another after the chip was implanted.

Amandabee

Same here, our dogs had been vaccinated against rabies and one had a microchip that was ok, the other had a 'generic' microchip done in the states and that wasnt the correct one, so she needed a new microchip.

But here's the thing the vet needs to register the vaccination against the microchip at the time of vaccination, so both needed to have their rabies shots again. It doesnt harm them having the extra dose.

Our dogs are flying out on Saturday, and at this moment are having their vet checks and tick and tapeworm done. Fingers crossed they are ok!

jackar99

Our cat and dog have EU (ISO) chips and US microchips after they arrived here. They have since been vaccinated for rabies by a US vet after the US chips were inserted. If the rabies shot was recorded against the US (non-iso) microchip, is there any problem in taking the pets back to the UK ? Would you need to take a US microchip reader with you so that customs in the UK can read it ?

trace in spain

CHECK CHECK CHECK your passports

My cat has been taken off of me and put into quarantine until January 30th 2010!!!

My vet hadnt stuck a sticker in my book back in 2005 to 2006, the following year i had the jabs done again and the vet stuck the sticker in his passport. He was then vaccinated every year after that. I didnt realise until we got to passport control when they pointed out that i had missed a whole year. I KNOW i hadnt missed it but i cant prove it, especially as the vet i went to had now left and the company had also brought in a new computer system which they had taken my cat off of because i hadnt used them for a year or so.

Please check that your dates are ok and that your rabies jab hasnt gone over the date the year before. If you had you pets rabies on the 5th of the month make sure it isnt a day over else you could have problems.

Good Luck

Scout

Pets coming from the US don't travel under the Pet Passport Scheme. It's similar, but they don't have Pet Passports.

trace in spain

Sorry I was coming from Spain, I didnt realise you were talking about coming from US