We're flying straight from Frankfurt to Houston. I checked the link Poppy put up and tried to call the Houston vet's number. Though the heading on that page is 'importing' animals, all the answering machine message gives (and there is no human being attached to that answering machine..) is information about contacting another number about exporting. The message seems only to concern livestock, not pets - so damned if I can figure out if we need to do anything special for Texas. We may end up messing with it... to our chagrin.

For Houston you pick them up at oversize baggage and take them to the customs inspection area. Someone was about to ask about rabies until they saw we were from the UK. They didn't even look at the pet passport.

Thanks - I called up Lufthansa AGAIN (to get another source..) and they checked the US requirements and reiterated only dogs need a rabies vaccination and cats don't need anything - no certificate of good health, etc., though all our pets are vaccinated, microchipped, etc. Just to be safe, I'll take them to the vet's 2 weeks before and see what the vet says.

I live in terror we'll arrive at 5 a.m. at the airport and discover something is missing... and the Genevois are about as helpful as the sciatic nerve..

The Lufthansa requirements may well be more stringent that the USA ones. I couldn't work out whether a pet passport was required for us or not (we were going via Amsterdam) at the time. The Lufthansa requirements on the web aren't exactly thorough on their detail!

These were the KLM requirements in 2010. They were applicable for animals flying from Europe too.

Travel documents and health certificates

A number of documents are required when transporting your pet. These should be in English.

• Your pet needs a valid health certificate signed by a qualified vet. The certificate should be issued between two and eight days prior to departure.
• Your pet must be at least 10 weeks old on the day of travel. Extra rules often apply to pups up to 12 weeks. As these may vary from country to country, we advise you contact the embassy of the country you are travelling to.
• The animal must be accompanied by a valid certificate stating that it has been inoculated for rabies at least 21 days before departure.
• Are you travelling to a destination outside the European Union? If so, we recommend you check with the local embassy in plenty of time regarding the rules and health certificates required when importing pets.
• Pets travelling to or from the European Union must have a microchip or tattoo and an official EU pet passport. This passport should be issued by a qualified vet. It should contain the following details:

1. Name and address of the owner
2. A description of the pet, such as colour of coat
3. Type of identification: microchip or tattoo
4. The date and brand of the rabies vaccine
5. Serological test for rabies
6. Proof of tick treatment
7. Proof of treatment for echinococcus
8. Other vaccinations

For leaving, we didn't need proof of tick or echinococcus (or at least I don't remember getting them!).

Here is KLM's pet checklist (2010 vintage):

• Kennel:
  Dog/cat must be able to stand with head fully erect (without touching the roof), turn around, and lie down comfortably. For snub-nosed dogs, one kennel size bigger than usual is required to prevent breathing problems. Kennel must be made of rigid plastic with a built-in metal door. (Wooden kennels and kennels with plastic doors are not permitted.)
• Age/quantity:
  Dog/cat must be at least 10 weeks old. Limit one per kennel, unless under 6 months and of comparable size up to 9 kg each, then limit is two per kennel. Pup or kittens less than 4 months can travel in same kennel as mother.
• Documents:
  Copies of pet passport/health certificate must be attached to the kennel. Therefore, please bring photo copies of the health certificate with you when you check-in.
• Physical condition:
  Pet must not appear to be physically distressed, injured or over tranquillized.
• Dishes:
  Kennel must have two empty dishes attached or a single dish with two compartments for food and water, accessible without opening kennel door.
• Absorbent material:
  Kennel must have blanket, newspaper or other absorbent material on floor. Straw is prohibited.
• Stickers:
  Kennel must have at least one ‘Live Animal’ sticker and two ‘Arrow Up’ stickers.
• Passenger name tag:
  Passenger's name, address, and phone contact must be completed and attached.
• Leash/muzzle:
  Pet must not have a leash or muzzle on or left in kennel.
• Lock:
  Door lock on kennel must be secure, but no padlocks. Door hinges and locking pins must extend beyond the horizontal extrusions above and below the opening by at least 1.6 cm (5/8 inch).
• Wheels:
  Wheels must be removed.

If nothing else, it's a handy go by for you. We followed these instructions and it was hassle free at Aberdeen airport - everything was marked up exactly as they needed it.

Thank you, the Weezes are once again a dog's best friend! That sure is a lot more complete than anything Lufthansa will tell me.

I think everything's OK - I'll just need to get health certificates for the lot of them a few days before the flight.

The 'serological rabies' test - I'm assuming this is the incredibly expensive test we had to have done for the dogs to bring them on holiday to the UK. They have their certificates, but we never had the cats done. I'm going to bet that they won't ask for a serological rabies test thing for them...

Thanks! Now if I could just figure out how to get the deerhound diva accustomed to her gigantic crate - I have it sitting in the living room.. she stares at it in horror, each time we put her in it, she goes berserk despite the fact there are always chunks of ham in there waiting for her.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals..._training.html

There is some help there, but other than that, if they like car journeys (ours loves the car) can you put the crate in the car, and then put dog in crate and go for a drive?

No, the crate is the giant breed size and won't fit in either my SUV or my husband's estate car - we're going to have to take it to pieces to get to the airport.. then re-assemble it at 5 in the morning standing in front of Geneva airport!

Hmm.. maybe we could take a leaf out of Mitt Romney's book and tie her crate to the roof-rack.. just kidding.

We are planning to move back to NY next November and we are taking our 3 chuihaha's with us, I looked at flying but I know my dogs would flip out so we are taking them on the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship instead! Spilt little tykes they are.

We have had to book the ship and just hope that the Visa goes as planed if not hubby and kids will be taking the dogs and I will go before or after depending on the Visa.