Bringing an animal overseas

[BTalley 0]

When my fiancee comes to Florida she will be bringing a medium-sized dog. She's very nervous, as this dog gets scared easily. She is concerned he will have a heart attack on the flight.

Has anyone on here brought an animal into the United States? If so, what are the best airlines? Anything we need to know or avoid to reduce the possibility of something going wrong?

[eekee 182]

I heard Aeroflot is actually pretty good about it. But for a medium-sized dog, I am assuming that the dog is too large to bring into the cabin. I am really not sure how to best handle a transatlantic flight with a dog in checked baggage. :/

here is a site i found: http://www.travelinpets.com/airlines.html i hope it helps. make sure to also check the regulations of your state for bringing animals in, as they vary from state to state. the most important thing is to make sure that the dog is up to date on the rabies vaccine.

[Okiebollweevil 0]

When my fiancee comes to Florida she will be bringing a medium-sized dog. She's very nervous, as this dog gets scared easily. She is concerned he will have a heart attack on the flight.

Has anyone on here brought an animal into the United States? If so, what are the best airlines? Anything we need to know or avoid to reduce the possibility of something going wrong?

Yikes a dog! My wife brought her cat from Russia, no problems. I suspect Eeekee is irhgt the poor dog critter is going to the cargo hold. My wife's cat came in the cabin and slept on her lap the whole way, but came in a pet carrier to satisfy airline rules. I think she flew Delta from Moscow, they are usually good with pets. Make sure the dog has an international health certificate, and you might want to check the USDA website about bringing pets into the US. Don't go through Great Britain as I have heard horror stories of pet quarantine, don't know if that applied to pets in transit. Northwest and I am sure their partner Lufthansa should be good with pets. We have flown within the states with Northwest with no problems, again with cat in cabin in a carrier. Don't know about dogs in the cargo hold though. Go through some old posts here where others have asked the same or similiar questions should be helpful.

[slim 1,525]

There was a joke about dogs being treated like people and people being treated like dogs on Soviet airliners. Seems to have improved for both in modern times.

[eekee 182]

When my fiancee comes to Florida she will be bringing a medium-sized dog. She's very nervous, as this dog gets scared easily. She is concerned he will have a heart attack on the flight.

Has anyone on here brought an animal into the United States? If so, what are the best airlines? Anything we need to know or avoid to reduce the possibility of something going wrong?

Yikes a dog! My wife brought her cat from Russia, no problems. I suspect Eeekee is irhgt the poor dog critter is going to the cargo hold. My wife's cat came in the cabin and slept on her lap the whole way, but came in a pet carrier to satisfy airline rules. I think she flew Delta from Moscow, they are usually good with pets. Make sure the dog has an international health certificate, and you might want to check the USDA website about bringing pets into the US. Don't go through Great Britain as I have heard horror stories of pet quarantine, don't know if that applied to pets in transit. Northwest and I am sure their partner Lufthansa should be good with pets. We have flown within the states with Northwest with no problems, again with cat in cabin in a carrier. Don't know about dogs in the cargo hold though. Go through some old posts here where others have asked the same or similiar questions should be helpful.

yeah GB is nearly impossible w/ pets because don't have rabies there. flights from russia through great britain tend not to be cheapest nowadays--i know a couple of months ago it was insanely expensive because they had so many political issues between the two countries. the recent soccer matches seem to have calmed relations down though.

[LvivLovers 39]

We brought both a dog and a cat from Ukraine. When we flew from Lviv to Kyiv on Aeroflot it was a much smaller plane that unlike NWA didn't have a temperature-controlled/pressurized area for pets so we paid them unofficially to let us bring them in the cabin (inside their pet carriers). Then we flew from Kyiv to Amsterdam and then on to Atlanta no NWA. On those flights we sent them as checked baggage...supposedly they have a special compartment for pets. I'm sure it was not a pleasant experience for them but that was the only way we could bring them.

[shikarnov 7]

Ira and I brought over our two cats a few weeks ago. You'll need to do some bureaucratic stuff on the Russian side to get a certificate of health. Basically, be sure to visit the local (state funded) veterinary clinic and get a stamped health certificate. When you get to SVO, there's a veterinary office there that will examine your documents and print off another "official" international version of the health certificate in Russian and English. Bring that along to show to the customs folks in the US. Make sure the international version clearly spells out your pets vaccinations (especially for rabies).

On the plane, check with your airline for their animal regulations. Aeroflot is the most lenient, and will allow you to buy an extra seat to keep your pet close. Unfortunately, when Ira and I flew, Aeroflot was over $500 per ticket more expensive than Delta, so our cats had to ride under our seats. (Just between us, I prefer Delta anyway since the two times I flew Aeroflot, I felt like the plane was going to fly apart any minute).

On Delta, pets over 25lbs had to ride with the checked baggage -- but everything I read online advises against this. I've heard some real horror stories about lost pets, and more. Luckily mine rode in the cabin at a cost of $100 each.

If your pet is able to ride in the cabin, be sure to call well in advance since there are limits as to how many animals can be in the cabin at any one time. Such reservations are doled out on a first come - first serve basis.

I hope this helps.

Z

Edited May 22, 2008 by shikarnov

[Neonred 3,562]

Some airlines will allow a small dog to be taken into the cabin if it stays in it's carrier and will fit under the seat. Some airlines will not allow any dogs in the cabin on international flights. In any case a medium sized dog will most likely be traveling as live cargo in a special climate controlled section of baggage.

Just a note here, my wife bought a dog on the internet a few months back and this small young pup flew to Florida from Brazil by way of Houston. Eighteen or nineteen hours of travel with no apparent problems.

[slim 1,525]

Is there a dog shortage in Florida?

(I know. I know. "It is zis dog that I will be got it. For me doesn't matter if dog here more cheap and easy. I want zis dog from internet." Well, at least that's what it would sound like in my house.)

[Neonred 3,562]

Is there a dog shortage in Florida?

(I know. I know. "It is zis dog that I will be got it. For me doesn't matter if dog here more cheap and easy. I want zis dog from internet." Well, at least that's what it would sound like in my house.)

Well, my wife's English is very good, but you pretty much nailed it. Guess it is a "Russian Woman's thinking" I've learned not to argue and I just go with the flow.

The dog is very nice however....supposed to be a teacup Maltese, but is a little larger than teacup. In two weeks we will take her on a road trip up to Louisville KY so we will see how she does traveling by car. She is my wife's "princess".

[BTalley 0]

I believe Svetlana would ride in the cargo area with her dog if she could --- she's that nervous about him.

Unfortunately, he is just a little bit over the maximum size to ride in cabin.

[slim 1,525]

I've learned not to argue and I just go with the flow.

The secret to an easy marriage!