Bringing Pets to America?

[MandyP AUS 3]

I'm going with JetPet to move my two cats from Melbourne to Maine. The company has been very good so far with answering all my annoying paranoid over protective crazy cat lady questions. It is expensive though (AUS$3000 for two cats). They also supply the correct travel containers (delivered for AUS$480 to my place int he outer eastern suburbs). Despite the price I'm sticking with them because my cats will be picked up from my house, flown to Sydney, checked by a vet before flying out of Sydney and checked again at LAX. they'll also be given time out of the crate which was important to me. They can also coordinate my flights with theirs so I'm not too far away if something happens.

As much as it will stress me and them out I wont be taking them in the cabin as they are prone to doing nervous poos/vomits in the car and I don't want to be the reason a flight gets diverted because all the passengers are passing out from the smell of cat poo/vomit.

[lucybelle 453]

I flew with my dog from Costa Rica to the USA with American Airlines. They fly large pets as "checked baggage" so you don't have to pay for a broker or have your pets stay overnight in a cargo holding cell. I had a GREAT experience with AA. Customs in MIA was not an issue. When I went to check my dog back in for my connecting flight the AA people told me it was too early for the dog's sake. They told me I could leave the crate by the check-in desk and take my dog outside to where a "dog park" was. (dog park was tiny, but still it was nice)

We both made it fine, I was probably freaking out way more than my dog was!

Some suggestions-

1. If your animals get car sick, get them a motion sickness shot before you leave for the airport

2. You can also try to give them a small amount of Benedryl to calm their nerves

3. Do a "Test run" beforehand (give animals drugs, drive about an hour to a quiet place, let the animal out, then put the animal back and drive home)

4. Duct tape puppy pee pads to the bottom of the crate (don't forget the edges!) and then put in a nice blanket to keep warm

5. Freeze the water bowl the night before so your animal has water during the trip and it won't spill out immediately

6. Write on the outside of the crate: "LIVE ANIMAL!" and any other information. I also wrote "hello, my name is Perlita!" and flight information along with contact information.

Try not to stress too much! We did just fine and my doggy is now living the American dream

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I flew my lurcher (greyhound size) from the London to San Francisco (11hr flight)

1) Different airlines have different requirements - check up on them

2) If you use a pet shipping company it will cost more but they can/will do everything which is very useful to reduce your stress on the day and ensure that the airlines requirements are met

3) Different US states have different requirements for the import of animals. In the case of CA it was minimal - some standard shots only as UK is classified as rabies free

My dog arrived safe and sound and not a little keen to get our of his box but otherwise happy and healthy. The process to get him through the freight agent/airline and customs took longer to clear than my own immigration on my K1 !

Personally I'd always use an experienced shipper who can provide details and ideally choice about airline. My dog came on the same flight as me. I took onboard some photos of my dog and sent them through to the cockpit with a request to check the heating was on. This caused much amusement to the cabin crew and pilots. They all came back to see me to re-assure my dog would be fine and that the photo was pinned above the flight deck !

They asked me how I knew about the heating for the pet area in the hold - told them I'd heard about it from here (which I had).

[lucybelle 453]

I took onboard some photos of my dog and sent them through to the cockpit with a request to check the heating was on. This caused much amusement to the cabin crew and pilots. They all came back to see me to re-assure my dog would be fine and that the photo was pinned above the flight deck !

They asked me how I knew about the heating for the pet area in the hold - told them I'd heard about it from here (which I had).

I didn't take pictures on board but for each of my flights once I got on the airplane I asked a flight attendant to inform the crew that a dog was on board and to make sure pressure/temperature was maintained in the baggage section. The lady came back and told me "the crew is aware that a very cute, white dog is currently on board with us" I guess they had seen her go in!

[artattack 4]

Just recently shipped my two dachshunds from Ireland to CA. It wasn't a direct flight but both did fine. I was worried because they are older (12 and 10) but they arrived safely. It cost me 860 euro for both. I used a cargo company that supplied the crate and they booked the flights for me and prepared the paper work. Ireland is a rabies free country so there were no problems there with entry - though CA requires pets to be licensed and have the rabies vacc so I needed to get it when I arrived here. The biggest adjustment for my dogs has been the heat.

[Bree N Mike 1]

I'm going with JetPet to move my two cats from Melbourne to Maine. The company has been very good so far with answering all my annoying paranoid over protective crazy cat lady questions. It is expensive though (AUS$3000 for two cats). They also supply the correct travel containers (delivered for AUS$480 to my place int he outer eastern suburbs). Despite the price I'm sticking with them because my cats will be picked up from my house, flown to Sydney, checked by a vet before flying out of Sydney and checked again at LAX. they'll also be given time out of the crate which was important to me. They can also coordinate my flights with theirs so I'm not too far away if something happens.

As much as it will stress me and them out I wont be taking them in the cabin as they are prone to doing nervous poos/vomits in the car and I don't want to be the reason a flight gets diverted because all the passengers are passing out from the smell of cat poo/vomit.

I have decided i am going through jet pets also, they sent me a youtube video of what it is like in the cargo hold for the animals and promised me it is every comfortable.

I was quoted $4500 for 2 cats and 1 english bulldog from Melbourne to New york and then we will drive them up to New Hampshire. I'm SO nervous!

[MandyP AUS 3]

I have decided i am going through jet pets also, they sent me a youtube video of what it is like in the cargo hold for the animals and promised me it is every comfortable.

I was quoted $4500 for 2 cats and 1 english bulldog from Melbourne to New york and then we will drive them up to New Hampshire. I'm SO nervous!

I would love to see that you tube clip. is it available or do I need to ask them for it? I thin it would help if I knew they weren't going to the great abyss.

They do have a very good rep and lots of good testimonies.

Do you have a flight date yet? or know which airline you are going with?

[lirpa11 16]

I'm interested to see the youtube video as well please!

We have also booked with JetPets and I am so nervous. We are literally going to the opposite side of the world! My dog is a 3 years old King Charles Cavalier. He will be flying from Perth to Sydney and he has a one night stopover. They said he will be taken to a kennel to stretch his legs, eat, and sleep. Then he is back on an airplane the next morning to go from Sydney to Los Angeles. Again, when he is here he will get out, go to a kennel to get out of the crate, walk around etc.

lastly he will get on his final flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta Georgia. I will then get to pick him up! I will try to send him on his way when we get on our first flight and then I will pick him up as soon as he arrives.

I have already paid the deposit and we have the crate here which I am getting him used to by keeping his bed in it.

[yvy23 11]

I brought my two 10 year old cats over last year. They were in the cabin with me and a friend who flew over to bring the second cat on the plane (hubby was out of vacation time so couldn't fly out to bring the second cat over). They're usually fairly nervous cats, especially around people they don't know but they did fine. They were quiet, well-behaved and the only time they fidgeted or made any noise was when they needed the puppy pads in their carriers changing. In all, they had about 30 hours of traveling, including the ferry transfer from the Isle of Man where I lived to the mainland UK where we needed to get the flight. They were able to be out of their carriers on the ferry.

Depending on the animal, they might not want to eat or drink anything on the flight - I had to persuade both of mine to drink, but didn't worry too much when they didn't want to eat. As long as they don't get dehydrated they should be fine. They were so well behaved that a lot of people only noticed they'd been on the flight when we were getting off the plane!

The only slight 'moment' I had with them was when I transferred in Frankfurt airport - I had to get them out of their carriers and carry them through screening in the main security area. Fortunately, I got them through without either of them escaping though different airports have different procedures - for the first flight out of Manchester, we were taken out of the main security area and their carriers...and the cats themselves...were swabbed quickly so neither of them had to be taken out of the carrier.

When we arrived in the US, CDC took them to a holding area while I cleared immigration so that they could check their vaccination and other paperwork and make sure the cats looked healthy. Beyond that, there is no quarantine requirement though I'm not sure how it would work if their vaccinations hadn't been up to date.

While I don't doubt that they found the traveling stressful, they coped much better than I had expected and were much less bother to other passengers around us than I had feared. As soon as they were out of the airport and in my husband's car where they recognized his voice they were back to their usual selves, crying for attention because they hadn't seen him for a while. They settled in really well and have been doing fine ever since.