January 2010

One of the attendees at today's Social Media Breakfast event asked us if we'd ever moved a unicorn.  While our CEO finds himself hauling his daughter's stuffed unicorn around, PetRelocation.com mainly sticks to horn-less equines.

We're currently working on the logistics for a horse move from our hometown of Austin, Texas to the United Kingdom.  Horses can be complicated creatures, particularly due to their size and their very delicate personalities which can make them difficult to ship.  For these moves, it helps to have a former barn manager on staff (me!) -- I can answer all of the tricky hosre-related questions like "What's a Hanoverian?" and "What does 'hands' mean?"

Horse transportation to the UK is a pretty specific process.  The following steps are typically required:

We were super excited to have Pups the Traveling Labrador stop by our offices this week, as he is one of the major spokes-woofers when it comes to pet travel worldwide!

If you've never followed Pups, you might not know that he is one of the best four-legged world travelers there is.  He even tweets about his travels!  We invited Pups to come to our Austin headquarters to meet everyone and soon he will take off on an exciting trip from Austin to New York City and then from the Big Apple to Tokyo, Japan!

But first, Pups got to experience a typical Monday in our somewhat a-typical workplace!  Pups met the staff, checked out our "doggie chateau," and even got to sit in on a staff meeting this afternoon.  He found out a little-known PetRelocation.com secret - our conference room table is actually a shuffleboard table!

Check out the slideshow below for some great pics we got of Pups.

NPipi just flew to Japan - and boy are his arms tired!o one ever said pet shipping was easy, and when it comes to shipping birds, things can definitely get pretty tricky.  The amount of paperwork involved in flying a feathered friend overseas is usually quite extensive.  We recently moved Pipi, a very cute cockatiel, from New York City to Nagoya, Japan.  His owners were thrilled to see him, and sent us this note today shortly after he arrived:

Pipi has arrived 10 minutes ago. Now he is eating food and looks so happy. My son is so excited to see him. Of course, I'm so happy to see him!!!!! Thank you so much for your support to import my family member Pipi.

Best,

Eiko and Pipi

So what exactly is involved in flying a bird to Japan?  People always jokingly ask us, "Can't they just fly themselves?"  Unfortunately, your bird will need to rely on good old fashioned air travel just like you to move overseas.  Here's a quick rundown of things to keep in mind if you're shipping a bird:

Bruno, our favorite Staffordshire Terrier, with Harry, a Chihuahua we moved to Tokyo!Our friends over at the TakePaws blog have been discussing pet travel codes of conduct this week, talking about the best ways to make sure your dog isn't a canus non grata at the next pet hotel you stay at.  We love their tips, particularly the one stressing the importance of training in advance.  As we frequently mention, crate training is one of the most important things you can do before flying your pet, as it can reduce his or her stress levels immensely.

The only thing we would add to the list is that it's important that people with "aggressive" breeds to know in advance whether they will have trouble traveling with their pets. While we love Pits and Rotties (in fact, we have a beloved Staffordshire Terrier named Bruno who hangs out here at our offices), many people are concerned about aggressive breeds.  Check with the airline, the hotel and the city/country you are traveling to if you have a pet who might be considered dangerous. Sometimes, the results might surprise you. 

For example, Switzerland bans all pets with cropped ears/tails as this is typically seen as a sign of an "aggressive" breed.  The only way to import a pet with cropped ears or a docked tail is if the pet owner can establish that they are moving to Switzerland, not simply traveling.  This prevents travelers from nearby countries within the EU stopping in Switzerland with aggressive breeds, which is frowned upon by the local communities.

Have you experienced some "lessons learned" when traveling with pets?  Let us know in the comments section.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently distributed a notice that some important changes are coming to the National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP).  There's a good chance that your local veterinarian might not have heard about this news, and if you're in the midst of planning a pet move, it's important that your veterinarian be informed of these changes.  We'll be checking with all of our customers' veterinarians to ensure that they are up to date on the information.

Why are these changes important to people who travel with pets?

The USDA oversees all of the export documents for pets and live animals departing from the United States.  The system is currently set up so that practicing veterinarians can become accredited through the NVAP, which allows them to obtain and complete official health certificates (for example, the USDA-APHIS Form 7001 which is required for exporting live animals from the US).  This accreditation also means that they are considered a 'government veterinarian' who is able to fulfill pet import requirements for other countries, like blood tests.  Proof of all of these health documents must then be sent to the USDA State veterinarian.  Each state has a designated "Veterinary Services Area Office" where the documents are inspected and endorsed by the State veterinarian. 

In summary: Your veterinarian must be accredited under the NVAP in order to inspect your pet prior to your departure and issue a health certificate.  For more details on how this process works, please see our Pet Travel Forms fact sheet.

Congratulations to Dudley, the frosty-footed terrier mix who was featured as our Pet Move of the Month in today's PetRelocation Post Card.  Dudley's owners, Lauren and Michael, hired us in August to safely relocate Dudley from his home in North Carolina to their new residence in Hong Kong. Lauren and MIchael moved a few months before Dudley, so by the time he was delivered, they were overjoyed to see him (watch the video here).

We loved the fact that Michael used his iPhone to film Dudley's arrival, and Lauren even blogged about the happy reunion.  More than anything, though, it was great to see how much we were able to help Dudley and his family, "live" and uncut!

To be considered for our "Pet Move of the Month" simply email us a photo or video of your pet telling us how our services helped you during your move.

We received a great note from Elizabeth today, whose adorable little Dachshund, Boudreaux, moved recently from Atlanta to Hong Kong.

First of all, thank you so very much for your incredible patience with two worried parents in this process! 

 

Boudreaux arrived perfectly fine to Hong Kong late last night, and is already feeling quite confident about his place here, strutting around Causeway Bay like the biggest little dachshund in town.  We've already been too busy exploring this morning to email you!  He was a little groggy on arrival, but nothing a good meal and sleep didn't cure.  He is doing great and was back to his old self in no time! 

 

I will recommend PetRelocation without reservation to all our fellow expats looking to move their nearest and dearest four legged friends, and will send you a picture this weekend of us in Hong Kong.  Thank you for handling our little guy with such lavish attention and care!

Will definitely keep you posted and have some fun pictures your way in no time!

Thank you so much, and please let me know if I can help you with a testimonial or any recommendations - you guys were great!
Elizabeth

Last night we received an important notice concerning pets traveling to South Africa from the EU from our agents.

Beginning on 1 April 2010, all dogs traveling to South Africa from EU countries must be tested for all five of the following parasites with negative results:

1. Brucella canis
2. Trypanosoma evansi
3. Babesia gibsoni
4. Dirofilaria immitis
5. Leishmania

Felines remain unaffected by these new regulations.

This change has come to effect due to the EU open border policies.  Pets coming from other countries will still only need to be tested for parasites which are present in their country.

For example, pets traveling from the US to South Africa still only need to be tested for all of the parasites listed above except for trypanosoma evansi, as it is not a parasite found in the US.

If you have any questions about the new South African pet travel requirements, feel free to email us.

If you're flying with pets in or out of Texas today, the airlines have issued weather advisories for most of the Southeast Texas airports.  Weather conditions are expected to make air travel difficult, forcing some delays and cancellations of flights at airports in the region. A Code Yellow is in effect at Houston International Aiport  (IAH) for Thursday. Current weather forecasts anticipate Houston having as much as a 30% chance of snow, sleet or ice pellets on Thursday afternoon and/or Friday morning.

If you have pets currently scheduled to fly via Houston (IAH) or other Southeast Texas airports, we will be monitoring them carefully but please be aware that there could be delays.  Boarding can and will be arranged in the case of any major delays.

We will be working hard to keep your pets moving and to keep them safe and warm but please note that we may make the decision to not allow pets to travel if we feel that conditions are unsafe. In those instances, we will work with you on planning alternate cities, flights or dates. Although it will be very cold (lows into the teens and low twenty’s) until Sunday, Houston is not anticipating any winter precipitation after Friday morning.

A bit of trivia about this Houston weather:  it is the coldest and worst winter on record for them in more than 15 years and it will set a record for Houston if they get measureable snow for the second time this season!

An article in the New York Times this week features a feathery situation in the airport security line.  Joe Sharkey, a Times reporter, was faced with flying his two parrots, Rosie (an African Grey) and Petey (a blue-and-gold Macaw) from Newark to Phoenix.  A difficult task under the best of circumstances, Sharkey found himself receiving a long, hard look from the TSA before boarding with Rosie, who would be flying with him in-cabin.  Then the time came for Rosie to be inspected by the TSA, which required looking under her wings for explosives:

My wife and I had never before flown with our two parrots, but this time they had to come along on our nonstop flight to Phoenix. Rosie could fly in the cabin.  ... We were very anxious at the checkpoint. My wife solved the problem, though. One of Rosie’s tricks is to spread her wings and lower her beak if you ask her to imitate an eagle.

“Rosie, do an eagle,” my wife said. Inside her cage with the screener’s face framed in the open door, the bird promptly spread her wings wide. The screener had his look under the wings and lowered his wand. Merriment ensued all around — but it had to look pretty silly.

Flying with pets has always been somewhat difficult but tighter security restrictions are making pet travel, particularly in-cabin, even more stressful.

Almost a year ago, we reported a confusing pet travel directive issued by the TSA that made it impossible for pets originating from outside the US to be shipped unaccompanied or as manifest cargo without going through a "Regulated Agent" or "IATA-Approved" shipper.  Breeders who were used to sending their pets to Canada and then arranging to ship them back through other breeders suddenly found themselves in a tight spot, with their show dogs and breeding stock stuck across the border.  It also meant that someone living in a more remote city/country where there might not be a freight forwarder or registered agent who is capable and/or willing to book pets as cargo would have to either travel with their pet back to the US or leave the pet behind.