Certified copy of blood test from EU-approved laboratory

Out of curiosity, how long ago did you send the sample to the lab?

For us it was about 1 month until the vet got the hard copy in the mail. Not too bad really. I haven't heard any stories about a pet NOT passing the test. I'm not saying it couldn't happen but the odds of failing don't sound very high to me. My cat was WAY over the required blood result. I suspect that's the case for most people. 

Actually, I meant how long it was between sending off the sample and checking online.   The search form is definitely not as useful if they just don't bother entering the info until you e-mail them to ask about it.

Oops sorry! I checked about 3 weeks after I sent it off. Although like I said once I emailed them to ask they why the microchip wasn't in the database they wrote me back to tell me they added it. So if you try and don't see it I'd try emailing them. At least they do it when prodded!  

Yes, that's nice.   I'm surprised it's not automated, though, so that as soon as they start the test, it shows as "pending" (or something), and as soon as they finish the test it shows the results.  (But then, I'm a computer programmer so I expect nearly everything to be automate-able )

Thanks for the info!

I have just done the test for my cat in the last month. We sent off his blood sample on 05/11/09 and I started checking the kansas website. Every day it said no microchip info could be found, until finally on 05/26/09 it came up with a record saying Status: FINALIZED 05/26/09. My vet then called on 5/29 to say they had the results back (but only the fax, they haven't received the original copy in the mail yet). So in my case, nothing came up on the Kansas search database until they had actually finished the test.

Good to know.  At least you got the results sooner than 4 weeks, though!

True. They said when we sent off the sample that it would take 5 weeks, which my vet was surprised at as in the past they have usually said 3-4 weeks apparently. Maybe they are relatively busy at the moment? Just in case anyone is interested (or wants to feel sorry for me) it cost us $220 for the blood draw to send to kansas! I mean, I know my vet is on the pricey side, but come on!!!

Yes, I heard as well that you can get the info from their site, but I was not sure.  I am one who would sit at the computer, make calls, e-mails every hour of everyday waiting to get results (I wanted to stear clear from doing that) so I just waited for the vet.  
I figured that the results would take at least 4 weeks so I would begin follow ups after this time if I had not heard anything.  It was just a few days before the 4 week mark when my vet called with the results.
The vet first received fax copies of the test results, and within a few days they received the originals that I needed that had the actual stickers attached.
All three animals tested VERY high on their levels.  I was surprised.  Especially since they were all a bit compromised on their previous rabies vaccines

$220.00 for the blood draw and to send to Kansas ?  That is expensive.....I have three animals that are coming with us.  The highest cost for the first animal was $180.00 (my eyes popped out at this cost), and then $150.00 for each of the other two.  
The other two were cheaper because all of the tests were overnighted together and I only had to pay for one shipping fee.  $180.00 is probably not unreasonable, but I think that this cost is even tipping the scale a bit.
My vet office has a staff of several doctors.  The owner of this practice is knowledgable of the Pet Scheme program so I use this to find comfort in his slightly higher fees

All three animals passed and they should be cleared to leave on 10/24/09.  I plan on scheduling my departure date to the UK the following day

Just a small rant:  I am SO frustrated with this process (and my vets office)!!!  I wish if they didnt know what they were doing, they would just have told me that at the beginning and I would have found someone who did!  I just called requesting the original FAVN form, and they said they dont have it and when I asked them to call the lab to get it, they acted like I was asking them to chop their arm off.  This whole immigration process is hard enough, I dont need someone else's incompetence making it harder!  UGHHH!!

Oh, that sucks!  I hope they get your paperwork to you with minimal fuss.

So far my vet seems pretty "with it", probably because he's got another client who's shipping her pets to Ireland, so he's seen all her paperwork recently.

Of course, we've only done the microchipping/rabies vaccination so far...we'll see what happens when it comes to doing the blood test!

Also, I'm assuming it doesn't matter, but it's likely we'll be in MD before we travel, not NC...does anyone care if a different vet does the 48hr flea/tick stuff in a different state than the USDA vet for the 4mo. EC 998 form?

Just a small rant:  I am SO frustrated with this process (and my vets office)!!!  I wish if they didnt know what they were doing, they would just have told me that at the beginning and I would have found someone who did!  I just called requesting the original FAVN form, and they said they dont have it and when I asked them to call the lab to get it, they acted like I was asking them to chop their arm off.  This whole immigration process is hard enough, I dont need someone else's incompetence making it harder!  UGHHH!!

What happened to the original? They never received it?

They say they never did.. the lab says it was sent.  Thankfully, the can recreate an
"original" with sticker and were supposed to have mailed it to the vet (again) today.  Fingers crossed!

It is a very stressful process, and you do not need your vet to screw it up even more.....I heard that the lab will resend more documents if needed which is good.  I think that the hardest/most stressful part is now done once the animals have passed the titer, and you have the critical paperwork in front of you with the results.  I would be bugging the crap out of the vet office daily until I know that they received it, and I had it in my hands

You can also go to any vet office to have the flea/tick and tapeworm treatments done before flying.  All they really care about is that the final doses before take off are given by a vet.
Would someone please correct me if I am wrong on this ? 

About vets not knowing what to do -- I did indeed switch from the vet I had already been taking my cat to since he was a kitten, to a completely new vet just in order to have a knowledgeable staff take care of everything.

Caveat: You should STILL do all your own research so that you are totally on top of what has to happen, independently. I think it's vital to know yourself what the process is -- research here and on the web in general, call Defra, do everything you can to famiilarize yourself with every step so that the vet can work with you and you can catch each other's oversights.

My original vet had NO CLUE. When I called them and asked them about preparing a cat for entering the UK, and mentioned the rabies titer, the receptionist, at least, di not know what I was talking about. If the receptionist had never heard of the process then I had very little confidence that the vets themselves did.

So I literally called around the Yellow Pages until I found a clinic whose front staff knew exactly what I was on about and even volunteered "Oh yes, we 'did' a dog for the UK last week -- we still have her paperwork if you'd like to look at it!" !!

I booked with them immediately and have never been happier with a vet clinic in my life. The vet who handled everything was so good I wished I could have moved her to the UK with me to go on being my cat's vet, lol.

But yes, the moral of the story is, if your vet is clueless -- and some of them actually are as it may so happen their clinic simply has never dealt with an overseas preparation of an animal -- do go ahead and call around until you find a clinic that says right from the get go that they know the process intimately.