backeast09

hello...

it is HELL!!

i have a biggish dog. she is not much bigger than a labby, but the crate i had to get for her was custom made because no one could decide which of the varikennels was the right one, the giagantic one is too big and the next size down is too small, it has to be fitted with food and waterbowl, attached to the crate, extra food can be attached in a bag to the crate, (the whole thing gets xrayed, dog and all) you can throw in a t shirt or towel but no toys. someone has already sent you a link to continental (which is the airline i used both times) this tells you the dimensions of the crate you need and how to measure your dog...get your crate well before your journey and get your dog accustomed to it, dont force her...just throw a treat in now and again and leave the door open. depending where you are flying to your dog is in the crate for longer than 8 hours...i dont care what the airlines say about the length of time in a crate...it is bull...the trip out she was crated for 17 hours and the return trip she was crated for 19 hours. we went from glasgow to newark outbound and newark to manchester inbound. do not put your dog in the crate until you are absolutly ready to leave her...you only need 2 hours for yourself to check in and board...and as long as you give yourself enough time to do the doggy paperwork you will be ok to catch your flight in plenty of time, i have heard people arriving 6- 8 hours before the flight and booking the dog in 6 hours prior to the flight just adds to your dogs stress...booking in isnt that hard...everything else is! its the other side that takes time!!

injections are needed, you need to keep her updated with her yearly injections and get a rabies injection about 1 and half months before your flight, the rabies injection has to be done AT LEAST 30 days anyway, because she will need a blood test (serology test) after 30 days to make sure she has enough of the vaccine (this you need to get intouch with USDA - APHIS on the usa side, that is the usa version of DEFRA, i called a guy called Rocky in NJ...each state has different rules on rabies and importing pets. he can advise you for NJ but i doubt any other state, but he can at least point you in the right direction!)

this is where it gets fun...the uk rabies injection is valid for 3 years (verbac) but, the usa rabies injection is one year...so if you are considering leaving the usa to return to the uk...you will be faced with even more hell trying to get your dog out! look at it like...dog stays there whatever happens.

she needs to be microchiped, you need a usa reconised microchip or have the equipment to read it attached to the crate...most vets use nationally reconised microchips. make sure the vet reads it every time she visits the vet...they tend to move...and make sure that the export company at the departing airport also read it prior to you leaving her with them.

make sure ALL your paperwork is correct, dated, signed etc...important that the rabies injection has a date on it! (if just for future)

most uk vets dont really know what to do...but, it is a good idea to do some research into vets, calling and asking them if they have experience of exporting to the usa...although everyone has to start somewhere it is a lot easier having a vet who at least has some insight into this.

on the usa side, there are lots of vets who are 'international vets'

she will also need a health check 10 days prior to flight, if you do this about a week before your flight it will give you a few days to cover accidents, missing the flight, missinformation, or just the weather, the certificate is provided and has to co-inside with your flight, most airports have a summer and winter embargo...as in, to hot and to cold, best to check that with the airline, they wont fly pets if it is too hot on either the uk (LMAO) side or the usa side and the same for too cold.

you dog has to be on the same flight as you...you cant send your dog on her own and your partner collect her...thought i cant see how this makes a difference...as if i never asked about my dog...no one else would bother to ask me!

DEFRA (who thought my dog was a snake!) do not really have a clue about american regulations, and on the other side USDA - APHIS dont really have a clue on UK regulations! but...all the airlines stick to the rules and the rules cover all of them. (im not sure of the links i found helpful...ill dig them out later)

you have to use an export company for your dog, this is since 9/11...i used 'pets on jets' to leave the uk...and 'airborne animals' to return (sally has a lot of info!) though both times was in excess of $2000 not to mention all the vet bills and stress for myself and my dog. (if you had a yorkie she could sit on your knee! lol) book in advance...they only carry 2 dogs in cargo on any one flight apparently.

once on the usa side, you will have to pay about $50 to get her out of customs...then you are both FREE!!! but, you need to get her registered with the township, youll get a little disc and it cost me about $11 for a year.

if you can think of anything i have missed or have any more questions, i can try an help...everyones process is different.

oh yes...tick and tape treatment 48 hours prior to depature carried out by the vet...tick carries lymes disease...google it...its nasty

a little story -

i returned to the uk with my pooch, paid out over $2000 to get her home, in boarding my flight in newark, i asked a steward if my dog was on the flight, he went to check and came back and told me she was still on the runway waiting until the doors on the plane were shut to be loaded into cargo (for some reason this effects air conditioning in cargo) i never heard no more, i sat the entire flight not knowing if my dog was loaded or not...the steward couldnt tell me anything else once the doors were closed! so 7.5hours later i get off the plane in manchester expecting to see my dog sitting on the runway, already off loaded...nothing...i go through the airport and head for information, ive no idea where to collect her...im told eventually to go somewhere off the M56 and they will help, so eventually we find 'pets on jets' in manchester and the girl there has no idea that a dog was coming in...im getting all worked up now, thinking my dog was still in newark...she sends me to servisair (who are something to do with customs and imports) and i ask where my dog is...they have no idea neither...time is passing and my dog is no where to be seen...still sitting in a crate somewhere...i stand in the reception listening to a member of staff tell others about his conquest the night before and f'ing and blin'ing while i am in tears because it is now 5 hours since i got off the plane...my dog still no where to be seen...occasionaly someone comes to the window saying sorry,...sorry...frikin sorry doesnt help me or my dog!! then a guy comes through and he has found my dog...sitting on the runway...she was loaded off the plane and left there...the plane i arrived on had since loaded and left...i was fuming...my dog might be a toughy type dog...but she is a real softy and was probably petrified at all these planes reving up and taking off...

i had to fill in more paperwork and go back to pets on jets(they are the importers) the woman there explained to me that no one had filled the paperwork in on the usa side...for frikin $2000+ you would have thought that someone did their job properly! she let my girl through who tried so hard to jump the counter to get to me...knocking me on my backside and licking me to death...

didnt stop me from being p***ed about her being left on manchester runway though.

i hope your journey is less stressful than mine was...both times.

Hi backeast09,

Thank you so much for your input! Great to hear your sorry and I'm sorry it was so traumatic! My god! I have to say I felt a little dispondant after reading your story. How awful, your doggy was left on the tarmac with planes arriving and taking off. My poor Honey wouldnt know what to do. But thanks again for all your advice! Its a real help to hear your info! I have contacted USDA APHIS for any requirements specific to NJ - no reply. So I have contacted them again! As far as the requirements that a Vet needs to take care of that won't be a problem. I have even found a pet whos familar with applying for Pet Passports (within the EU though, not really worldwide).

The good news is, I cant see any reason why we would be travelling back to the UK. To be honest I feel terrible putting my dog through the trauma of enduring an 8 hour plus flight, but this is something we HAVE to do. My fiance and I both love her to death and we want her to be with us. I just want to apply for the Pet Passport (even though I dont have to) to cover every eventuality, plus I like the fact that every base is covered.

As far as leaving my dog at the last minute possible, dont you have to drop your dog off at the airports cargo department? That isnt close to the departure terminal where we'll be flying from so we'll try to leave it as late as possible but we just want to plan it out well, to avoid being stressed to the max.

Anyway, I hope you don't mind me asking a few other questions...

How does it work with the paperwork? Does the airline send you the labels for your pet's crate or do they do it for you when you arrive at Cargo?

What do they actually ask for when your pet is taken away from you?

Also, as you said you flew with Continental. Did your dog fly with 'Quickpak?' (http://cargo.cocargo.com/cargo/products/quickpak/)

And how did you find collecting your dog from Newark?

How do you know where to go for collection? (is it true customs have to wait for a vet to check your dog over before she can be released?)

Can your dog be collected by your fiance? - As I presume I'm going to be interviewed in secondary passport control on arrival as I'll be travelling in on my K1 Visa), I'd really like my fiance to be responsible for collecting this to her to avoid her waiting even longer.

And, I did read one story about how a flight attendant brought part of the crates live animal label (I dont know if it was perforated or something??) to the passenger who the pet belonged to on the plane, so she knew her pet was on board? Did this not happen to you on the way there?

How did you exactly go about booking your dog as cargo? I know you said it's the simplest step, but I just can't figure out who to ring in advance of booking, to get a price etc. The continental website doesnt allow you to book online when you are booking your seat and getting through to Continental for any queries is turning out to be near impossible.

Did you book via the QuickPak Cargo dept and not through Continental directly?

Also, I didint quite understand whether you hired a pet shipping company or not. I ask because the ones Ive contacted say they can provide the crate for me? I was thinking of doing the whole process (to go to the US) ourselves. All of the veterinary requirements and paperwork will be done ourselves, so why should I pay someone who wants to board my dog overnight and then put her on the plane (which is unnecessary anyway)?

Sorry for the million questions! Hope you're having a great day and thanks for helping us out!

ps - any links for more info would be great!

to my knowledge, unless your crate can fit under your seat you cannot book your dog on the flight yourself...you have to use a pet export company...as i did as many other have...expensive!!! the pet export company use quickpak...this is all since 9/11

i used continental to fly both ways, using pets on jets going and airborne animals returning (you say now you have no thought of returning back to the uk...but...i never in a million years thought i would return back here...it took my dad dying to get me back! )

pet passport is only a EU thing...irrelevent as long as all your paperwork is in order.

i cant see why you got no response from APHIS i have called them numerous times and every time my call was answered along with my questions...they are more helpful than DEFRA!!

your fiance can not collect your dog...you have the collection papers when you fly...if customs let your dog go to your fiance who is to say that anyone can walk in and collect her, just because they know there is a dog there...not that it would happen...but still...they have rules.

newark took ages to get through, but it was made easier knowing my husband was on the other side waiting for me. your dog will have to sit it out....unless of course...you have a slack customs officer who just wants the dog to be collected so he can go for lunch!!

the flight attendant bringing a bit of the label...i dont understand this...i didnt get nothing like that going or returning. to my knowledge the flight attendants dont have anything to do with cargo.

the pet export company doesnt board your dog over night unless you request it...you meet them at the airport on the day of your flight...yes, you take her to the cargo...they take her in the crate and xray the whole thing, then you dont see her again until you land in america.

as stressful as it is...i really think you need to find a vet who knows whats what and check and double check your paperwork. find an pet export company they all charge about the same, and i thought trying to save a few pounds irrelevent...the cheaper ones didnt seem to care, didnt have a clue...i do recommend pets on jets, they are based in leeds. google the name and call them, if anything they will give you a lot of information...or point you to where you can find it.

unfortunatly i do think you are going to have to consider that this is going to be expensive.

she is a labby...and so a big dog.

good luck

hello...

it is HELL!!

i have a biggish dog. she is not much bigger than a labby, but the crate i had to get for her was custom made because no one could decide which of the varikennels was the right one, the giagantic one is too big and the next size down is too small, it has to be fitted with food and waterbowl, attached to the crate, extra food can be attached in a bag to the crate, (the whole thing gets xrayed, dog and all) you can throw in a t shirt or towel but no toys. someone has already sent you a link to continental (which is the airline i used both times) this tells you the dimensions of the crate you need and how to measure your dog...get your crate well before your journey and get your dog accustomed to it, dont force her...just throw a treat in now and again and leave the door open. depending where you are flying to your dog is in the crate for longer than 8 hours...i dont care what the airlines say about the length of time in a crate...it is bull...the trip out she was crated for 17 hours and the return trip she was crated for 19 hours. we went from glasgow to newark outbound and newark to manchester inbound. do not put your dog in the crate until you are absolutly ready to leave her...you only need 2 hours for yourself to check in and board...and as long as you give yourself enough time to do the doggy paperwork you will be ok to catch your flight in plenty of time, i have heard people arriving 6- 8 hours before the flight and booking the dog in 6 hours prior to the flight just adds to your dogs stress...booking in isnt that hard...everything else is! its the other side that takes time!!

injections are needed, you need to keep her updated with her yearly injections and get a rabies injection about 1 and half months before your flight, the rabies injection has to be done AT LEAST 30 days anyway, because she will need a blood test (serology test) after 30 days to make sure she has enough of the vaccine (this you need to get intouch with USDA - APHIS on the usa side, that is the usa version of DEFRA, i called a guy called Rocky in NJ...each state has different rules on rabies and importing pets. he can advise you for NJ but i doubt any other state, but he can at least point you in the right direction!)

this is where it gets fun...the uk rabies injection is valid for 3 years (verbac) but, the usa rabies injection is one year...so if you are considering leaving the usa to return to the uk...you will be faced with even more hell trying to get your dog out! look at it like...dog stays there whatever happens.

she needs to be microchiped, you need a usa reconised microchip or have the equipment to read it attached to the crate...most vets use nationally reconised microchips. make sure the vet reads it every time she visits the vet...they tend to move...and make sure that the export company at the departing airport also read it prior to you leaving her with them.

make sure ALL your paperwork is correct, dated, signed etc...important that the rabies injection has a date on it! (if just for future)

most uk vets dont really know what to do...but, it is a good idea to do some research into vets, calling and asking them if they have experience of exporting to the usa...although everyone has to start somewhere it is a lot easier having a vet who at least has some insight into this.

on the usa side, there are lots of vets who are 'international vets'

she will also need a health check 10 days prior to flight, if you do this about a week before your flight it will give you a few days to cover accidents, missing the flight, missinformation, or just the weather, the certificate is provided and has to co-inside with your flight, most airports have a summer and winter embargo...as in, to hot and to cold, best to check that with the airline, they wont fly pets if it is too hot on either the uk (LMAO) side or the usa side and the same for too cold.

you dog has to be on the same flight as you...you cant send your dog on her own and your partner collect her...thought i cant see how this makes a difference...as if i never asked about my dog...no one else would bother to ask me!

DEFRA (who thought my dog was a snake!) do not really have a clue about american regulations, and on the other side USDA - APHIS dont really have a clue on UK regulations! but...all the airlines stick to the rules and the rules cover all of them. (im not sure of the links i found helpful...ill dig them out later)

you have to use an export company for your dog, this is since 9/11...i used 'pets on jets' to leave the uk...and 'airborne animals' to return (sally has a lot of info!) though both times was in excess of $2000 not to mention all the vet bills and stress for myself and my dog. (if you had a yorkie she could sit on your knee! lol) book in advance...they only carry 2 dogs in cargo on any one flight apparently.

once on the usa side, you will have to pay about $50 to get her out of customs...then you are both FREE!!! but, you need to get her registered with the township, youll get a little disc and it cost me about $11 for a year.

if you can think of anything i have missed or have any more questions, i can try an help...everyones process is different.

oh yes...tick and tape treatment 48 hours prior to depature carried out by the vet...tick carries lymes disease...google it...its nasty

a little story -

i returned to the uk with my pooch, paid out over $2000 to get her home, in boarding my flight in newark, i asked a steward if my dog was on the flight, he went to check and came back and told me she was still on the runway waiting until the doors on the plane were shut to be loaded into cargo (for some reason this effects air conditioning in cargo) i never heard no more, i sat the entire flight not knowing if my dog was loaded or not...the steward couldnt tell me anything else once the doors were closed! so 7.5hours later i get off the plane in manchester expecting to see my dog sitting on the runway, already off loaded...nothing...i go through the airport and head for information, ive no idea where to collect her...im told eventually to go somewhere off the M56 and they will help, so eventually we find 'pets on jets' in manchester and the girl there has no idea that a dog was coming in...im getting all worked up now, thinking my dog was still in newark...she sends me to servisair (who are something to do with customs and imports) and i ask where my dog is...they have no idea neither...time is passing and my dog is no where to be seen...still sitting in a crate somewhere...i stand in the reception listening to a member of staff tell others about his conquest the night before and f'ing and blin'ing while i am in tears because it is now 5 hours since i got off the plane...my dog still no where to be seen...occasionaly someone comes to the window saying sorry,...sorry...frikin sorry doesnt help me or my dog!! then a guy comes through and he has found my dog...sitting on the runway...she was loaded off the plane and left there...the plane i arrived on had since loaded and left...i was fuming...my dog might be a toughy type dog...but she is a real softy and was probably petrified at all these planes reving up and taking off...

i had to fill in more paperwork and go back to pets on jets(they are the importers) the woman there explained to me that no one had filled the paperwork in on the usa side...for frikin $2000+ you would have thought that someone did their job properly! she let my girl through who tried so hard to jump the counter to get to me...knocking me on my backside and licking me to death...

didnt stop me from being p***ed about her being left on manchester runway though.

i hope your journey is less stressful than mine was...both times.

A question for the original poster from the UK: When did you enter the US on the K-1 and when did you leave for the UK to be with your dad?

january 2008, married in 90 days, left usa 12th june arrived in uk 13th. in total month to month i was in the usa 18 months less one day.

i cant help but think how negative some of the replies are...

i know it is a stupid situation we have gotten ourselves into, but it is life! surely there is some compensation for that.

if my husband reads this, with how he is feeling at the moment, he will surely give up.

he is a home owner and has family there, kids in school and also a good job he has been in since forever...so there is no way he would give all that up to come here. even if it is the 'easier' option...nothing in this life or this situation is easy.

surely we are not 'that much stuck' even if theres a wait...a ban, surely i am not banned for 10 years!? that sucks.

please can someone, anyone who has possibly been through the same kind of thing as us, please can they give us the advise i need instead of just getting replies saying 'stuck' this doesnt help us. and this is something that kinda annoys me about these kind of forums, like we all dont have enough to deal with, such negativity added to our own stress isnt good.

please can someone point me to a guide or something...what to do after leaving the usa without advance parole or something, this is hard enough as it is and i cant help but think that when my husband reads some of the replies he will give up because most say its not possible...it must be...i just dont know how!!

help

thanks for this,

but how do i go about the waiver?

who do we need to contact, pn both sides of the pond?

will i have to do the medical and interview again

and any ideas on cost of all this?

i am a UK citizen married to a US citizen, i returned home not so long ago because we were having difficulties and my dad is seriously ill in hospital, i don't think he has long.

i am in a bit of a panic, because with one thing and another, i have returned home and i don't know if i can go back because i just caught a plane and left, they took my I194 from my passport and nothing more was said.

now i think i am stuck.

i entered the US on a K1 visa, we married within 90 days, this was early last year, we didn't yet complete the adjustment of status because of money problems. but i was told that wasn't a big problem.

i got my SSN number within a few weeks of being married.

do we need to start the whole process again? from scratch...all that waiting...? my dad is ill and i for one am not coping with all this to well, being back home and being away from my husband.

now we are both going nuts thinking how the hell i am going to get back!

it all happened so quickly

can anyone help?

getting me there skint us both, bringing me back here broke our backs, and now, to go through all the costs again is probably going to destroy us, my husband is having a hard time dealing with the distance and i am going nuts being so far away and unable to help him. we couldnt afford the adjustment of status and now we cant afford to start the whole thing again...

i just want our lives back.

please can someone advise.