Pet Shipping Agent Recommendations

Hi All,

I'm moving with my cats from London to Michigan in November, and have been investigating different pet shipping agents.

I've been through this forum and haven't really seen any reviews or posts about agents that are recent.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend or review their pet shipping agent, or if perhaps a sticky could be started in this forum for people looking for this information?

Right now, I think I have it narrowed down to www.airpets.com [nofollow] or www.passportforpets.com [nofollow] . Has anyone had any experience with either?

Even google hasn't been very helpful; no one really seems to leave reviews 

May I ask why you are choosing to use a shipping agent?  The process is not the easiest thing to do, but definetely can be done by yourself for MUCH cheaper than using an agent.

I have looked into doing it ourselves (there's only one airline, Delta, which flies direct from Heathrow to Detroit, so it's not too much research!). But after adding up the costs of 2 cats as excess baggage, buying 2 kennels, buying 2 sets of accessories for those kennels to make them comfortable, and paying for 2 vet certificates, it only saves about 150-200 pounds, which to me isn't worth it.

We're going to be so busy with vacating our flat, shipping our stuff back to Michigan and selling/givingn away the rest, and getting ourselves and all the other excess luggage to the airport, that I thought having the cats at the kennel the day before and then dropped off at the airport by someone else (who knows what they're doing!) would relieve some of the stress.

I'm open to suggestions though if anyone knows better, but for me, when it comes to the cats (and only to the cats!) money is not the main issue. I want what will make them most comfortable and most likely to get there safe and sound.

Sorry, I cant recommend any as I did it myself, but I do know there is trade association for pet shippers called the IPATA.  Maybe they can recommend someone with a good deal of US - UK experience.

i had gotten a couple of estimates for my two chihuahuas.......4000.00 plus .......there was no way i could afford that

May I ask why you are choosing to use a shipping agent?  The process is not the easiest thing to do, but definetely can be done by yourself for MUCH cheaper than using an agent.

I thought that using an agent was mandatory when going from the UK to the US?

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=64129.msg901334#msg901334

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=64129.msg906747#msg906747

Andy

I found that information on the BA website when the topic you've linked to was active, but I dont know if we ever got any clear answers on exactly how they were using the term "agent", and to what extent one had to use an "agent's" services. 

Just as an update, I did some more comparison and finally decided on a company called Ryslip. They got rave reviews over on britishexpats and have had really friendly and helpful service so far.

It's going to be about 850 pounds for two cats, including pickup from our flat, boarding at their kennel the night before, vet checks and certificates, and a custom made crate with divider so the cats can comfort each other without fighting during the flight. Once you add all that stuff together, it's only about 200 pounds more expensive than doing it ourselves, which in the great scheme of things was worth it for me.

I'll report back next month after the trip to let you all know, but so far Ryslip seems great.