Step-by-Step Guide: How I got my dog to Europe
When deciding to move to Europe, there was one thing that was never in question for us. Cali (our dog) was coming with us. While dreaming of the pubs we’d visit and the sights we’d see, we did not realize how much work (or expense) she would add for us.
I have to imagine I’m not the only one looking to bring a dog across the pond, so I thought I’d share the fruits of my extensive research and ultimate successful relocation of our dog to maybe ease the work for someone else in the future.
My dog is from California, USA and we needed to get her into the U.K. first (because we had 6 weeks in the U.K. before settling down) and ultimately to the E.U. to start our lives in the Netherlands. I will warn you ahead of time that this process is labor-intensive and requires pre-planning, but your pooch is a member of the family and they are worth it – (remember that 😉 ).
We learned very quickly that it is illegal / impossible for your dog to come in to the U.K. on a commercial airline. If air is the only option for you, you will have to ship them as cargo and arrange a pick up when you arrive.
Our dog is very small (~2.5kg, or 5.5lbs) and riddled with anxiety so we knew shipping her was not a feasible option for us. Below I’ll lay out step-by-step how we got Cali to the U.K. from the U.S. without shipping her as cargo.
STEP 1: UNIVERSAL MICROCHIP
She needed a 15-digit “universal microchip”. If your dog has a non-compliant microchip, you will either need to get a new one inserted or carry your own scanner with you while traveling. Make sure to keep all the paperwork.
Note: If you have a rescue pup, the pound may have already inserted this for you – just double check that it is a 15-digit compliant chip. We got Cali out of the trunk of a car in a Best Buy parking lot (fun story we like to share at parties – we’re not that fun at parties) and had never microchipped her. We got hers inserted at Petco.
STEP 2: RABIES VACCINE
A rabies vaccine needs to be recorded by the vet on the microchip at least 30 days before you want to travel. Even if your pet is already vaccinated, if the vaccine was administered pre-microchip, it will need to be re-administered and recorded on the chip. We also did this at Petco on the same day as the microchip was inserted. Again, make sure to keep all paperwork.
Note: If your dog is a very young puppy (under 15 weeks) I do not believe this guide is best for you – you’ll want to check with the USDA, E.U., and U.K. government websites for information.
STEP 3: FIGURE OUT TRANSPORT
We knew we could not fly directly into the U.K. and we were not willing to ship Cali through a freight forwarder, so we looked into more creative options. What we learned is that dogs can enter the U.K. by any other means of transportation, (but unfortunately that does not expand your options as much as you would think).
Trains to the U.K. (through the Chunnel) are not dog friendly (but it’s worth noting that trains on either side of the channel, in the E.U. and U.K. are dog friendly and that is normally a great option for transport).
Ferries to the U.K. are often dog friendly, but if you do not have a car to keep your dog in during the journey, your options as a walk-on passenger are very limited.
Renting a car to ferry across the channel with is an option, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you plan to return the car to the same place you rented from. An E.U. car with right-side-of-the-road steering is not re-rentable for the rental car company in the U.K. because their cars are engineered with the driver on the opposite side. The one-way fee for delivering your E.U. rental car in the U.K. is quite expensive for this reason – i.e. they will have to take the car back to the E.U. for you.
WHAT DID WE DO?
We found that there are two ferry lines that are dog friendly for walk-on passengers (woohoo!).
We booked the DFDS ferry from Dieppe (France) to Newhaven (England)
Note: The DFDS ferry from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Newcastle (England) is also dog friendly for walk on passengers – I’ll get to this one later.
It’s very important to note that the Dieppe to Newhaven ferry only allows one walk-on dog per trip, so you will need to arrange this over the phone to make sure the ferry has room for you and your pup.
Once we knew how we were getting to the U.K., we booked a one-way flight from Los Angeles to Paris, France. You will need to also check to find a dog-friendly airline (I would book this ticket over the phone as well to ensure your dog is booked with your tickets).
Cali is small enough that we were able to take her on board as a ‘personal item’ in her carrier, but if your dog is larger than ~10lbs I would check with the airline for the best way to transport him/her).
Step 4: Third Country Veterinary Health Certificate
So you and your dog are booked and have the dates you’re going to travel locked in. That’s half the battle! But it’s not quite time to pop the champagne – there are still a few more hoops to jump through first.
If your dog does not already have an E.U. passport (which it probably doesn’t because this cannot be obtained outside of the E.U.), you will need the Non-Commercial Third Country Veterinary Health Certificate completed. This is a form that is specific to each country in the E.U. that needs to be filled out by a USDA accredited vet (they are not all USDA accredited so please call your vet ahead of time to confirm).
Please pull the form directly from the USDA APHIS website to ensure you have the right one for the country you’re headed to: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/take-pet-to-foreign-country
We knew we were flying into France, so we downloaded the French Health Certificate and made an appointment for a health certification with our vet – make sure you are very specific with them on when you’re traveling, where you’re traveling to, and what exactly you need to make sure the appointment is correctly set. It’s important to note that even if your ultimate destination is a different country (such as the U.K.) you need the certificate filled out for the country that is the first point of entry.
Note: You will need to bring all vaccination, microchip, and any other veterinary record you have for your dog to this appointment for your vet so they will be able to successfully complete this form.
This certificate is only valid for 10 days so you need to make sure that this appointment is made within 10 days of arrival to the E.U. (you usually lose a day in travel so please keep that in mind).
Step 5: ENDORSEMENT BY THE USDA
So you had the appointment and your veterinarian filled out the form, but the E.U. has no idea if your veterinarian is actually USDA accredited (unless you used a military vet – in which case my understanding is that you can skip this step). In order to ensure this vet was qualified to fill out this form, there is an extra step – counter-signing / embossment of this form by the USDA.
Each state has its own designated endorsement office and you can usually either show up in person (if you’re lucky enough to live close to it), or express mail the form each way (make sure to include a return envelope with paid postage), but check with your office for instructions and options.
Find yours here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/endorsement-offices
Make sure to make an appointment with your endorsement office if you plan to go in person – I would recommend booking this appointment at the same time as the vet appointment to ensure you get one in time.
Step 6: ARRIVE IN THE E.U.!
If this is your final destination, now you can pop some champagne and give your pup a pupcake because you did it. You navigated the system and successfully got your pup abroad.
This form is valid for 4 months (if your rabies vaccine does not expire during that time) so enjoy your move or trip with your pup!
If you plan to travel on to the United Kingdom, (or Ireland, Finland, Malta, or Norway for that matter), OR are planning on staying longer than 4 months, then read on.
Step 7: TAPEWORM TREATMENT + PET PASSPORT
If you plan to travel to one of the aforementioned countries as we did, your pet will need to be treated for tapeworms by an EU veterinarian within 1-5 days before entering those countries. They are very specific (to the hour) with this, so plan on spending at least one full day in the country you arrived in.
We made an appointment with a lovely vet in Paris who was able to administer the tapeworm treatment.
Please note that you will either need to look up how to share this info in the native language or find an English-speaking veterinarian.
Since we were relocating to Europe (i.e. spending more than 4 months here) we opted to get an E.U. Pet Passport at this time as well. You will need to bring the Third Country Endorsed Certificate to this appointment either way and the vet will record the tapeworm treatment on the certificate (or transpose the information from the certificate on to the passport).
Traveling around Europe is much easier once you have the E.U. Pet Passport, so if you have any intention of moving around or bringing your pup to Europe again, it is very worth it to get the passport. It makes the border crossing points much easier.
RECAP
While the above is exactly what we did in the order that we did it, we probably would have done a few things slightly differently if we were to do this again.
The DFDS Ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven was short – about 4 hours – but the transport to Dieppe from Paris was difficult. We had to rent a one-way car to get to Dieppe in time for our ferry. The holding crate for the dog during the transport is also not ideal – the crate is kept with the cars below deck (you are allowed to visit your dog if accompanied by DFDS staff – who were awesome about this) but is a high-anxiety, high-noise, dark place for your dog for the duration of the crossing.
In contrast, we took the DFDS Ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam when leaving the U.K. and though it was a much longer ferry (overnight) we were able to book a dog-friendly room and keep her in that room (not a crate) which was quiet and comfortable for her.
We took the DFDS bus which was very affordable (and also dog friendly) to get from the city center to the port on each side of the crossing which was much more convenient than trying to find our way to a major city from the smaller cities of Dieppe and Newhaven.
If we had to do it again (and we will this winter) we would book all transport in and out of Amsterdam as a walk on passenger, or use a service like Bla Bla Car to ride in a vehicle with a dog on a different ferry crossing.
I hope you found this guide helpful if you are in this same situation, or at least interesting if you are not.
Please note this was executed and written pre-Brexit so I will update this post if the process changes with Brexit.
Have you or would you take your dog abroad? Leave a comment below!
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Thank you for sharing this! We will probably have to move our little one to Europe at some point too and this is great to know 🙌🏽
I’m so glad you found it helpful and wish you luck in moving your pup! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out! 🙂
You have brought up a very superb details, thankyou for the post.
I’m so glad you found it useful! Wishing you luck!
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