From international pet travel to the appropriate time of day to do your laundry, I plan to make a "what I wish I had known" list for future travelers. I would say that the days leading up to my actual journey here were some of the most stressful of my recent years. I had a series of events that all hit at the same time, move out of my 6th floor walk up apartment, drive my car with the belongings I deemed keep-worthy to Alabama, visit various family members along the way, say goodbye to my friends from NY (as I may choose to inhabit a new city upon return to the states), and the acquisition of all of the documents required for international pet travel.
The last item was by far the worst, both for my bank account and for my patience. There was no website that clearly outlined this process and new developments, forms, tests, trips to the airport cropped up endlessly along the way. And for what? Did the fair continent of Europe give a flying f**k that I had a stack of paperwork the size of most PhD's dissertations? The answer is a clear and painful "NO!" I entered Europe via Zurich and went through a swift customs check there. I even asked, "I am traveling with an animal, would you like to see his paperwork?" The very nice gentlemen said, "hmm, well you are going on to France, so I don't need to see it, they will check it there." Well as I learned, that was it for customs, once in Europe, you are IN Europe. I just walked right to baggage claim and out the door from CDG airport. I considered walking right back in and demanding that someone look at all of this! I have now translated the Swiss custom agent's answer into, "well, you aren't staying here, Switzerland doesn't care if you take some diseased dog into France, so have a nice flight." I suppose it is better than the alternative which could have been some problem with the paperwork and my poor little weiner being shipped back (at my expense, of course) to the US. That would have been pretty devastating.
So, if you are thinking of traveling with a pet to the EU, here are the tips and tricks in a normal, logical list:
1) The international health certificate translated in English and the language for your destination. For the French version, you can find it here or you can simply google Certificat veterinaire and you should see the pdf document. The good news is that the form is pretty clear and each section has the corresponding English translation with the description of each box. Many of the sections are only necessary if you are traveling to specific areas and those are outlined at the bottom of the form.
2) The key elements on this form that will require a trip to the vet are the microchip, the up to date rabies vaccine (note that you will need to manufacturer, date and lot information for your pet's last documented shot as well as the due date for his/her next one), and the signatures of your vet and the USDA approved vet. You will also need to have a print out of the animal's vaccine record as additional proof of the rabies vaccine. I believe that you must visit the vet for the final checkup no earlier than 5-10 days prior to your departure time. I had the major checkup a month or so in advance just in case there were issues (which there were, he had Lyme's) that needed to be resolved.
3) Most vets are sadly not accredited aka Competent Authorities, so you must go to an official vet for the endorsement of the form. For me, I had to drive to an office near JFK airport, pay $35 for a guy to stamp the form and confirm that I had all of the proper documents attached. Here is the pdf list of "Veterinarians in Charge" by state for the eastern region. Note that you do not have to take the animal to this official vet, so just gather all of your paperwork and get this stamped a minimum of 5 days prior to your departure.
4) Make sure to stock up on your pet's medications, heart worm, flea/tick, and any other items so that you don't have to worry about finding a vet while you are away.
5) Your vet can also prescribe Xanax for your pet if you have a long flight or just to chill them out a bit. Don't be frightened by the dosage, as it is considerably higher for dogs than humans as they metabolize it differently.
Just one other thing, when looking for flights, the rules for carry on pets are very different than just traveling domestically. I only found one airline (Swiss Intl) that allowed a 14 lb dog to fly under the seat. Most other airlines would require that he fly in cargo, so definitely check out your options in advance. I had to work with an agent at Swiss to get a flight itinerary that would accept him for the connections. Lucky for me, the flight was actually cheaper than the other options, so the research paid off in the end. You will have to pay, regardless, for your pet. The fee for his flight was $200 each way, and you have to buy his ticket when you get to the airport on departure day so factor that extra time.
With all of that information, you should be set to fly away and have no one look at the fruit's of your labor :) I hope that someone out there find's this blog entry useful. Good luck and feel free to comment if you have any questions about the process. My dog is pretty blissed out here in Paris, and having him here is really nice. It is always a good excuse to go explore the city, and people are really nice to you when you have a petit mignon chien!
Bon voyage!
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