Dogs

mik

About to move to Dehli, and being a typical Brit - I love my dog! Has anyone ever brought a pooch over for a couple of years?

dzibead

If you take your dog to India, assuming it's possible, will you be allowed to bring it back into the UK without difficulty? I thought the UK had (or at least the "Great Britain" part of the UK: England/Scotland/Wales) had extremely strict rabies laws and required a long period of quarantine before dogs could be brought in from the outside, even if there was proof the dog had been vaccinated for rabies. Or has that changed? Since rabies is endemic in India, I think bringing a dog back from there would raise a big red flag on your return to England. But I can really sympathizie - if I were going to live somewhere else for a few years, I would be very sad if I couldn't bring my dog

seraph

I have a French friend here in Puri who came over with his pit bull (her name is Bubu ). Apparently in the EU you can get a passport for your pet. I have no idea how it would work upon your return from India to the UK.

edwardseco

UK has always had an infamous quarantine on animals so check into the details and see if some kind of documentation will help..

skell

The quarantine laws have change recently and there is a fairly long list of countries from which you can bring a dog into England with no quarantine.

Unfortunately, India, for obvious reasons (it has about 80% of the world's rabies fatalities), isn't on that list and your dog would be subjected to a six month quarantine upon your return.

You'll have to weigh all the pros and cons before making this difficult decision.

Maz 1979

My mum imported her dog (1 yr old) from Australia when she came back to the UK in 1977. He spent 6 months in the tiniest cage, which they gave my mum when she collected him, i wouldn't house a rabbit in this thing and our dog was not exactly small. It cost her about £2,500 then and she hated what it did to the dog. I'm sure conditions are better now but you should probably go have a look round these places if you are serious, then you can way it up between how the dog would feel without you for 2 years but with family/friend as opposed to with you but then 6 months in a kennels.

All in all she was glad she brought him over and he lived to be 15 and a 1/2 so it wasn't all bad, he just got very fat because of all the guilt treats she gave him through his life

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AnnieG

I know people who regularly bring their dogs to and from Europe (but not the UK, of course, due to our quarantine rules).
Seems to be no problem.
AnnieG

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AnnieG

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*jyoti*

How are you taking him? What airline and how much are they charging you? I may be bringing a dog over from the US for a permanent move, but am still trying to figure out all the logistics and options... If you do, let us know how it goes!

edwardseco

Read up on this recently and found it to be challenging for the dog especially for short nosed varieties like mine. The chances of an incident are 1 in a 100. Compensation of 1250 bucks wouldn't begin to match the sentiment attached to my 13 pound bruisers..

seraph

I just followed one of the banners for pet relocation specialists that came up as a result of this discussion and it seems like pet travel is a pretty regular occurence. Check out this website.

It seems possible to bring back pets to the UK and you can also get a quote from them if you would like. Since they are specialists, they should be able to answer any questions.

Also, I realize that India has the greatest incidence of rabies in the world, but if your dog has been vaccinated against rabies doesn't that mean that they can not get the disease and pass it on?

traceyam

Keep in mind dogs in India are looked upon as pests more often than as pets. They are not always regarded as members of one's family the way that they are in the West/UK. The treatment of dogs in India is one of the ONLY things that makes me hesitant to return. I always return, but I would never take a canine companion there.

In addition to the trauma of transport and the quarantine Maz 1979 described above, you will have to think about where the dog will be kept and who will care for it, and in what manner, when you are at work or otherwise not at home in Delhi. If your dog gets out unattended, are you willing to risk the life she or he would live on the streets, and you never seeing your friend again?

IMO it would be better for your friend if you found a loving home to care for your friend in a familiar environment in the UK until you return home. It's no fun to be separated from your loved ones but think of the joyous reunion upon your return!

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edwardseco

One nice thing is that the FAA is going to require the reporting of dog deaths on flights shortly. The bad is that some carriers are reportedly going to stop flying pets as a result..

Nick-H

There's a similar cat thread somewhere here. I've already said that I would not subject an animal to hours in a cage in an aircraft hold, sedated or not. It must be absolute terryfying hell.

I didn't know they regularly (???) died in transit. Anyone know what cause? Now I feel the same but even more.

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edwardseco

What I read was being put in a non pressurized compartment or unheated compartment, dropped as in splat by careless handlers (put padding in the bottom), left to bake in hot weather due to delays, dehydration, lost luggage, etc. The second to the latter was of special interest to me as it affects some breeds more than others. You were supposed to put a picture on the carrier so the staff can locate them among all the other strays on the airport when they go loose. Also, alert the air captain and staff about your animal. Should be a nice article in the Wall Street Journal on this. You can do cabin if its a small animal confinable to a tight carrier and no letting them out. The limit was one animal to a cabin so if its not Southwest one person could go first class and the other cattle car so you theoretically could get 2 or 3 on. Those are US regs so I am sure it varies..

Nick-H

Well, I think this is my 2,000th Post on IM and I was hoping to be able to make it a serious one rather than my usual wibble.

Especially after reading Edwardseco's post I feel that the risk is too great. I would certainly be a nervous wreck until reunited with my animal. Hoping that one's baggage has not gone missing is bad enough!

I doubt that I would be here if I still had a cat ( see here ). The flight is bad enough for us humans (in economy class, at least): imagine having no conception of what this motion, noise, darkness, constriction etc means and having no idea of whether it will ever stop.