Ow....my head hurts.

I'm trying to make sure I do things properly before I spend money on my dog's PETS requirement, she has an appointment this Saturday to get her microchip and (another ) rabies shot, so I'm on borrowed time!

While her vet's office is wonderful and couldn't possibly look after her any better, they're not too clued up on the PETS scheme. The DEFRA site keeps going on about the pet passport and also a vetinary certificate. Are these one and the same? The vet has no clue where to get a passport, but she has been mentioning a certificate, which I would get close to the time of travel.

They have this vet's certificate available for download on the DEFRA website, so should I take that with her on Sat to the vet's, have them fill out the applicable (date of rabies and chip) portions, and they keep it for future entries necessary, etc? Or do I keep it with me? Gah, it's so confusing!

How do you time it properly? On the certificate, it asks for the date of tick treatment, which I know has to be given within 24-48 hours of travel, but if they want this date on the certificate, how do you get your certificate back on time for you to travel?

I am also having trouble finding an accredited vet on the USDA website. Can I take her to a regular vet for all the tests and treatments, and the accredited vet is only for making the vet certificate "official"? Please help! I'm getting my knickers in a knot and making it harder than it probably needs to be. I've spent a bit of time looking at the DEFRA website, but in my current panic, it's all gobbledigook. Can anyone explain it like they're talking to a 2-year-old?

I thought the pet's PP was for European travel but I could be wrong.

If I were you I would call DEFRA and ask them about all your concerns. There is a thread in the US forum/Trailer Park at the moment about cheap phone calls to the UK. That may help you if you are concerned about the cost of a UK call...you can call for a few cents per minute.

Use the search facility at the top of the page to look through the old threads about people who have taken their dog back to the UK. I know Dunroving took his dog back last year. Take a look back through his old posts. There are loads of threads and lots of great information. I don't have the time at the moment or I would search for the threads for you...sorry.

I do know it is most important that you careful follow DEFRA's instructions step by step...if you miss out a signature etc...your dog will not be allowed into the UK without quarantine. Like I said there's some great info in the old threads.

If you need help don't hesitate to ask on here or PM me...I will be around later. Good luck.

First off, I feel your pain. Second off, DON't PANIC!!!!! I know the consequences of screwing up don't bear thinking about, but there really are only a half dozen things to do - most of the 6 months you'll just walk your dog as usual and have no paperwork to fill in.

OK, I've probably forgotten more than I remember but here are some answers to your questions:

Microchip must come before anything else. The chip number goes on every piece of documentation after that (so the vet has to read the chip every time he/she does anything for the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)). Check DEFRA for the correct standard of chip.

Then get a rabies shot.

About two weeks later get blood draw and send to the lab for antibody titer test (there's only one approved lab in the whole US).

When the result comes back, take it from the vet and keep it yourself. I left mine with the vet and she lost it (even that's not a fatal disaster, there are ways around even this situation).

Your dog's 6-month wait starts the day the blood was drawn, not the day the titer test results come in.

For about 4 or 5 months you do nothing.

Print off the certificate (the "passport" is only for travel to/from Europe) - on ONE PAGE (i.e., print on two sides of one page, not one side of two pages). Take to the vet so she can fill it in.

Send the certificate (with associated fee) to be endorsed by USDA vet.

24-48 hours before your dog boards his/her flight, get the tick and tapewor treatment - make sure the vet fills in the last part of the certificate (which does NOT need to be re-sent to the USDA vet, unlike what my vet insisted).

Obviously there's other stuff related to correct container size, who to fly with and where from, what to do when you arrive in teh UK, etc., but none f this is DEFRA stuff, and you can start worrying about this in maybe 3 or 4 months.

Good luck - and remember: DON'T PANIC!!!! (I never learned this lesson)

- Oh, and do search for DEFRA and PETS in the MBTUK Forum - all of this and more is covered in detail in posts from the past 12 months.

Kate, I C&P'd the following from an old post of mine. Also....search on either my posts or Dunroving's and you will find A LOT of stuff about the PETS.

Steps for shipping your pet from the US to the UK

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.


If I left anything out please fell free to ad to the steps.

The above 2 posts are one of the things that makes BE such a wonderful site. The OP asked a question and within a couple of hours she got marvellous help and support. That is exactly what the MBTTUK forum is for...thank you Dunroving and Scout.

Indeed. Thank you so much, Scout, Dunroving, and Jerseygirl. This explains it in a way I don't find overwhelming. I do feel a lot more comfortable about all this now.

Put the cursor over Dunroving and Scout's username...left click...click on profile. On profile page...left hand side...click on 'All threads started by .....'. This will show you a list of all threads started by them...from there you can click on and read any threads relating to transporting their dogs back to the UK.

Here's what the DEFRA search came up with:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...earchid=395894

Here's what a search for 'taking dogs back to the UK' came up with...loads of threads on this page to choose from so make yourself a cuppa and put your feet up:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...earchid=395900

Search for 'transporting pets':

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...earchid=395912

Have to agree with JerseyGirl, as we're trying to figure a lot of this stuff out ourselves (the dog, the shipping, the whole bit!) this site is invaluable. I can't imagine trying to make the plans to move back home without an excellent resource like this one--it makes the whole process just a little less painless.

So I second all the thanks here!