PETS Process In Detail - January 2012 Onward

IMy dog has his rabies shot, microchip and is dewormed.  I have the paperwork from the vet however, I will NOT be able to have it endorsed by the APHIS in time for my flight this coming Monday, March 16th, 2015.  Will I stay be able to travel with him and just have him quarantined until he clears?  Please advise.

Many thanks!

I apologize if someone already mentioned this, but did you book your pet flights BEFORE you had your pet passports and EU Health Certificates complete, signed by the USDA approved vet, and verified by the USDA, APHIS, VS office? (So essentially before the 10 day travel window countdown began.) Or did you have to wait until after? Or does it depend on the airline? We are flying from Newark, NJ to Heathrow in the beginning of July. We've already had our two cats rechipped and revaccinated, but we are not sure about the rest of the documentation.

Many thanks!

I apologize if someone already mentioned this, but did you book your pet flights BEFORE you had your pet passports and EU Health Certificates complete, signed by the USDA approved vet, and verified by the USDA, APHIS, VS office? (So essentially before the 10 day travel window countdown began.) Or did you have to wait until after? Or does it depend on the airline? We are flying from Newark, NJ to Heathrow in the beginning of July. We've already had our two cats rechipped and revaccinated, but we are not sure about the rest of the documentation.

Many thanks!

Hi,

I booked my pets' passage with Virgin the same day I booked my own. This was one day after receiving my UK visa and 2 months before I entered the UK. Didn't start working on documents for them until the month before I flew.

Same here: Virgin cargo don't charge you until the day of the flight - they just quote you a price and send a confirmation email (presumably because they know the DEFRA/USDA rules can cause you to have to cancel at no fault).

I'd book the flight at the same time as your own and then get working on the paperwork.   Good luck !

Thanks for the responses. We have booked our flights and are getting down to the final planning stages. Does anyone have the link that included the USDA offices? I know they have to approve our paperwork during that 10 day window.

There's a list of offices here

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_contact_us/sa_area_offices/

but the office listed for your state may not be the office to use : I'd recommend calling (or better emailing) them.  We found out that Massachusetts residents have to use the New York office in Albany even though there's a listed office for Massachusetts.

There's another list here (following the link  "APHIS-VS Service Centers" )

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_export_from_us/sa_live_animals/ct_iregs_animal_exports_home/

Perhaps this is more up to date (their web site is terrible so it's hard to know)

Thanks for the link--I emailed our local New Jersey office to request an appointment. Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

Where can I get the EC998 form? Is it on the website mentioned or from my vet? My vet asked me to print out whatever current rules were so he could make sure we were all set to travel hopefully in April 2016. I have an appointment to check his microchip and update his rabies booster on Thursday.