Bringing your pets to the States

[Fernb 4]

I have one dog and two cats that I would love to bring over to the States when I move, how do I go about this? And what is the rough cost to move your pets?

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Thread is moved from Off Topic to the "Moving to the US" forum, to be among similar threads.

[AussieBubba 4]

I just recently sent my Belgian Malinois to Colorado from Adelaide. I used Jetpets, the cost was approximately $5000 but that included everything and they were very easy to deal with and kept me informed the whole way. There was no quarantine and she only required a rabies vaccination once she got to Colorado. Hope that helps.

[Fernb 4]

8 hours ago, AussieBubba said:

I just recently sent my Belgian Malinois to Colorado from Adelaide. I used Jetpets, the cost was approximately $5000 but that included everything and they were very easy to deal with and kept me informed the whole way. There was no quarantine and she only required a rabies vaccination once she got to Colorado. Hope that helps.

Awesome, thank you so much for the reply 

[hf2018 19]

Has anyone actually brought their pet with them (small dog) while they made their first entry at the POE with their GC packet?

[TBoneTX 45,329]

A great many people here have.  Search for threads, or scroll through pages in this forum.

[dentsflogged 352]

It gets expensive fast if you're using a third party carrier. Plus, despite them being "experts" they get it wrong pretty often (anecdotally, I've known 5 people who used pet transport companies, and 3 of them had issues which resulted in more money and extra time apart from their pets)

I got a quote for my cat from 3 companies - Melbourne to Minneapolis was going to cost between $2,900 and up to $5,000. That's not even door to door - they can't/won't transport her all the way to my door, so I'd still have to get to Minneapolis to collect her - that's an 8 hour drive, so she'd be stuck in the cage for over 40 hours total by the time we arrived home. 

 

Personally I'm in 2 minds about if I would do it or not (I haven't moved yet) - the idea of the stress, hardship and potential death of my pet (from the stress, from improper handling, from them getting "lost" in transit - one of my friends had her dog go to CHINA rather than Los Angeles!) totally outweighs my want to have her here.

 

I'd start researching now the minimum size of travelling boxes, what vaccinations (if any) and paperwork would be required. Also find out if any of the subsequent airlines (unless you can get a direct flight into your destination airport) have policies about minimum number of people vs. pets on board - with 3 they'd almost certainly have to fly as cargo rather than in the cabin with you (which I think you can do for any pet in a cage that can fit under the seat in front of you, but the pet has to be able to stand up and fully turn around within that cage, so it's limited to cats and pretty tiny dogs)

 

Good news is that you've got time to get all the info and make an informed decision for the furbabies.

[Naomi1984 12]

On 7/7/2018 at 2:43 AM, dentsflogged said:

It gets expensive fast if you're using a third party carrier. Plus, despite them being "experts" they get it wrong pretty often (anecdotally, I've known 5 people who used pet transport companies, and 3 of them had issues which resulted in more money and extra time apart from their pets)

I got a quote for my cat from 3 companies - Melbourne to Minneapolis was going to cost between $2,900 and up to $5,000. That's not even door to door - they can't/won't transport her all the way to my door, so I'd still have to get to Minneapolis to collect her - that's an 8 hour drive, so she'd be stuck in the cage for over 40 hours total by the time we arrived home. 

 

Personally I'm in 2 minds about if I would do it or not (I haven't moved yet) - the idea of the stress, hardship and potential death of my pet (from the stress, from improper handling, from them getting "lost" in transit - one of my friends had her dog go to CHINA rather than Los Angeles!) totally outweighs my want to have her here.

 

I'd start researching now the minimum size of travelling boxes, what vaccinations (if any) and paperwork would be required. Also find out if any of the subsequent airlines (unless you can get a direct flight into your destination airport) have policies about minimum number of people vs. pets on board - with 3 they'd almost certainly have to fly as cargo rather than in the cabin with you (which I think you can do for any pet in a cage that can fit under the seat in front of you, but the pet has to be able to stand up and fully turn around within that cage, so it's limited to cats and pretty tiny dogs)

 

Good news is that you've got time to get all the info and make an informed decision for the furbabies.

I was looking to move my cat over to Florida once our CR-1 visa has been approved but damn, that is too much money! How is it more to send a cat over than a person? That's just nuts.

[NikLR 13,227]

Check out air animal as well.  

[NikLR 13,227]

4 hours ago, Naomi1984 said:

I was looking to move my cat over to Florida once our CR-1 visa has been approved but damn, that is too much money! How is it more to send a cat over than a person? That's just nuts.

Because a person can walk themselves, get their tickets, seat themselves and in general can deal with their own stress.  A dog deals with stress fairly well generally speaking and most are used to crates and kennels.  Most cats are rarely crated unless going to the vet. So they get very stressed out.  A cat can easily go into respiratory distress and need emergency care from stress.  

[William & Fiona 0]

I got a quote through Jet Pets here in Australia.  It was for two cocker spaniels from Brisbane to Washington DC. It was $5212, which is considerably more than we had thought.  If anyone knows of anyone else who ships pets reliably, I'd love to hear too !

[Mr&Mrs G. 903]

We moved our dog over while on a trip to visit my wife's parents, we figured it would be easier to leave the dog with them than having to worry about transporting the dog the same time as our final move. So the dog emigrated before me 🤔

 

We flew American Airlines Dublin to Charlotte NC and the fee was only $250. We purchased a crate from Amazon which met with the airlines requirements, had all vaccinations done and a letter from our vet stating the dog was healthy to travel. AA were brilliant and the dog was in great form when we collected her after we landed. 

 

Most airlines carry pets very safely and much cheaper than the specialist carriers. 

[debbiedoo 2,339]

my (canadian) fiance drove his dogs over the border last summer. no problems. he had their shots updated and a very long trip (always a long trip but with two dogs had to make more stops for them lol) 

[NikLR 13,227]

Legally in the USA you need health certificates from a veterinarian to travel internationally or domestically.  Just as a note.  

[Mr&Mrs G. 903]

On 8/16/2018 at 1:20 AM, NikLR said:

Legally in the USA you need health certificates from a veterinarian to travel internationally or domestically.  Just as a note.  

We had all the relevant documentation and veterinary certificates to bring our dog to the US. The airline just gave them a quick check to make sure we were good to go. When we got to NC we had to go to a local veterinary practice to get the dogs microchip scanned and added to the US database. The vet asked where the dogs rabies tag was and I said we didn't have one, in Ireland we don't have rabies so no tag is issued. The vet in Ireland issued us with a certificate and the batch number of the vaccine but the vet in NC said it would not be acceptable and the dog could be taken to the pound if we were stopped.

 

Anyways he decided that we needed to have all the vaccines redone and have a rabies tag issued, nice fat bill at the end of it all. We believe all was legal and was passed by border control at the airport. I think the vet saw us as an easy target and billed us accordingly.

 

Make sure you comply with state law, if your country doesn't issue a rabies tag that complies with the US system then be prepared to pay for it a second time just to get a tag.