Bringing a dog to the UK - new 2012 pet travel rules
 

I'm just interested in any personal experiences of relocating from the US to the UK with a dog in 2012 with the change in the pet travel policy - can anyone share their story?

Can't answer your question directly.

But we often bring our dog into the country, and there are three crucial points unaffected by the rule change:

- There's a very precise timetable laid down, both for rabies and tapeworm control. It's absolutely essential that timetable is observed METICULOUSLY. Even for transatlantic flights, the tapeworm jab must have been administered at least 24 hours before the pet's arrival (ie at least 12 hours before its plane takes off). UK border control is quite inflexible on this: get the times wrong and Fido goes into quarantine.

2. The vets you use at home must understand UK rules perfectly and comply precisely. This can't be taken for granted.

3. "Approved carriers only" means just that. American and United are not currently approved for direct flights between the US and UK.

If I were bringing my dog from outside Europe or an expatriate hotspot like Hong Kong, I'd definitely use an agent to get all this right. Even on the most dog-friendly route of all (France Profonde to SE England by Eurotunnel) juggling the timings while keeping the dog safe and happy can be tricky.

Totally agree with flanner! We brought our dogs over from Canada in 2007 and used an agent - best money ever spent!

It takes a long time to get organised...I am not sure what the changes are but it took us about 8-10 months to get it all in order so leave yourself lots of time!

Here is the company we used and would highly recommend them!!

http://animaltravel.com/

Wonderful - thank you both for the insight and for the recommendation. If anyone else has a recent experience to share that would be great ....

Here's a link to the Defra website explaining the new rules:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/

The tapeworm treatment now can take place up to 5 days before arrival in the UK. The exact date and time of the treatment must be noted in the pet passport.

You now only need to have your dog chipped, then vaccinated then wait 21 days before entering the UK.

A whole lot less hassle than it used to be.