So you want to travel with your dog and take him on a flight?

It scared me to death, but I did it! I took my dog on a transatlantic flight! I had always promised myself I would NEVER do this, especially since he’s too big and is only allowed in cargo.

So I first thought about taking him on a cruise instead. Yeah, that would have taken 2 weeks, but I figured that would be less traumatizing lol But when I started looking into booking a cruise to Europe, I realized it was going to be impossible. First: it costs a fortune. Second: most of them don’t allow pets. Third: I think the only few that do accept them, are going to England, which is basically pet nightmare as far as papers and certificates are concerned (including quarantine). And fourth: the vet certificate that needs to be done 48 prior to departure is only valid for a few days (depending on your destination), so by the time the cruise arrives, the papers are expired.

Sooo, flying was the only option left. I found it extremely hard to find all the information I needed on ONE website. So I’ve put everything together for you, and I hope this will help you book a safe trip for your four legged family member. It’s going to be long, but very detailed, so grab yourself a cup of coffee and bare with me :-) I will list every step of the preparation of my trip in chronological order, so you’ll know where to start. I left from North Carolina, USA, and went to Brussels, Belgium.

1. Getting a European ISO microchip

   Most European countries require incoming pets to have an ISO microchip. 99% of American microchips aren’t ISO standard, so chances are you will have to get this done before your trip. It’s not really a Euro-specific chip; it’s actually valid on most continents except for America I think (figures!).

   I ordered mine from the Pet Travel Store: http://www.pettravelstore.com/store-pet-friendly-chips1.html I think I selected 2nd day delivery, and I indeed got it within 2 business days, so I was very pleased with the service! It comes with instructions on how to insert it yourself, but please don’t try it. It’s a pretty big needle, and you could hurt your pet really badly if you accidentally insert it in a muscle. So I took my dog and his new microchip to the vet and got it inserted there. I registered it on Pet Link as soon as I came home: http://www.petlink.net/ with my address and contact number in Europe (I suggest you do the same, even if it’s just a temporary place where you’ll be staying. You can always change the contact name and address later through the website.).

   I also purchased a microchip reader (or scanner) from the same Pet Travel Store: http://www.classypets.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?… I’m not sure why it shows a different website in the link, but everything was delivered together in one box, so don’t scratch your head too much over that one lol You don’t *have* to buy this, by the way. I also realize it’s quite pricey. I just decided to get one because I read a couple of stories about people arriving in a foreign airport with their pet, only to be held there for a little longer than needed because the customs couldn’t get their scanner to work. If you bring your own reader, you won’t have to worry about it.

   I also want to add: the reason why the very first thing on the list is to get the microchip done, is because most countries will require all vaccines to be done AFTER the microchip has been implanted. So do make sure you get this done before anything else. I couldn’t find any exact time frame required between the microchip and the vaccine, so I decided to get the vaccine done 6 days later.

   Make sure you keep a paper or at least a receipt from the vet that shows which date you got the microchip implanted. You’ll need to add it in the folder you’ll be taking with you.

2. The rabies shot

   First of all: make sure your vet is APHIS accredited. It’s not that big of a deal for the microchip, but the vaccines and veterinary certificate will have to be done by an accredited vet. I’m pretty sure most are, but if you’re not 100% sure, just give them a quick call before you waste your money on invalid papers.The rabies shot is pretty much required everywhere, and usually needs to be done 21 days prior to departure. But check on the embassy’s website of your destination country to make sure. Also make sure you get a proof/paper from your vet that shows when the rabies shot was done.

3. Other shots, blood tests, and import authorizations

   Some countries (such as Germany for example) require an additional blood test, which needs to be done by an official laboratory (you’ll need to check with the embassy of your destination country - they’ll usually have it all explained on their website). It’s usually just to prove that the rabies shot worked on your pet, and that all the antibodies are present. Some countries also require a tick treatment and an echinococcus treatment.

   Belgium didn’t require any of that, except for the rabies shot. They did, however, require an import authorization which needs to be granted by the head veterinary office in Brussels, Belgium (I don’t think that’s their exact name, but whatever lol). If your destination happens to be Belgium too, you’ll find a form on the embassy’s website that you’ll need to fill in and e-mail to the vet office I just mentioned. They asked me a couple of questions by e-mail (how old my dog is, whether this was his very first rabies shot - it wasn’t - etc). And they e-mailed me my import authorization within 48 hours. They also mailed an original copy to my home address in Brussels. They assured me that a printed copy of the e-mailed form would be valid; so no worries about that.

4. Buying a crate

   Whether your dog is allowed in the cabin, or has to fly in cargo, you will have to buy an appropriate crate. Since most of us don’t own Pepsi can sized pooches, chances are your doggie will have to travel with the luggage (although not literally; I’ll explain this in a bit).

   It’s very important to buy an airline approved crate. Most leading brands out there (such as Pet Mate, Vari-Kennel, Marchioro, etc) are airline approved. It will always be mentioned on the tag, so make sure it’s on there. Although there are plenty of sites that sell and deliver them at home, I bought mine at PetSmart, because I wanted to be able to physically see it and make sure it was sturdy enough. The one I bought was made by PetMate.

   The main requirements you’ll have to look for are: openings all around the cage for proper ventilation, one or two handles (although that seems impossible to find in large sizes), make sure that the edges (where the upper and bottom part are put together) stick out by 3/4 of an inch or so (this is to make sure that airport employees can grab the kennel without having to stick their fingers inside), and also: a solid door.

   As far as size is concerned: they want the pet to be able to turn around, stand up (usually without their ears touching the ceiling when they’re up, but our dog as really big ears, and they weren’t very picky about it), and basically be able to move around comfortably. You can buy a size too big if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If there’s too much room, your pet will be more likely to be shaken around in it and hurt himself. It will also be more difficult for airport employees to carry it around; so ideally, the size should be just right.

   Additional accessories you will need: A nice comfy padded pillow that’s the exact size of the kennel (if you buy your kennel in store, the matching pillows will usually be right on the same shelf). And an “airline kit” which basically includes “live animals” stickers and arrows to put on the kennel, as well as 2 plastic bowls that attach to the door (one for food and one for water), and an absorbent pad to put under the pillow (which smells like pee and which I didn’t end up using, but you can use it if you want lol).

   I first thought about buying the airline kit online, but PetSmart’s website showed it “in stock”, so I figured I would buy it together with the kennel. Of course they didn’t have it when I got there, so then I looked on Amazon, which showed an estimated shipping time of 5 weeks (no way I could wait that long!), so I ended up buying mine here: http://www.jbpet.com/Airline-Travel-Kit,2265.html It arrived within a few days, so I was pleased with that :-)

5. New collar tag

   Make sure you get a new tag engraved for your dog’s collar, with your contact information at your destination. Should he/she get lost somewhere at the destination airport, anyone who finds him will be able to check a collar tag much easier than a microchip. Chances of this happening are slim though, but better safe than sorry. It will also be useful if he or she gets lost at any point during your stay.

   Before we left North Carolina, I attached both tags on Jack’s collar: the one with our American contact information, and the one with our Belgian contact information. I removed the American one after we arrived in Belgium.

6. Print pictures of your pet before you leave

   Again, this is just to be on the safe side. Should your pet get lost at any point, make sure you have enough recent pictures on hand. I know a lot of owners hate to consider this, but should this ever happen, you really want to be prepared.

7. Booking the flight
   
   This is probably the most crucial point. Booking the right flight is going to be a major headache and a source of stress. I’ll try to explain as well as possible how I chose mine, so hopefully this should help you quite a bit.

   First of all: book a straight, non-stop flight. Even if you have to drive 6 or more hours to get to the airport, you can always start your trip a day early and stay at a motel the night before your flight. Do not put your pet through any type of transit between 2 flights, because that’s when most problems and accidents happen. I did a lot of digging and also found that lots of accidents (sometimes even including death) happen in Chicago, so I would advise to avoid Chicago’s airport at all costs. It also seems to be where the most luggage gets lost; so I’m not sure what’s going on there.

   The only good flights I found from North Carolina, were LTU and Lufthansa (two different airlines) going straight to Germany. European airlines have an excellent reputation for pet care, so I was ready to do that even though my final destination was Belgium. However, I decided against it. Belgium’s policy concerning incoming pets seemed a lot more relaxed, and since that was my final destination anyway, it made more sense to find a straight flight to Brussels instead. No straight flights from North Carolina though. The closest international airports were Atlanta and Washington.

   I also considered flying Air France from New York (again, Air France has an excellent reputation for pet care), but I quickly found out that a lot of European airlines (including Lufthansa) are actually operated by American airlines for flights departing from the States. If I remember well, Lufthansa was going to be operated by United, and so was Air France. So really, although you’re booking with a European company, you’re getting American service.Now, I don’t mean this to come across the wrong way, but it is a fact that American companies tend to care less about pets and consider them more like “luggage”. So it was a very stressful process and a tough decision to make.

   The flight I ended up booking was United Airlines from Washington to Brussels. The main reason was because my only other option was a Delta flight, and I had read some bad reviews about Delta, so I didn’t want to take my chances. I couldn’t find anything really negative about United, AND most important: their flight was the shortest. 7 hours, versus 9 hours with Delta. The less hours my dog would have to spend in cargo, the better. On a side note: I overheard a belgian passenger saying that he always booked United flights from Washington to Brussels, because apparently they take a particular route which often even makes them arrive early. And sure enough, an hour after we took off, the captain announced our flight would arrive 30 minutes early, which it did, and basically minimized our flight to about 6h30. I was VERY happy about that :-)

   All in all, I’d say I was very pleased with the way United handled everything, and the staff was very friendly and caring. I wasn’t really expecting much from them, except for my pet to arrive there safely lol But I was quite impressed and would now actually recommend them. Although, again, only for straight non-stop flights. Because transits depend on way too many people. First you have to trust your airline, then you have to hope there won’t be any delays between both flights, then you have to trust airport employees not to mess up anything during that time. So there’s just way too many risks for something to go wrong. If you book a straight flight: they take your pet, keep him for an hour or two before boarding, board him, and done.

   So, I called United, booked my ticket, booked Jack’s cargo ticket (which was about $100 or $200, I don’t really remember. To be honest, I didn’t care if it was a thousand bucks or whatever, as long as they would treat him well! lol).

8. The airline procedures and rules

   Before booking your flight: check the weather and make sure you’re leaving at a good time of the year. Most airlines will not board your pet if the outside temperature (both at the departure airport and arrival airport) is over 85°F (= 29°C) or under 15°F (= 9°C). So even if you have booked your flight for a certain date, they have the right not to board your pet and reschedule everything for the next day, or whenever the temperature is right.

   I assumed temperatures in April would be fine, so I didn’t really worry about it, but days before my flight, the temperatures in Belgium were surprisingly low, and I got really lucky it got just right for my flight lol So next time, I’ll probably keep a closer eye on it.

   Most airlines will also require you to arrive at the airport 3 hours before your international flight (instead of 2h / 2h30 when you’re travelling without your pet). And they ask you to stop feeding your pet 4 hours before the flight. I’m guessing so they won’t be travelling with a full stomach and get sick. Don’t worry if your dog ends up staying 12 hours without eating; they can definitely handle it fine. The main thing is to make sure they have enough water. One of the best options is to fill up the water bowl and freeze it. That way, it won’t spill everywhere and get empty before the flight even starts. I got mine frozen at the motel and took it out right before we went to the airport. I was quite skeptical about it, thinking it would melt in no time and spill anyway, but there was actually still some water in it after we arrived in Brussels, so it worked. The airline allowed us to put food in the second bowl, but we decided against it, because he had eaten exactly 4 hours before the flight, and I didn’t want him to get sick and throw up. Especially since he was probably gonna be quite stressed.

   Instead of frozen water, I also found this: http://www.pettravelstore.com/store-waterbite.html but then decided not to buy it, because I didn’t have enough time before the trip to test it and make sure my dog liked it enough or that it wouldn’t make him sick. But if you have enough time, you could always give it a try and see how it works. It sounds like a nice option.

9. The veterinary certificate

   Most countries will require the vet certificate to be filled out, signed and stamped within 48 hours prior to departure. I think Belgium considers it valid for 10 days. Make sure you already have all your papers organized in one folder by then. I don’t know how well organized your vet is, but my vet clinic in North Carolina seemed relieved to use my folder (which included the rabies paper, the microchip paper with the microchip number mentioned, as well as the blank vet certificate which I had printed from the Belgian Embassy’s website for them to fill out), as I’m guessing it would have been slower for them to manually look up everything.I had read that Belgium required both the import authorization and the vet certificate to travel with the pet (so I’m guessing attached to the kennel). And so I made sure to print two copies of the import authorization and get two vet certificates, so I could carry a copy with me in case it would have fallen off the kennel or whatever. That turned out to be useless as the airline told me no papers were needed on his kennel (which was true, and I’ll tell more about that in a bit).

10. How my actual trip went (more details on how it really goes)

    I would have LOVED to read somebody’s detailed experience before my trip, so that I could at least get a rough idea of what to expect, but I didn’t find anything on the net, so here is my story, and I hope it will help somebody out there :-)

    So, my flight from Washington to Brussels was on a Wednesday. We left North Carolina on Tuesday evening, by car, and arrived at the motel in Virginia (which was really only 20min away from the Washington Dulles airport). It seemed a bit tricky at first to find a motel that accepted pets (we had called in advance), and ended up booking a room at the Red Roof Inn, which seemed very pet friendly. We arrived there around 2am, spent the night there, got up pretty late, walked the dog, and then left around 1pm (they let us stay past checkout time for no additional fees, which was nice). We arrived at Dulles airport and Jack was crazy excited (he is a quite excitable dog). United’s desk told us to go to the “special luggage” desk to get the kennel checked in. At that point, we were still walking around with him on the leash, and we only put him in the kennel at the very last minuate.Basically, security showed up and checked out his kennel, like they would for any luggage. Then added some extra stickers on there, etc. A lady from United asked me to fill in a few extra forms. They let us walk Jack outside for another 40min or so, which was perfect because he got to empty his bladder and even take his last dump on American soil. So once that was done, I wasn’t too worried about him having any accidents during the trip. Then we put him in the kennel, the security guy made sure the door was tightly closed, and I think he added a couple of tags on there, but I can’t really remember

    Anyway, someone came up with a cart to put him on there and carried him through the airport, all the way to where he was gonna be waiting to be boarded. It was pretty sad, because at that point, Jack was a bit stressed and confused and looked at us as he was being taken away. I don’t think he understood what was going on, which broke my heart **sigh*

    Another lady who works at United probably saw I was about to cry (I’m such a baby!), so she came up to me and told me not to worry and that everything would go fine. I asked her where exactly he would be for the next few hours, and she said she wasn’t sure about other airports, but at Washington Dulles, they put them in worker’s rest area, so they’re not actually outside until they’re boarded. And workers often like to talk to the dogs who are waiting there, which made me feel good, because Jack is a very sociable dog and loves to be talked to :-) Plus I had tagged his name all over the cage, so I knew they’d be calling him by his name Hahah!

    Anyway, she also told me that dogs aren’t actually put with the luggage. They apparently have their own little compartment in cargo. I asked if they’d make sure that the AC is on, and that his area would be pressurized, and she told me the entire plane, including luggage actually gets the same air conditioning and pressure. I was also told that they’ve started taking extra good care of pets because of lawsuits (lovely!)

    When I boarded, I asked the flight attendant (one that was already in the plane, not the one that checked my ticket before boarding, because that way I was sure she’d be travelling with us lol), if she could make sure my dog had been boarded and that everything was fine. She assured me she’d come tell me; so 5 minutes later she came up to me and handed me one of the tags that was on Jack’s kennel; which was basically proof he’d been boarded. She told me he was indeed on the plane and that everything was fine

    When we arrived in Belgium, I asked them where I was supposed to pick up my dog, and they told me that in the Brussels airport, you basically just go to the baggage claim and wait there, and they bring them to you right there. I do know it is different in some airports, so if you’re not going to Brussels, you may have to go pick him up in a particular place. I waited about 30 minutes and was getting VERY worried!! I thought they’d found him dead or something lol! But a United employee checked for me and told me they were coming, so then 2 minutes later they arrived with my dog still in his kennel. He was shaking a bit, but his tail was wagging as he saw me, and he was surprisingly well! :-) A bit confused, but that quickly changed and he was back to his old happy self in less than a minute! His pillow was dry, so no accidents had happened, his water bowl still had some water, and all was well

    I was a bit confused, as I was expecting someone to come check his papers, vaccines, microchip, etc. And asked the guy who brought him to me if there was anything else I needed to do, he said “nope, that’s it” with a big smile. I still didn’t really believe him, but took Jack out, put his leash on, and walked out. I walked past customs, thinking they were at least going to check something, but all they said was “look how cute!” as they saw Jack, and we walked out like a breeze. I was stunned. I knew Belgium was more relaxed about it all, but not THAT relaxed!! LOL They didn’t check anything at all. So yeah, that was very nice.

11. A few additional details

    Try to book your flight on a Wednesday; it’s the slowest day of the week in airports, which means less people, less confusion, and less chances of any mistakes or accidents happening. Plus I got free seats next to me, which gave me more room to stretch out.

    It is recommend to trim your dog’s nails before the trip. This is to make sure they don’t get their nails stuck in their bedding, or in the wires of the kennel.

    I personally hated the absorbent pad that came with the “airline kit”, so instead, I put a soft towel on his pillow.

    The Pet Travel Store (mentioned a couple of times above) also offers official documents for sale, such as the vet certificate. Don’t waste your money on it; you can download it for free on the embassy’s website (of the country you’re going to). They also sell little pet passports and such, which are totally useless.

    Buy your kennel at least a couple of weeks in advance. This will give you time to get him used to it. It’s really important, especially for dogs who are not used to being carried around that way. You don’t want to add any extra stress on top of such a long and stressful trip. My dog was scared of boxes, so I knew it was gonna be a hard task, but it seems like he found the pillow really comfy, which made it a bit easier lol I first started to teach him to “go inside”, without actually closing the door or forcing him to stay in. I gave him a treat every time he went inside, and so he started going in automatically as soon as I asked. Then I started closing the door, and giving him treats while he was inside. I never forced him or got frustrated. It’s really important to keep it a pleasant experience for your dog, and only associate it with positive things. Once he got comfortable going in and staying in, we started taking short trips to the park, etc. And he got very well used to it. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a lot harder lol We never forced him to stay hours in it though. I left that for the day of the trip itself; the main thing was to get him to go in and stay in without feeling stressed.

    Using the kennel beforehand also allows you to test its strentgh. You really don’t want to find out the day of your flight that the handle is too weak or that the door doesn’t close right, etc. And if your dog reacts heavily in it, you also want to make sure the kennel can handle it without breaking.

    The airline will put tags on the kennel with the flight number, etc., but those tags aren’t all that big. So I made sure I put really big stickers on every side of the kennel with his name and our flight on it, which read
    “JACK - UNITED 950
    WASHINGTON TO BRUSSELS”
    You really have to make it obvious, because those guys at big international airports who load luggage on planes, they see thousands of tags every day, and mistakes can happen. If you make it super freaking obvious, there’s no way they can mistake it. I also had another big sticker in the back which had his name, my name, and my contact info in both Europe and the States

    Your dog keeps his collar on during the flight, but the body harness needs to be taken off. So I just carried his harness and leash in my purse and put it back on him in Brussels.

    I was wondering about the accident rate in the Brussels Zaventem airport (whether dogs or cats had died, or arrived dead, or gotten hurt, etc), and was quite lucky to find on a Yahoo message board an employee who works there and handles pets all the time. He said he’s been working there for years and never heard of any incidents. I do know Europeans generally handle pets in a more sensitive way, but that of course made me feel a whole lot better.

    Keep in mind that, in Europe, dogs are allowed on trains, busses, trams, etc. So you could easily choose a direct flight to a different city or country from your final destination, and then do the rest of your trip by train or bus. Trains are a nice way of travelling between different European countries, and I think you’ll only need buy a child ticket for larger dogs lol Small/medium dogs can usually travel for free

I think that’s about it. If I’ve forgotten anything, I’ll make sure I add it. Thanks for reading :-) And if you’re about to take your pet on a flight and have any questions, please feel free to ask me! I’ll be glad to help.