Taking dog from UK to US, and back?

September 9, 2014 12:00 PM

I and an American living in the Netherlands, and have taken my dog to the US several times from Schiphol when I'm taking a long-ish trip back to the States. She has a pet passport, and it has never been an issue going back through Amsterdam. I'm moving to the UK soon, and for my fall trip I was wondering if I should take her from the UK to the US, and back (probably from Heathrow), or stick with Amsterdam.

Are there any complications to taking a dog from the UK to the US and back, if she has a pet passport and records of all her shots, etc? What do I need to know?

posted by Philosopher Dirtbike to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

How big is your dog? If she is small enough to fit under the seat in the main cabin, then you'll want to stick with flying in and out of Amsterdam. Last time I checked, pets flying into the UK cannot fly in the cabin; they must fly in the cargo hold.
posted by girl flaneur at 12:16 PM on September 9, 2014

Yes, it would depend on the breed/size, as all dogs to and from the UK have to travel with the luggage and not under the seat.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:41 PM on September 9, 2014

https://www.gov.uk/pet-travel-information-for-pet-owners#dogs-cats-and-ferrets

Specifically:

What you need to do

The information below outlines what preparations your pet will need to enter the UK depending on what country you are travelling from.

If you are entering the UK from the EU or a listed non-EU country your pet must:

be identified with a microchip
have received a rabies vaccination followed by a 21 day wait
be accompanied by the relevant documentation
be treated against tapeworm (dogs only)
enter with an approved transport company on an authorised route


So it looks like it would be the same from the US to the UK as Amsterdam to the UK.

When traveling from the UK to the US with my dog, he was required to be transported in the cargo area. He flew with Virgin and they were great.
posted by shesbenevolent at 1:08 PM on September 9, 2014

You probably already know this, but plan LOTS of extra time, both for the departure and arrivals. The pet area pickup area (aka the Animal Reception Centre) at Heathrow is near Terminal 4, and the one time we tried to take a taxi there, we almost ended up in Staines instead. If you have your own car, its not bad: just a bit confusing the first couple of times.
Heathrow tends to be ok-ish. The staff are usually friendly, if a bit overworked.

My understanding is that the "pet spots" in planes tend to get booked up earlier for US-UK flights, but your airline will be able to give you more information about transport availability and how early you need to book a spot.
posted by troytroy at 4:25 PM on September 9, 2014

Response by poster: She goes in cargo. We already have the crate, of course.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 1:44 AM on September 10, 2014

Response by poster: Just as a followup, we ended up changing the departure airport to Schiphol, because the fees for doing this from the UK were *outrageous*. They make you go through a third party company, and they charge extortionate rates. It was going to cost us $US2000 extra to take her. From Schiphol through KLM, it costs only 200 euro each way.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 5:16 AM on October 13, 2014