Get Your Pets Abroad

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Be sure you find a vet that can handle the type of health certificate you need.  I had to travel to a different vet which was USDA certified and could offer me a health certificate which was accepted in Europe.

• Find out what the rules are and read them very stringently.  I recommend then discussing with the vet to make appointments early.
• Make sure our pets are microchipped
• Make sure your pets are up to date on their rabies and this must have been administered AFTER the microchips are in place. In my case we had to do rabies boosters even though they were up to date because Finland required that they be administered within 12 months. But you also need to be sure that they are administered at least 21 days prior to travel.
• You also need to have a health certificate issued within 10 days of travel.  That certificate in our case had to be approved by the USDA and PHYSICALLY mailed back to you prior to travel.  This requires planning.
• Additionally, Finland requires a de-worming for dogs that must be administered no less than 5 days before ARRIVAL and at least 1 day prior to arrival.  This must be administered by a vet.  I recommend making a detailed timeline to be sure you are all set for travel and arrival.   In the case of a dog: Microchip > rabies within 12 months of arrival > health checkup and certificate within 10 days of arrival > get health certificate in mail > deworming within 5 days of arrive but non less than 1.

Aside from determining what the rules are for the country you are traveling to and getting medical records in order, you need to consider transportation. 

• Decide how you will travel with your pets.  If they are small enough for the cabin consider the length of the trip and how long they need to be in a very small carrier.
• If you have a larger dog or just choose to put them under the plane you need to plan accordingly. 
• Consider direct flights that take off in the evening for cooler weather.
• Check with the airline on size limits for carriers, weight limits for carriers plus pets, and other rules.  Buy your carrier/s early and let your pets hang out in them at home.
• In our case (flying with Finnair) we had to book the tickets, then call to get the pets booked into the cabin with explicit details on carrier sizes, carrier weights, and pet weights/details.  Then the airline gets back to you to pay for the pets if they have the space and they were approved.  Only two pets total are allowed in the cargo hold on Finnair.  This was a long process and required patience.  And money.  We opted for a direct flight paid for both of our pets (dog and cat) to fly in the cargo hold.  This cost $600 USD each pet.
• Consider transportation to and from the airport as the shuttle buses usually don't allow dogs.  Additionally our carrier was too large even for the largest SUV and we had to assemble it on the curb at the airport.  
• Freeze the water bowls full of water to allow for slow thawing and no spilling during flight.
• If you have a cat I recommend considering having them under the plane with a small litter box in their carrier.  Being in a tiny carrier for 14 hours with no litter box is less cozy than a good size one with comforts of home.
• Buy and attach AirTags or similar to your crates so you can track them and know they are on the plane with you.

So you have your medical certificates, airline tickets, approved carriers, and space booked for your pets on the plane.  It is time to take off!

• Feed and exercise the pets and cut off food  and limit water several hours before the flight.  
• Write your name and number (in both countries) on the crates.
• Put pee pads at the bottom of the crate in case of accidents.  
• Do not attempt to travel alone with large pets and luggage.  We had a dog and a cat along with 3 suitcases, and the 30 minutes waiting at the curb while my husband dropped off the rental car was difficult.  
• Don't forget the frozen water bowls and very small amounts of snacking food in the crates.
• Put blankets from home in the crates to make them feel cozy and at home.  Plus you have them in your new home.
• Breathe.

We learned a few things along the way.

• When we put the water bowls in the freezer in our hotel near the airport, we found that the freezer did not work the day of flight.  So we had to put ice cubes in their bowls.  We can only assume it melted and spilled early on.  When we got our dog after 14 hours he was panting and hot.  This was the worst part of the trip for us all.  Especially waiting to get him out of the crate until we got though customs.  But he is safe and happy.
• We were unaware of the USDA certification and mailing of the health certificates until 6 days  before flight.   We recommend doing the vet appointment 10 days before arrival in the new county, getting the certificates on the way (overnighted hopefully), and then doing the de-worming if that is required for your dog in the country you are traveling to.  Luckily they got them overnighted to LAX hotel where we flew directly from, on time.
• Dog hair in rental cars can be an expensive cleaning bill.  We did not have time at the airport to clean it up and had to pay $450 cleaning.
• The health certificates are expensive.  We paid over $500 per pet for this service.