When we decided to move abroad to Florence, Italy, we faced many logistical issues. What do we store? That we send? How much will our airline tickets cost? What is the security deposit for the apartment? All important questions, of course, but what caused us the most stress, anxiety, and worry?
How do we get Winston safely abroad?
Winston is our 4 year old pug / beagle mix. We are not ashamed to say that he is like a child to us. As such, we were very nervous about sending him abroad. In the initial planning stages, we consult with professional relocation companies about your move. While we would have loved to shell out $ 2,000 and not have to worry about a thing, it was not an option for us from a financial perspective. So, we set out to plan Winston’s trip to Italy on our own.
We searched message boards and websites for advice from people with pets who had made similar trips. What we learned from the hours we spent on the Internet helped us feel confident about moving from Winston and the decisions we were making.
In this “Moving Your Dog Abroad” series, we share our step-by-step process, as well as tips for taking your puppy abroad with you. We hope you find it useful.
There are probably many different types of people reading this guide: people planning overseas moves with two years to go, those rushing to get the final details before a move next month, and everyone in between. extremes. This guide is designed to help everyone!
Plan, plan, plan
A recurring theme that you will see in this mini guide is the importance of planning and preparation. The more of the two p’s you can do at first, the less stressful your big move will be.
As soon as you can, set some dates to try to travel. This will help you enormously when planning your dog’s move. Why? Most countries (and airlines!) Have very particular rules about when vaccinations must be taken and when their documentation must be certified.
The latter is of the utmost importance: most countries have only a 10-day period from when your pet’s documentation must be certified to the actual date of travel. Considering you are also dealing with a million other details for your move, 10 days is not a long time at all. Plan, plan, plan!
Stay organized!
We highly recommend creating a dog movements folder. This is where you should download all the information related to your pet’s move, from travel confirmations to appointment cards and message board prints. Keep everything in one place.
For us, our “Winston folder” was a simple manila folder where we put everything related to the child’s play. Having a physical folder (as opposed to a digital one) allowed us both to easily access the information and to have it on hand at all times. It is also the folder that we carry on board the day of the move.
Our best advice
Never take what you read online (in an expat forum, on a website, or in an online article like this) as gospel. Always do additional research for yourself.