PCSing with your Dog to the UK
It can be quite overwhelming the amount of info and requirements to bring your dog to the United Kingdom with you. We are a military family in the United States that brought our dog with us to England, and listed below is our experience and links for more info.
Meet Muffin, he is our five year old, 10 lb Shih Tzu
Go on the UK’s Government Website
This website should be your MAIN source because this is all of the strict info you’ll need when bringing your dog to the UK. Bookmark this page because you will need to frequently re-visit and reference information on here. I printed out and highlighted all of the main info to have on hand.
Call your Vet
Make sure your vet is familiar with overseas pet info and is USDA licensed to be able to fill out the required documentation for your dog. Your dog will require multiple appointments for this process, and to avoid any delays you will want a vet that knows what they are doing. Your local base may have a Veterinary Clinic and if they do, they are probably your best bet. Our Vet was off base but very familiar with the process since our area has so many military families.
Join these Facebook Groups
These Facebook groups are very helpful in answering questions related to the big move with your pet. I highly suggest joining them because they are full of expertise and answers to questions you may have:
PCSing with Pets to the UK
US Pets to UK Via Alternate Routes
Decide how you are going to Travel
If you are military, you can fly commercial OR on the Patriot Express. The Patriot Express is a Military Flight (rotator) that leaves out of Baltimore, Maryland and will fly non-stop to R.A.F. Mildenhall. If you fly commercial, you will need to research each specific airline to find out which one will allow you to fly with your dog. Some airlines restrict certain breeds, have weight restrictions, etc. Each airline will also have kennel/crate restrictions you will have to meet based on your dogs size. It is also important to note that if you are flying into the United Kingdom, all dogs are required to fly in cargo and are not allowed to fly in the cabin with you (even if they are small enough to). That is why we specifically opted to take the Patriot Express, because I wanted Muffin to be able to fly with me in the cabin. There are also a very small select alternate routes you can take.
Commercial Flights
As I mentioned above, if you plan to fly commercial then your dog will have to fly in cargo. Some people opt to have a “Pet Broker” do this process for you, so it is a lot less stressful. This means that you will hire an agency to get your pet from your current station, through customs, and dropped off to you once you arrive in country. I had many friends use Silver Birch to get their dogs overseas, and they have lots of good feedback and ratings. I can’t offer any experience in flying commercial since we didn’t, but lots of other people do which you can read about in those Facebook Groups I mentioned above.
Read more on Silver Birch’s website HERE.
Alternate Routes
Some people opt to travel via alternate routes, like trains or ferries through other countries. This is because other countries like France or Germany have lesser restrictions for pet travel than the UK, so they will fly into France then take a shuttle, train, etc into the UK. It also may be because they do not want their dog to travel in cargo (I did not want this for Muffin either) and would rather be able to travel with their pet. I have no expertise to offer because we did not do this, but if you are interested in learning more check out the Facebook Group called Alternate Routes that I mentioned above.
Patriot Express/Military Rotator
If you choose to fly on the military rotator, you will need to have the contact info of your current base’s TMO Office. The Travel Management Office is who has to book your spots on the rotator, you cannot do this yourself. Rotator flights allow 10 pet spots in cabin and 10 pet spots in cargo per flight. So only 20 pets total are allowed each flight overall. You are allowed two pets per reservation MAX. There are generally only two flights per month, and the schedules release about 90 days out. I called my TMO Office every single day first thing in the morning to ask if the Rotator Schedule had been released. We booked our May 8th Flight on January 25th, so for that month they actually released more than 90 days out. That’s why I suggest calling daily about 100 days out until flights release. We were lucky enough to get a pet spot, however that is not the case for everyone. It’s also important to note that some bases require you to have your orders before booking. Check with your TMO Office to see if they require hard copy orders to book or not.
View more info on the Patriot Express website HERE.
View pet requirements on the Patriot Express website HERE.
Kennel/Carrier Requirements for Pets on the Patriot Express
48 Hours BEFORE your Patriot Express Flight
No later than 48 Hours before your flight you will need to email a scanned copy of your dog’s Health Certificate to ltn@animalaircare.co.uk for approval. Once it is approved, they will email you an invoice to pay, approximately 275 GBP per pet.
What EXACTLY do I need?
The following articles will break down the EXACT requirements for your dog to enter the UK. Pay close attention to details and time requirements. Reference the government websites I’ve linked below as well to print out and highlight specific info.
1- Microchip
Your dog will need to have a Universal Micro chip. It must be able to be read by the microchip device. Not all microchips are Universal, so you will need to take your dog and have it scanned to be sure. You will need the Microchip Number for other documents. The Microchip must also have been put in BEFORE (or at the same time as) the Rabies Vaccine, otherwise they will have to get a new Rabies Vaccine.
Read specific Microchip info HERE.
2- Rabies Vaccine
Your dog must be up to date on their Rabies Vaccination. The Rabies Vaccine must have been given BEFORE or AT THE SAME TIME as they were microchipped, or they will have to get a new Rabies shot. Rabies Vaccine must be given at least 20 days PRIOR to travel. Muffin got his updated Rabies Vaccine in January (we are traveling in May) and he was microchipped as a puppy years ago, so we were good. It is also important to note that the UK considers Rabies Vaccines only good for one year, whereas the US recognizes the Rabies Vaccine as good for 3-5 years depending on type. So you will want to double check with your Vet when the last vaccine was because you may have to get another before travel.
Read specific info on Rabies requirements HERE.
3- Health Certificate
The Health certificate is where it gets stressful and complicated. The Health certificate is the document (actually a few papers together) that will allow your dog into the UK. Coming from the US, you will need a Health Certificate, not a Pet Passport. That depends specifically on the country you are traveling from. There are multiple parts and appointments you will need for the Health certificate, so I will break it down below:
View the specific info on the Health Certificate HERE.
Health Certificate Appointment
You will need to make an appointment with your Vet for the Health certificate Appointment as close to 10 days PRIOR to ARRIVING in the UK as possible. For example, our flight was on May 8th, overnight, arriving May 9th into England. So we scheduled the Health Certificate appointment first thing in the morning on Monday, May 1st. Obviously our Vet is not open on Sundays, so that was the closest date for us. At this appointment the vet will completely fill out the Health Certificate. When your appointment is over, this paperwork will need to be immediately overnighted to the closest USDA Office to you.
Overnight to USDA Office
You will need to overnight mail this paperwork to your local USDA Office. It will need to be signed off by the USDA Office and overnighted back to you when complete. Your certificate is not valid unless It is signed and approved by the USDA.
Find your nearest USDA Office HERE.
Read more info on Pet Exportation on USDA’s Website HERE.
Tapeworm Treatment
You will need to make another appointment for your dog’s Tapeworm Treatment. This appointment will need to be made as close to 5 days (120 hours) PRIOR to ARRIVING in the UK as possible. Since we arrive early morning on May 9th we booked the last appointment our Vet had on May 5th. The Time Stamp is extremely important here because it can’t be less than 24 hours, or more than 120 hours before ARRIVING in the UK. Your Vet will put this info directly on the Health Certificate.
As of right now, we haven’t traveled yet, but are in the process. When we do, I will fully update this post with all of that info.
