# HOW TO: Travelling with your Chihuahua Internationally (from USA).



## wagonist (May 7, 2012)

Hello Chihuahua People,


The reason for this write up is because like a lot of you I was taking a summer vacation overseas recently and couldn't fathom leaving my "Biggie" in a kennel for 20 days. Nothing wrong with kennels, if he was a bigger dog or if it was a shorter trip, I'd consider it, but we all know how attached our chihuahua get to us. 

Actually the real reason I'm sharing my experience is because there is almost no information on the web other the unorganized and hard to understand USDA APHIS website and a bunch "Pet Travel" website that try to sell you forms that are already available on the internet free of charge. Technically, your veterinary is supposed to know all this information, but I live in a major city, and all 3 reputable vets I'v visited were completely clueless as to what was involved when traveling with pets abroad. Heck, I even called the embassy of the country I'm visiting and they couldn't point me in the right direction either.

NOW, there are pet importation/exportation service that pretty much take care of all the paperwork for you as well as transport your pet to your destination, but I imagine most of you would prefer to fly with your pets, not have them shipped like a parcel package. Or maybe I'm just cheap... The reason I say import/export is because technically your pet is not "travelling" like a human, but is actually being exported like a product or good, and then being imported back to the USA when you're returning home.

I apologize, my experience is limited to travel to the European Union (excluding UK, Ireland, and Malta as they have stricter rules and regulations then rest of EU), so if your traveling to other parts of the world, while most of the steps will be the same, country specific forms will be different, please read up on USDA website for specific country's requirements, especially if its countries other then EU.

A list of countries and their requirements can be found here:
USDA - APHIS - Animal Health - International Regulations

*WARNING: Unless your Chi is a seasoned intentional jet setter (in which case you really don't need to be reading this), you need to give yourself minimum 30 days from the time you begin the process until the date of your flight. Sadly if you leave this to the last minute your pooch will not fly. I learned it the hard way and had to postpone my trip, twice...*

*Step 1, International Microchip -* The microchip is basically your pets drivers license, since dogs tend to look alike (I know Chis don't) there is no verifiable photo ID your Chi can have. The microchip is really the only identification that can prove your pet is really who he is. The reason chipping your dog is step one is because all proof of vaccinations prior to microchip installation are considered invalid. This is because another country is not willing to take your vet's word that your dog is really who he is when it comes to vaccinations, namely rabies. Microchip number must be on all important vaccination certificates. I'll get to that in the 2nd step. Most microchips sold in the US to the smaller veterinary offices are NOT international compliant chips (ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 compliant). This means that if you had your Chi chipped previously it could be a US only chip. Ask your vet which chip he currently has in him. If he has the non-compliant US chip, your still OK, but you MUST buy your own chip reader/scanner and carry it with you while traveling to prove your pets identity. If your pet hasn't be chipped yet, call around and ask for the "ISO" chip. HomeAgain is one brand that is sold in the USA that is compliant. That's what I have in Biggie, I'm sure there are others out there.

*Step 2, Rabies Vaccine -* Rabies vaccination is take VERY seriously world wide, as it should be since it's an incurable and fatal disease. Proof of rabies vaccination is required for all countries. This proof or "certificate" is given to you by your vet. *It MUST have the dog's microchip number printed on it otherwise it is considered invalid.* As mentioned previously rabies shots prior to microchip installation are considered invalid and thus dog needs to be vaccinated or re-vaccinated after installation of chip.

*Step 3, Wait 21 days after Rabies Vaccine shot -* I'm guessing to prove the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine, you must wait 21 days after the initial (microchip proven) rabies shot were administered before being allowed to enter another country. If you are leaving to a country that has a zero rabies tollerance such as UK, Ireland, and Malta, you need to do a "titer", blood test to prove the effectiveness of the vaccine. This process takes several weeks and is quite expensive. Please allow yourself more then 30 days in this case. This requires additional research on your part that goes beyond experience, sorry. Please make sure of your destination's titer policies, it should be listed in the link posted above along with other vaccines like heartworm and such, if required. All EU countries besides the aforementioned luckily do not require such a test.

*Step 4 Health Certificates - *After the 21 days has passed, your pet is flight ready. Well almost, you need to collect proof that he is. You need several forms if flying abroad. First you need the standard domestic USDA form 7001 certificate that you'd normally use when flying from say LA to NY. Your vet will for sure have this or you can download it from http://www.aphis.usda.gov/library/forms/pdf/APHIS7001.pdf *VERY IMPORTANT*, these health certificated are only valid for 10 days, so you need to get this done 5-7 days prior to your flight so that it is still valid by the time you arrive at your destination, you obviously need to bring your Chi to the vet to get examined and determined that hes healthy to fly. Next you need a country specific health certificate in the country's own language. Europe uses form EU998. It can be found here: USDA - APHIS - Animal Health - International Regulations Use appropriate version for countries you're visiting. For example, if I'm flying to Germany I would need form EU998 in German, filled out by my vet. If I was to have a layover in France, I would need a french version of the EU998 health certificate as well. Every EU country you enter needs a health certificate in its own language. These forms are tricky to fill out and strangely worded and my vet screwed up on it twice, bring several copies for each country. *MAKE SURE HE SIGN AND STAMPS THE LAST PAGE.* If he has trouble understanding, have him call the USDA APHIS services center and get some instructions.

*Step 5, Getting all documents stamped by USDA *- I'm not sure about the location near your, but in Los Angeles, the USDA APHIS office is only open from 7am-11am, M-F, you need to physically go to the office with your US health certificate, your international health certificate, rabies vaccination certificate (with microchip number on it) and bring proof of microchip installation just in case (tho not required to be stamped). You may be able to mail everything in as well, but honestly I think it will make it tough for you to meet that 10 day window of validity on the certificates if you use mail. The USDA office will stamp and sign all pages of all certificates. These group of papers are your Chi's passport. *Do not be fool by the online "Pet Travel" website, there is no such requirement as a US Pet Passport, they are trying to sell you crap you don't need. The USDA endorsed form are your pets Passport.*

*Step 6 Make Airline booking for your Chi - *Since we own the world tiniest dog, most of you would choose the option of having your Chi in the cabin with you under the seat in front of you. Most international airlines only allow 5 dogs/cats to be in the passenger area of the plane per flight and those spots fill up sometimes, especially during holiday season, if they do then your Chi can only ride in the cargo belly with the big dogs. I have no clue why they have this rule. This should really be step 1, but if your Chi is not cleared to fly yet by the USDA its useless to make reservations and pay fees. Try to book as soon as you get your papers endorsed at the USDA, like while leaving their office. Most airlines have a restriction on the size of the carrier. For example, Lufthansa's is 23cm tall, 40cm wide, 50cm long (divide by 2.54 to get measurement in inches). When booking tickets, makes sure you fly the same airline all the way to your destination, otherwise you'll have to pay the pet fee for multiple airline, some airlines have alliances where you only have to pay one airline, but not all do this. *VERY IMPORTANT:* Make sure the final destination airport has a port authority that is capable of accepting pets. If your flying to a country where your final destination is a small town, they may not have the proper authority to handle pet import situations. Your Chi will be denied entry or they will force you to fly to another city with has the proper authority. Happened to me, and became very costly to have my flight changed and ticket re-issued to another destination.

*Lastly , I need to stress that the above list is just a guide, it is meant to steer you in the right diection so that your not completely clueless as I was when I began the process. Sorry for the stern warning but I am not responsible if your pet gets quarantined, deported or put down because of inaccuracies or dated information in my post. My experience is only with EU member countires at the current time this post was written. Rules and regulations do change. Please do your own research as well, or seek the services of a professional Pet Import/Exporters.*

Wishing both you and your Chi a safe flight, Ian


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