Pet Relocation

[Lenny Wolf 2]

Hi All,

Have a cat to move over to US when we do. Anyone know of a cheap pet relocator from around Sydney Australia? going to Seattle

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Cheapest would likely be to bring him/her as part of your lugage. Be sure to call the airline as soon as you book and tell them you will have a pet, as a limited number of cats/ dogs can travel in the hold of each flight.

[chaine1 116]

Having lugged a total of 7 animals (mix of our own and for pet shelters) across the world and into the US , I'll second Penguin's advice, and add the following.

There are 2 parts to this process: 1. Exporting animal out of the country of residence, and 2. Importing the animal into the new country.

You will have to look into Australia's procedures for export. For the country I was in, I had to have an export permit, which involved several vet visits and paperwork.

Importing a cat or dog into the US is easy. I think the only thing that is required is proof of rabies vaccination (but double check that). As of 6 months ago, you do not need an import permit to bring a dog or cat into the USA.

I'd start by contacting a vet's office, or even just doing a google search on something like 'australia export dog/cat.'

Good Luck!

[JensJrny2Ray 367]

Also make sure to check the airline's criteria. I think most of them require a vet's approval within 30 days of travel that your pet is in good health. They will also list how much it costs and how big your carrier can be etc.

[SweetDelish 38]

I used a company called jetpets to relocate my cat from Sydney to Hawaii, it wasn't cheap, but he arrived safely.

[AussieNemesis 16]

I had my cat sent from Perth to Memphis. I used Petlink as the carrier.

It was around $3000 including the rabies vaccination, the AQIS checks and any US checks once here. Cost more to send the cat one way than me to have return flights.

The cat was fine and healthy when I got her, though very unimpressed with me sending her all that way and its taken me a long time to get her to settle in here.

If I could do it over, I'd have flown her with me instead.

Contact AQIS for their requirements - I think it's even on their website - and they have a list of Vets allowed to do the rabies vaccine. Also your pet needs to be microchipped if it isn't already as that is how the US tracks the vaccinations.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Also your pet needs to be microchipped if it isn't already as that is how the US tracks the vaccinations.

Where did you hear/read that? My dogs chips (I have 2 dogs, both chipped) don't list ANYTHING about their shots. They have a tag on their harness for the rabies shot and vet records I keep at home (I also have a log-in online that reminds me when shots are needed and so I can update their details if need be).

The chipping companies vary from state to state (and within the state as well) and there are lots of different ones and not ALL can be read by all the chip scanners so you need to research the chips available in your area and how well known/read they are.

[chaine1 116]

I don't know anything about the microchip and vaccine records being linked in the USA (but I'm pretty sure that's not the case).

However, you do need look into the requirements for shipping animals. All the animals I relocated were flown on Lufthansa, which required the dog/cat to be microchipped.

And yeah, I would definitely recommend flying the animal with you in the cabin.

[Moomin 292]

The thing about the microchip might have been the airline company requiring that. They have individual requirements aside from export country and import country. KLM required microchip or ear tattoo. My dog had the microchip already so no issues there. This might be because I'm from Denmark and rules are different in exporting an animal.

Read more about import/export here; http://www.cdc.gov/animalimportation/dogs.html

There's one webpage that have most info gathered regarding travelling with pets - it's seatguru-com. Just click the airline company and then "pets"(on the left) to see their rules. Make sure to call the airline to verify the information though. It's nonetheless a great start.

As soon as you know which airline company you'll be flying with(remember to check if it's codeshare and their specific rules) you can determine what needed. Personally, I'd advise having your cat travel with you in the cabin under the seat. I know there are specific meassures that the crate/cage must be within in order to fit. If you have a layover, some airports have small outdoor areas (pet relief areas).

So you'll need to know export from home country regulations - airline company requirements - US import rules.

Good luck(and awesome you're not just leaving the pet behind. They're important!) : )

[AussieNemesis 16]

Re the microchipping and vaccination.... I was told that by the pet transport company that I used, that the microchip in the cat would identify her as having been vaccinated, in case paper records were misplaced.

Maybe it only applies on importing a pet...I don't know but I was told microchipping was compulsory.

Feel free to check the facts which whomever you ship your pet with.

[CareBear 18]

I used Jetpets as well. A$2500 to move a Jack Russell dog from Gold Coast to Texas but they were awesome! I even got photos when he arrived at his 12 hour boarding home in Los Angeles!

[travelfairy 22]

I moved my dog from Sydney to the US Midwest in 2006. It cost $2,000 and took several days. She got stuck in LA when she missed her connecting flight but the cargo person took her home with him for a couple of days whilst they sorted out her flight up to the midwest. she slept on his bed, rode along in his car.. he chatted to me and had really taken quite a shine to her. It was good to know she was looked after, and I know that she was ok because he mentioned some of her quirks that she does when she settles into a place.

I paid an extra few hundred dollars for a rabies vaccination, but the company I hired did all the paperwork and took care of the rest.

She was microchipped in Aus, but the US microchip scanners can't read it, (or update the details) so she'll need a second microchip. I didn't have any microchip requirements at the time of shipping but that may have changed by now.

My dog is still here and has discovered squirrels and chipmunks, a constant source of frustration and amusement to her. She has also encountered snow for the first time, and is much happier taking walks in the snow than the rain.

[Moomin 292]

My dog is still here and has discovered squirrels and chipmunks, a constant source of frustration and amusement to her. She has also encountered snow for the first time, and is much happier taking walks in the snow than the rain.

My dog is 8 years and snow is her favorite occupation and has always been. Eat it, roll in it, jump on it, toss it, dig in it. She likes skating/sliding on ice as well. She did spot some deer one dy and while they don't just run up a tree, imagine a 95 pounds dog spotting an XL running dinner on four legs. Took a few clicker sessions to have her just observe them and then on with her own snooping around.

This is from the first snow this year. She never whines. However when I came home from work that day, she whined and almost did a backflip because she saw it had been snowing.

[travelfairy 22]

That's sooo cute!!

[Cattledog 0]

From what I've found it hasn't been easy to find airlines that will allow the dog to go as extra luggage?

I'm moving over in about 4 months so I've also been looking into moving my dog over, it's a stressful process! Jetpets quoted me $3500 for him, a 20kg dog. Dogtainers quoted me $2000. So that seems more achievable. Although if I could find something cheaper I'd definitely go for it. But I just can't find much on them going as luggage...

Also concerning like travelfairy said, missing a flight & being taken home by airline staff - they have to do this for liability, they can't just leave your dog sitting on the runway for several days until another flights comes along. But my dog has big issues with strangers, so this whole move is going to be very tough for him. I would prefer he doesn't miss any flights, and no one takes him out of his crate, just in case! I'd rather he be crazy ready for a play after sitting in a crate for 15+ hours, rather than someone wanting to take him out for a walk or stretch and have him either bite someone in fear, or run away... I'm just stressing over the whole thing! Ahhhh