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Topic Dog Boards / General / Shipping a dog to the UK from teh USA...
- By theemx [gb] Date 17.11.10 02:22 UTC
With nto very much notice.

A/ is this possible and

B/ how much would it potentially cost./

The dog in question is a 4 year old pom currently living in Portland, Oregon - he needs to come to the UK - what is the time frame, I am assuming he has had  a variety of jabs etc etc - anyone know, is it even possible. I have looked at the DEFRA site for PETS and really didnt understand a word of it. Help? (btw, NOT my dog, friend of a friends... all v ill thought out but this poor chap is now at risk!).
- By Goldmali Date 17.11.10 09:08 UTC
First he has to be microchipped, then vaccinated against rabies. 3-4 weeks after the rabies vaccination he needs to have a blood test to check it has been effective, and then a pets passport can be issued. If the dog has ALREADY been vaccinated against rabies, which it may well have been, then this will not count if it was not microchipped before. You then have to wait a full 6 months from the date of the blood test until the passport will be valid for entry into the UK. I.e. the entire process takes 7 months. Final thing before travelling is at least 24 hours but no more than 48 hours before arriving in the UK the dog has to be treated for tapeworm and ticks BY A VET -i.e. Drontal and Frontline drops, normally. I'd imagine they are not very used to issuing pets passports in the US, and it all has to be on official paperwork, but the vet who does it could be pointed in the direction of DEFRA's website. The cost HERE for a pets passport is usually roughly £120-£200.

Then the dog has to be transported over and that's what's going to cost. I enquired about sending a puppy the opposite way once, UK to US, and was then quoted around £700. The dog is only allowed to fly from certain US airports to certain UK ones, you can find which airports here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/documents/noneu-air.pdf

The other alternative is to fly the dog to a country that does not require a pets passport with as stringent conditions as the UK, such as France, and let the dog stay there for the 6 months before arriving in the UK.
- By triona [gb] Date 17.11.10 09:09 UTC
yes it is possible but it may take a bit of time because the jabs needs to be done and there could be a wait if he needs testing, some airlines dont take certain breeds so you will have to check that and you will find that airlines only take a certian number of dogs per flight so booking in advance is needed. You can use a company/ courier to do everything but its really expensive and I found it wasnt rocket science and I ended up doing it myself, find the embassy number for the UK based US embassy in London and they will be able to help.

Costs... it could be in the thousands depending on how you do it and how big the crate has to be for the dog.
- By Goldmali Date 17.11.10 09:11 UTC
some airlines dont take certain breeds

Don't think Pomeranians count as either dangerous or flat faced. :)
- By lincolnimp [gb] Date 17.11.10 09:33 UTC
If you have to get the dog over here and the time frame is short, it can still go into quarantine.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 17.11.10 10:15 UTC
The Pet Passport will take a minimum of 7 months, he can come into Quarantine ASAP. 

You would need to book a place at a Quarantine kennels, and then have him shipped.  He will then be picked up by the kennels and spend his 6 months there.

I don't think he would need to be Rabies vaccinated before coming over as they are done as soon as they arrive in UK Quarantine, but if needed that won't take long.

I was quoted $1500 US dollars for Cargo for a 20kg dog and it's varikennel, so it may be less for a toy dog, but it still has to go Cargo in the hold.  they levy a hefty charge at Heathrow for customs and DEFRA (was Quoted £275).

Quarantine will cost basically the cost of kennelling plus Vets fees, picking up from the airport etc.  If it is the South West I don't think you would go wrong using Overhill, we were very happy with the service we had with them, both Quarantine and Exports.  they are very helpful and should be able to advise the options anyway http://www.overhill.co.uk/quarantine/quarantine.htm
- By loobyloo2 [gb] Date 17.11.10 13:40 UTC
Vancouver to Europe (Paris is good) is much cheaper than U.S to UK. £30 on Eurotunnel to come in as a car passenger,or £13 for Holland Harwich crossing and you can do it as a foot passenger. HTH.
- By theemx [gb] Date 17.11.10 14:14 UTC
Thankyou everyone! Very helpfuls.
- By JAY15 [gb] Date 17.11.10 19:02 UTC
I looked into this recently, and I believe American Airlines allows dogs up to a certain size to be classed as accompanied baggage. It will cost you the crate and about £200 I think--much cheaper than sending the little guy in his own and you could have a modest holiday into the bargain.
- By Brainless [gb] Date 17.11.10 19:53 UTC
that won't work for coming to UK, they have to fly in as Cargo, which is why we are flying back to Brussels and then driving home via one of the Pet passport routes.

If this option was chosen then the person bringing the dog in would have to arrange at port of entry for the dog to be picked up by DEFRA quarantine kennels.
- By JAY15 [gb] Date 17.11.10 20:01 UTC
Thanks for this Brainless--I have to say I'd looked at it from the point of taking my dogs from the UK on a one way trip to the US. Would it be the case then that if we were to return with valid Pet Passports that my dogs would go into quarantine here? How long for???
- By Brainless [gb] Date 17.11.10 20:09 UTC
With a valid Pet Passport they could fly in on an approved route and carrier as CARGO or come in from Europe on an approved Ferry/tunnel route.

That is what I will be doing shortly flying out from Heathrow, but flying back to Brussels and then getting hubby and a friend to drive over to pick us up.

I think the OP is in a hurry and the Pet Passport takes at least 7 months.
- By JeanSW Date 17.11.10 22:31 UTC

> Don't think Pomeranians count as either dangerous or flat faced. :-)


Was exactly what my post was going to say until I scrolled down and saw yours.  mmmmm!  Pom unlikely to cause chaos!
- By loobyloo2 [gb] Date 18.11.10 12:07 UTC
Canuckdogs.com offers a service called Ride Share.
If you have a contact in Portland, they could place an ad on here for you and it could save a small fortune. HTH
- By Jess [gb] Date 18.11.10 20:31 UTC
We imported a chihuahua from Michigan in September.

We decided to use an import company (Petair UK) to deal with the paperwork and travel arrangements as if one little thing is forgotten or done wrong you may have to start the whole process all over which would be a disaster!!

This service cost us £1600 and that was everything from arranging his passport (not including the vets fees or taking him to the vet, the breeder covered that) to booking the flights, supplying the crate and actually getting him on the plane and through customs this end.  They can also deliver the dog to your door for an extra cost.

Everything went smoothly and they kept in touch throughout.  If we ever import again i would use this company.

If you have any questions feel free to message me and i will try to help :)
Topic Dog Boards / General / Shipping a dog to the UK from teh USA...

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