Hello,

My husband and I may be moving from the United States to another continent (tbd). We have a very sweet and well-behaved beagle that would be moving with us. She is our only "child" and is used to being with us at all times. Putting her in the cargo area of a commercial plane is not an option, and she does not fit the 15-20lb. weight limit to fly under a seat. However, we would consider flying business or first class if we could purchase a seat for her. She is a very good car traveler and we are convinced she would sit in her seat like a perfect angel. Is there any international airline that even allows something like this? I suspect not.

The only other option we can think of is to charter a jet/plane but this will be very costly for an international flight.

Anyone have any other ideas as to how we could accomplish the following?
- stay with our dog at all times of the trip
- not have her in a crate for any extended period of time

Thanks.

I don't have an answer but I do know that Air France is the most dog frienly airline around so I would start by calling them and see how close you can get to where you want to go with them. See what they suggest.

What about a cruise to your destination? Is that possible?
If so maybe a cruise line has a pet policy that will work?

Once you know where you are moving, perhaps worth checking on what major US companies might have operations there. If you have friends/contacts at any of those companies, perhaps they could ask about hitching your beagle a ride on their corporate jet the next time it is headed that way. A shot in the dark, but perahps worth a thought....

Have you yet considered if:

1. Will your dog be allowed in where you are going?

2. If “yes” will it be allowed back into the USA should you return?

There are problems associated with shipping pets around the world, compared with which a few hours in a cargo hold hardly matter.

We've considered ships. The Queen Mary 2 has a kennel but it is really just horrible cages.

Air France sound interesting. I'll look into that.

Tangata - good point. Let's just say that if the dog is not allowed, we won't be going. We are a family.

WinterTravel - that's something worth checking into as well. Though we will need to go together so that brings us back to $$$$$.

What about freighter travel? It would take lots more time, but it would be more comfortable for all of you.

Most of the answers would depend on 'where'. Once you know where you are heading to it will make a great deal of difference. If you are talking of a long haul flight you have to considor things like, bluntly what the dog is going to do for toilet facilities! I have no idea but I 'guess' many airlines will not take the dog long haul in the cabin. She will have to go through the import proceedure and that requires paperwork.
Without knowing the destination it is very difficult but there are certainly in the US many companies that are 'experts' in this, it's their businesses, they will know all the regulations and also the options.

When you know where 'do' come back and tell us, plenty of people do it across the world everyday but be prepared for the experts that deal with such things to be telling you she 'has to' go in the hold, but this might not even apply if you were heading to Europe, you can just take a Cunard ship as they have kennels and everything apparently.
I and others we know how you feel about her taking a long journey, we have been house hunting recently and it comes without question the 'first' thing we always seem to be looking at is if a place is syitable for our dogs!

Good luck and DO tell us once you know 'where'.

Kathie - what exactly is freighter travel? I envision a ship that is all cargo. But do they have accomodations for people as well?

Freighters typically have a number of staterooms for travelers (perhaps a dozen). You eat with the crew (good food, but not gourmet) and have lots of time at sea. There are typically big decks accessible to you.

There are whole books written about freighter travel. I've never done it, but some people swear by it - it's the only way they cruise.

Erika:
Try this link for some freighter travel info...sounds different
http://www.geocities.com/freighterman.geo/
Aloha!

The other thing you need to investigate is the quarantine procedure at your destination.
For example, Singapore has a mandatory one month quarantine period, during which the animals are housed by the govt, for an exorbitant fee paid by you, in a very inconvenient location. I don't know anyone here with a pet who has managed to get around that.
There is no rabies in Australia and to keep it out, they also have a super strict quarantine procedure.
On the other hand, I know expats in Bali who had local help in figuring out which palms to grease, and got their dog in without any quarantine at all.

Ericka, I'm with you -- if my dog doesn't go, I don't either! I do, however, believe that flying cargo with an experienced pet handler is a low risk event for a pet. Millions do it every year and are none the worse for the experience. I have also heard that Air France is especially pet friendly.

I had no problems importing my dog into Indonesia. Everything was handling by a pet import/export agency. They arranged the licenses, paid the "informal" charges, cleared him through customs and delivered him to my home.

Several years ago when I was considering moving back to Hong Kong the quarantine was three months. I have also heard that getting dogs from Asia to Australia is prohibitively difficult.

Many families I know have taken dogs from Asia to the US with relative ease. Again, you need a professional to handle the documentation.

I live in Hong Kong and have lived in Singapore and Switzerland and know several people who have brought their pets to live with them in those countries. As marmot says there are professional companies who will transport your pet. The main advantage of this is that they will do all the paperwork. You have to have vet certificates from the US and again on the arrival side. If you are going to say Thailand, these naturally have to be translated into Thai, this is where a transport company becomes very useful, also in clearing customs where English is not the main language. If you are being re-located by an employer, you should negotiate for this as part of your moving costs.

You also have the option of transporting the dog on you flight with you, you would have to contact your airline to see if they allow this. It is my understand that only very small dogs are allowed in the cabin and have to be in pet carriers for the flight. The problem with doing it yourself is language, customs and paperwork issues when you arrive into a country which has a quarantine rule.

Also as noted above, some countries have quarantine laws so your pet may have to go directly from the plane to quarantine. You will be allowed to visit your pet while she is in quarantine so even the long Hong Kong quarantine is doable. You would need to find out the quarantine rules of the country are going to live in. These rules can sometimes be found on the customs websites of the country (look for links from the country's embassy website in the US), or in "living and working" books on that country.

Hey everybody. Great feedback! Thanks.

I'd also be really curious what you discover. I have two dogs and they are without question my first priority.