The Business of Dog-Shipping

Hi, we're Brinkley and Buster!  Will you let us into England, please?

When Adam and I first found out about the possibility of moving to London, we immediately thought of our dogs.  We are both total dog people, both grew up with dogs, and those two cutie pies in the picture are our best buddies.  We had heard horror stories about trying to get dogs into the UK -- months of quarantine, shots, endless paperwork, and the sobering truth that many owners simply choose to give away their dogs rather than face the hassle of moving with them.

There was no way we were going to do that; our dogs are part of the family!  So we set to work figuring out how to make this happen.

First of all, we discovered that the mandatory six-month quarantine was a thing of the past.  The whole point of these crazy regulations is that England is an island and has no rabies, so they are very careful to make sure no dogs coming into the country have any symptoms of rabies.  A couple of years ago they changed the rules so that the six months of waiting between rabies shot and England could happen in the home country INSTEAD of quarantine.  So the process would look like this: rabies shot, wait six months, blood test confirming negative for rabies, Welcome to the UK!

Well, we just found out for sure that we're moving to London about a week ago, and we have to be there in January!  Oh no!  THANKFULLY, the regulations are changing again in January - no six-month wait if you're coming from an approved country, one of which is the U.S.  Whew!  So we'll be able to bring them immediately!

Oh, I wish that were the only concern.  The biggest hurdle now is the paperwork -- the confusing, extensive paperwork to get them through UK customs.  If you get there, and any of the paperwork is missing or wrongly worded, they end up in quarantine.  If the airport microchip reader can't find their microchips, they end up in quarantine.  If they lick the customs agent, they end up in quarantine.  (Okay, I made that last part up.  But seriously, it seems that ridiculous at times.)

After mildly freaking out about this for several hours, we decided to enlist the help of a pet relocation service.  Didn't know those existed till a few days ago!  For a (quite hefty) fee, they arrange all the vet appointments and approvals prior to shipping, book the flights for our dogs, pick them up at our house in Katy, get them through customs on both the U.S. and UK side, take care of all the paperwork, and deliver them to our new flat in London.  Is it pricey?  Yes.  Do I feel a little silly for not being able to handle this myself?  Oh yes.  Worth it?  Definitely!

We are just starting the process of making all the arrangements for their big move.  Brinkley and Buster, you sure are high-maintenance and expensive, but we love you!!