Moving your pet abroad can be a stressful experience, both for you and your pet. There are so many things to consider: What are the pet import regulations for your new country? How do you prepare your pet for the move? What are the risks involved?
For answers, we spoke with pet moving expert Jack Russo, owner of Bobbi’s World Kennels in Miami, Florida. He also is a regional director of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA).
“We cover the world,” Russo said, “although I do not think we have sent any pets to Antarctica.”
IPATA was founded in 1965 as an association of professional pet shippers who are dedicated to helping people move their pets around the world safely and quickly. Russo said, “We have 370 member companies in 70 countries and we are adding more each year. You can find a trusted shipper on the IPATA website and also be alerted to any pet shipping online scammers, which is an ongoing industry problem.”
Russo told us the two biggest mistakes expats make when shipping their pets abroad are not spending enough time to do advance planning and not allowing enough time to get everything done.
“For example, if you are going to Canada from the United States, I need a week,” Russo said. “If you are going to Trinidad and Tobago, it take much longer. I have to follow a procedure to get an import permit and that takes time. You have to break your planning down to specific categories and prioritize them.”
One of your first priorities, if you are going to Europe, is to microchip your pet. “Whether it is England or France or anywhere in the European Union, you need to microchip your animal, and then you must show that your pet received a rabies shot after the microchip has been implanted. We can do that for the owner, but they usually handle this themselves with their local vet.”
“Another big problem is the lack of preparation for shipping the pet,” Russo said. “The actual shipping itself is very stressful, but sedating your pet is a bad idea. Because of chemical changes to the pet’s body and the heightened stress, especially at very high altitudes if flying, can put the animal into shock. The best way to prepare your pet is to first get the crate you are going to ship them in and have them stay in the crate. Feed them in there and allow them to be comfortable with the crate. When the shipping day arrives, feed them about a third of what you would normally give them and provide plenty of water via a funnel on the outside of the crate. Do not use a water bottle for dogs and cats because they are not sure what to do with it. When flying at high altitudes it can even cause the water bottle to empty itself all over the animal, increasing stress.”
Of all the methods of transporting pets, Russo said flying is the safest. “I do not have the exact figures, but I think about .003 percent of all pets worldwide had an injury while flying, and an even smaller percentage died, so it is very safe. We do ground transportation, but I tell people if you want your pet to be safe, fly.” We checked with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and found that 13 animals died in transport in 2013 on U.S. airlines.
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