Whats the best and less stress free way to transport cat and dog from spain to uk?

Question

are there special companies etc. or do i fly them or drive them!!

Answer 1

I am in the process of looking at how to do this too!  I have two cats and am thinking now that I will drive them rather than fly them, at least they can be with me the whole time then!

Answer 2

Having gone through this process in the other direction  4 years ago, I think the way we did it (flying them over) was probably the best - but you would have to ask the cats and dogs - we had 5 cats and 2 dogs.

We used a company based near Bristol who dealt with all the vet stuff and held them in their own kennels before putting them on the plane. Each animal traveled separately in a specially made cage, the correct dimensions for each.

In the mean-time we drove across in time to collect them at Alicante Airport.

I would guess that the greatest stress to the animals was their time in kennels.

The total cost was around 1400 pounds.

Answer 3

I flew my Cairn Terrier out to Malaga, mind you it was years ago, bought him anice crate, had him sedated about an hour before departure, he was very young at the time, BA Handled it all we had to fly from Gatwick at the time, as this was the only airport catering for handling pets..........now many airports fly out pets, check websites, they don't have to be quarantined to fly OUT of the UK, I had no trouble on arrival in Malaga, they just quickly looked at his papers, and that was it, home in 10 minutes!

Mind you I think England is just about the only place that will not allow a "small"dog to be carried in the passenger cabin, I see many arrive in Malaga, in small "bags" which have been look after by their owners in the cabin.  IN the uSA it is the norm on internal flights to have your pet with you, although I will stand corrected on this point regarding certain airlines nowadays.

Answer 4

The easiest way is to have the animals loaded as cargo onto a flight.

You can do this yourself by contacting the Special Handing section of Airlines like BA or Thomas Cook who will accept live animals for air travel.

You must however comply with the rules of the EU Pet Passport or apply to import the animals in which case they will be quarantined for six months at you expense which will be around 400GBP per month.

To obtain a Passport which will take you at least 28days because you need to have both animals tested to certify that the anti rabies jab is effective, speak to your local vet in Spain.

If the task seems a little daunting then contact Animals by Air at Manchester Airport or Ladyhaye International in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport who will be able to arrange some of the logistics for you. I am afraid to say that you will have to sort out the Passport in Spain or find a local Shipping agent at the Airport who can help.

http://www.animalsbyair.co.uk/

We ship our cats on twice per year between France, The Canary Islands and England without a problem. If you want more information then please email me.

Answer 5

We drove our dogs over, We looked at the different options, as we did this in the winter the >Santander ferry was out of the question as the last ferry was mid dec and fully booked. We did the tunnel which was great drove over thr pyrenese and stayed in hotels with the dog, all a good experiance and added excitement to the move.

  There is a company who do transport of your pets, they are called spanish moved i think, There will be others but ithink you can accompany the pety with this company, I may be wrong.

   You can fly most dogs but not all, dogs with short muzzles such as boxers, you are not advised to fly due to the preassure and the breathing difficulties with the nasel àssages, this is why we drove with our Shar pei. There is a website that I found a couple of years ago when we first did this full of information I think i did a search for pet passports,  

  Ask at your vets if the dog is healthy to fly, can there be problems ( oh and they are in the hold not on the cabin)

They do not sedate them for flight again due to breathing difficulties and the fact no one is with them.

    Also ask your vet if there is a companmy he knows about for shipping animals.

Answer 6

when i done it 5 years ago it was only british airways that done it,i dont know if more companys do it,the anomals go in a comparment in beside the luggage i had to fly then to gatwick cos they where the only ones that had the animal centre,that delt with flights from tenerife it may have changed in the 5 years,it was more expencive to fly my cat than it was for me,my flight cost £100 and it cost the cat £350,so it is an expencive prosses but my cat was just so worth it,i still have her now even though she hates the winters and would rather stay in at winter

Answer 7

there are companys that specialize in that sort of thing but we took ours on the ferry from plymouth to santander because it has kennel on board and a exersize area costs a bit but they are worth it

Answer 8

Take them in the cabin of the aircraft, pay for their own seat and plonk them in their box on it.

Answer 9

Take them by car to Calais and go thru the tunnel. I took 3 dogs via this route for a friend. Stayed at the Copthorne Hotel in Calais. Dogs could stay in the room and the hotel arranged for the vet to vaccinate them. The food was good too ! Cat will need a cage. As long as the papers are okay, it will only take 20 mins to clear customs which are in Calais, not UK. Make sure they have been blood tested  and held in Spain for 6 months prior to travelling. Good luck.Ed

Answer 10

Drive down to Portsmouth and catch the ferry over to Bilbao... stick the animals in the boot and cover them up...