How to transport an animal in the USA

Moving overseas with pets requires some training: you need to get them vaccinated, get the necessary documents and create a cat or dog comfortable conditions for many hours of flight. Without compliance with a number of requirements, the animal may simply not be allowed on board. The “Forum” gathered all the information on how to move to the United States with a pet.

Before flight

There are two options for how to transport the animal: it can fly either with the passenger, or unaccompanied (that is, someone makes out a pet on a plane overseas, and you pick it up already in the US). The preparation process is the same in both cases.

Your pet can fly both in the cabin, and in a specially adapted for this cargo compartment. Rules of transportation of animals listed on the site American Center for Disease Control and Prevention, however, be sure to check the requirements of airlines that you fly to America. Airlines often have their own restrictions on the transportation of pets.

You should start preparing for the flight with an animal at least two months before the departure date, otherwise you may not have time to complete all the necessary formalities.

What to do:

1. Book a place on the plane for a pet. After purchasing a ticket, call the airline and notify you that you are carrying a cat or a dog. Some companies may have a limit on the number of animals that they take to the salon, and in general - for one flight. Therefore, the sooner you reserve a place for a pet, the more likely it is to fly with you on the same plane. Please note: some companies transport only cats and dogs, and if your pet is a turtle or a parrot, check with the airline about the possibility of their transportation.

Yana Matviychuk bought her dog named Diva in Israel, then transported her to Ukraine, and then decided to take her with her to California. At that time, Yana had already purchased air tickets for herself, so she had to urgently call both airlines with which she was to fly to San Francisco, book a seat for Diva and pay online for her transportation. “It was very risky. At that time, a seat on the flight was already reserved for one dog, and if I had called later, I might not have made it in time, since the airlines had restrictions on the number of animals on one board,” admits Yana. Transportation of Diva cost her $200 ($100 additional payment on each airline).

2. Get veterinary пasport. This can be done in any veterinary clinic. If the puppy had a metric, it is advisable to convert it to an adult dog's passport in the canine association. Documents for an adult pedigree cat or a cat are issued only through the felinological organization. In the veterinary passport, in addition to the basic information about the animal (name, breed, color, gender, date of birth) must be marked on all vaccinations (date of vaccination and vaccine) and deworming, from birth.

Without a veterinary passport with all the vaccinations required by age, flights and visiting exhibitions will not be possible.

3. To vaccinate animals. They should be done no earlier than a month before the trip. And two weeks before vaccination, deworming should be done (give anthelmintic agents and paste the appropriate stickers into a special passport box). For entry into the United States is a mandatory vaccine against rabies.

Former Muscovite Ekaterina Kalugina took her two dogs with her when moving to Florida. “The most difficult thing in the procedure for transporting animals is the preparation of veterinary documents, since the animal must be vaccinated no later than a month before departure, and the fact of vaccination must be documented in the registers of the state veterinary service. There is no way without this. It goes without saying that pets must be healthy and free of internal and external parasites,” she says.

Son of Catherine Kaluginoy David and a dog Visa. Photos from the personal archive.

According to Yana Matviychuk, everywhere she was asked for a certificate confirming that her dog had a rabies vaccination. “In addition, we made a chip for Diva in Israel, but it was not needed for America,” she clarifies.

4. Get a state certificate. To do this, ten days before the trip, you need to have the animal tested, and no less than three days in advance, obtain a transit certificate for the animal from the state veterinary clinic, which will also indicate who exactly it is flying with. If you are taking it with you, then your name will appear on the certificate. When checking in for a plane at the airport, this certificate will be exchanged for a certificate, which, in fact, will be the pet’s main document when crossing the border. “During all inspections, only this certificate was looked at. In fact, this is the only document for a dog that contains information in English. It just states that the animal has been vaccinated against rabies,” says Yana Matviychuk.

5. Buy a cage for transportation. The cage should be comfortable for your pet, meet the requirements of the airline and have a strong lock. The animal in it should be able to stand up to its full height and turn around itself.

The required container sizes are easy to calculate using the formulas below:

A small plastic cage is suitable for transporting an animal in the cabin. To fly in the cargo compartment, the pet needs a plastic or metal cage with a strong lock.

“Dog crate sellers persuaded me to buy a metal crate, which was twice as expensive as a plastic one. But it turned out that you can take any cage, the main thing is that the animal fits freely in it,” advises Yana Matviychuk.

In August 2015, Natalia Savchuk transported a Yorkshire terrier named Blackie from Moscow to Miami. “The most important thing is a comfortable crate for the dog. There was a kitten in the cabin with us, carried in a small bag, so he meowed all the way, and Blackie lay quietly and even ate a little,” says Natalia.

However, Ekaterina Kalugina advises to always transport the animal in the luggage compartment. “Our first Yorkie flew in the cabin with our friend. At first everything was fine: the neighboring passengers were happy about the cute little dog, and the dog didn’t mind talking either. But when the plane gained altitude, the Yorkie howled. I don’t know what he was missing—either longing for his homeland, or fear of heights, but he howled almost the entire flight,” she recalls. “Since then, we always transport dogs in the luggage compartment: it’s easier for them, for us, and for all passengers on the flight.”

Restroom. The bottom of the cage should be covered with absorbent material, disposable diaper fit best. Also take on the road a few bags for cleaning for animals. Plus wet wipes. In general, almost like a small child.

Food. Usually, when being transported in the luggage compartment, the owners give their pet some kind of sedative beforehand so that he sleeps and arrives rested. You can give a dog a bone and put water. Cat - dry food and water. In the cabin of the aircraft, the animal can also be given water and some food, the main thing is to make sure that it does not vomit. Before the flight it is better not to feed much.

Sending animals unaccompanied

If it is not possible to fly with the animal, then you can contact the special companies involved in shipping live loads. In fact, the whole procedure is the same, only other people do everything for you, and you meet your pet in America. If, on the contrary, you send a pet to the USA, then simply bring the animal along with the documents, payment and cage to the cargo terminal of the airport at the agreed time. Managers meet you and draw up all the necessary documents for the transport of your pet. The animal is placed in a cage and then transferred to the employee of the cargo terminal of the airport to wait for departure.

Sending animals is carried out on passenger aircraft in specially equipped compartments of the aircraft, allowing to avoid overcooling or injury to a pet by other cargo.

It is necessary to take a pet on arrival in the USA in a special cargo department of the airport, it is often located not on the territory of terminals. Therefore, find out in advance where he is.

It is important to know

1. A limited number of animals can be transported in the cabin (for example, in Aeroflot - no more than two). In the plane allowed the transportation of a dog, cat or bird. Other animals cannot travel in the cabin with the owners or in the baggage, but they can be transported on a cargo plane. A dog or cat must be kept in a container designed for this, the bird must be in a special cage, and the fish must be kept in an airtight aquarium. Transportation of large dogs (heavier than eight kilograms) is allowed only in the luggage compartment of the aircraft. Please note that some airlines generally prohibit the transportation of large dogs.

2. In the cabin of the aircraft are allowed to transport animals, the mass of which, together with the cage does not exceed five to eight kilograms. The dimensions of the cage in the sum of three dimensions (that is, length + width + height) should be no more than 115 centimeters.

3. Price carriage is not included in the free baggage allowance and is charged as non-standard baggagebased on the weight of the animal with the cage. Payment for animals or birds transported in one container is made for each animal or bird separately. Payment for transportation of a dog in an airplane takes place at the rates of additional baggage: from 14 dollars per kilogram (depending on the mass of the cell). But some companies practice fixed fares ($ 150-300), which are influenced by the direction of the flight, and not the weight of the pet.

4. Guide-dog with a certificate of special training can accompany the host for free. During the flight, the dog in the plane must be muzzled and tied to the owner's seat at his feet.

USEFUL LINKS: Below we give links to the rules of transportation of animals of specific airlines: aeroflot, Transaero, Delta, Lufthansa, S7, AirFrance, BATCH, Uia, Turkish Airlines.

At the airport

In order to go through all the formalities with the registration of an animal without haste, it is advisable to arrive at the airport 4-4,5 hours before the departure time. If you have several pets, then even earlier.

First of all, you need to register and weigh your pet with a cage. Then pay for its transportation. Next - veterinary control, which will look at all the documents on the animal and change the certificate from the state veterinary clinic for a certificate. At the Moscow airport Sheremetyevo, for example, the registration is carried out by the Moscow Air Transport Border Veterinary Center (PCVP), which controls the movement of animals in air transport (located in terminal E).

As a rule, it is often on the vet control that there is often a queue, plus extraordinary situations arise regularly, due to which the registration is delayed. After vet control in a cage, you can take in the luggage or take it with you to the salon.

Living in the USA

Upon arrival in the United States, if all the documents on hand, the four-legged traveler at the airport is not even inspected.

America is a country where animals should not be quarantined in a special area of ​​the airport. AT list of See also other countries where you can immediately take your pet on arrival from the airport to your home.

Delta airline flight attendant Natalya Kotova even recalls a comical incident when a stray dog ​​was managed to get through border control. “One of our American flight attendants picked up a stray dog ​​in Moscow and brought it with her on our flight. With an absolutely naive face, I went to customs, handed them a declaration, in which I indicated “dog”. Those, of course, had their eyes wide open. They ask: “What, is the dog really alive?” She: “Well, yes, there you go.” The customs officers, either out of surprise or out of the kindness of their souls, told her, they say, come quickly and we didn’t see anything!” Natalya laughs.

Animal friendly hotels and apartments

Here There is a list of hotels in the USA where you can stay with pets. You need to enter your parameters, and the system will display a list of hotels. When booking in other hotels, it is necessary to specify whether it is possible to bring dogs and cats. Also, when booking an apartment, be sure to tell if you will be with your pet. Otherwise, they can be evicted if the association of the house does not allow staying with animals, and the landlord faces a large fine. But in a private house there is no restriction, you can live with almost any pets (when renting, however, it is still better to clarify this possibility and get the consent of the owner).

Beaches where animals are allowed to swim

As you know, almost all US beaches can not come "with a dog, a bicycle and ice cream." But there are exceptions. Here is here You can see where the four-legged friends can swim in the ocean.

Special parks

In America there are parks for walking with dogs, as well as specialized parks with areas for training and walking dogs, with pools and showers for them, as well as parks where you can walk with your dog on a leash (for details see here). But in Florida, for example, for cats and cats are not the most favorable conditions. The fact is that domestic cats can harm the local fauna (birds and fish that are under guardianship), therefore the Association for the Protection of Animals Recommends refrain from walking with cats or teach them to walk on a leash.

Pet Shops

In America, many shops with goods for animals. The most famous ones are PetS'mart, Petsupermarket other. Usually the owners choose the one closest to their place of residence.

Vet clinics

There is also no single recommendation. Choose the nearest / comfortable / most friendly clinic - but it is important to understand that medical services for animals in America are not the cheapest.

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