Starwood Pet transport

Hi!

I've been looking into pet transport services for about a year now and the best one I have found is Starwood Pet transport. I'm just wondering if anyone has used them in the past? They quoted me $3,695 for door to door service with them. Is this reasonable? I'm not willing to relocate my cat on my own and would feel more comfortable using a service but just trying to make sure this is reasonable.

Our price to move Soul Anubis from Worcester, MA to Yorkshire, UK is $3,695 and includes the following:
 
> Completion of C5 Customs Form
> Pick up from residence 
> Take to veterinarian
> International Health Certificate
> EU Veterinary Certificate
> USDA endorsement of EU Veterinary Certificate
> Overnight boarding
> Bring to Houston Airport
> Aircargo charges from Houston to London, UK
> Customs clearance in London
> Animal Reception Centre Fees
> Pick up at Heathrow
> Deliver to your residence in the UK by our London office
> Our arrangement / administrative fee
 
The proper size  travel kennel is the #200 airline approved travel kennel (Medium, 27 x 20 x 19 in inches)  We can have our local person Tina stop by to deliver it in advance, and you an Soul would get to meet her.  The cost is $50 to rent the crate for the trip for the trip of $130 to purchase it.

Thanks!

Hi!

I've been looking into pet transport services for about a year now and the best one I have found is Starwood Pet transport. I'm just wondering if anyone has used them in the past? They quoted me $3,695 for door to door service with them. Is this reasonable? I'm not willing to relocate my cat on my own and would feel more comfortable using a service but just trying to make sure this is reasonable.

Our price to move Soul Anubis from Worcester, MA to Yorkshire, UK is $3,695 and includes the following:
 
> Completion of C5 Customs Form
> Pick up from residence 
> Take to veterinarian
> International Health Certificate
> EU Veterinary Certificate
> USDA endorsement of EU Veterinary Certificate
> Overnight boarding
> Bring to Houston Airport
> Aircargo charges from Houston to London, UK
> Customs clearance in London
> Animal Reception Centre Fees
> Pick up at Heathrow
> Deliver to your residence in the UK by our London office
> Our arrangement / administrative fee
 
The proper size  travel kennel is the #200 airline approved travel kennel (Medium, 27 x 20 x 19 in inches)  We can have our local person Tina stop by to deliver it in advance, and you an Soul would get to meet her.  The cost is $50 to rent the crate for the trip for the trip of $130 to purchase it.

Thanks!

Another cat person, yay! 
 
I transported two cats myself so no direct experience with pet transport companies but that looks high to me for one small animal.

If money is really no object and you've done your due diligence and are happy with their references then go for it but otherwise, maybe have another think about doing it yourself. I actually preferred to be in control of everything myself rather than leaving it to someone else.

There are some useful threads on the subject in this section of the forum. 

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=60.0

I used Air Animal and would highly recommend them.

Your quote seems high.  I would expect no more than $2k for one cat.  Should be less than that!

Thank you!!

How much did it cost you to do it on your own Larrabee? I did say I didn't want to do it on my own but I mean if the cost savings are reasonable and the stress level is low to moderate I think I can handle it. Would you mind telling me how you did it?

KFdancer, I will definitely check out Air Animal, is there a website or can I just google search it?

Glad I checked on the price my husband thought it was rather high as well! hahah

Thank you!!

How much did it cost you to do it on your own Larrabee? I did say I didn't want to do it on my own but I mean if the cost savings are reasonable and the stress level is low to moderate I think I can handle it. Would you mind telling me how you did it?

KFdancer, I will definitely check out Air Animal, is there a website or can I just google search it?

Glad I checked on the price my husband thought it was rather high as well! hahah

They were fantastic and I highly recommend them.  http://www.airanimal.com/

For me, I moved several years ago before they relaxed the rules a bit.  In addition, I was moving on my own (not in a relationship) and had SO MUCH going on that I was grateful to have this MAJOR bit of my move taken care of.

Ask for an itemized quote and you'll be able to see how much you can save doing it yourself.  I would expect to save a few hundred dollars doing it yourself.

Thank you!!

How much did it cost you to do it on your own Larrabee? I did say I didn't want to do it on my own but I mean if the cost savings are reasonable and the stress level is low to moderate I think I can handle it. Would you mind telling me how you did it?

KFdancer, I will definitely check out Air Animal, is there a website or can I just google search it?

Glad I checked on the price my husband thought it was rather high as well! hahah

It was 4 years ago now (time flies!) but iirc it was around $2,000 or perhaps a little over, for 2 cats from LosAngeles for the flights and all travel associated taxes and fees.
That didn't include the crates/vet fees/USDA fees.

 I started by researching the USDA(US) and APIS (UK now is a .gov site I believe) sites for the requirements. I then called the local USDA with my questions, they were very helpful and talked me through the various steps.
I had a problem getting though on the phone to United cargo so I went to the cargo depot and confirmed with them in person exactly what they needed in terms of paperwork, crate suitability etc.
I also emailed with the pet reception center the cats were flying in to who confirmed what they needed in terms of paperwork and how long to expect to have to wait for them before they could be picked up (couple of hours)

It did require some careful planning but everything went smoothly and I'd do it again given the same circumstances.

Thanks for that info!

I have another question about timing. I'm not sure if I'm going to travel with my cat or if I'm going to leave him behind for a few weeks until we get our housing settled. I read somewhere that pets have to travel within 5 days of me.

Can I set up with a friend or transport service to transport them for me after a few weeks or is that not an option?

I also brought my two cats over by myself this past March, and it cost me all totaled $2,597.92. That's vet visits, buying the kennels, airfare, customs fees, etc. I'd say your quote is definitely a bit high for just one cat, unless you REALLY just don't want the hassle. And it is a big hassle! But totally worth it.

Your friend can definitely drop them off at the airport for you, as long as all the paperwork is done and the airline knows that's the person who's sending them to you. My sister took my cats to the airport the day after I left, and since the paperwork said she was the consignor, there weren't any issues.

Thank you for all this great info! I don't think I can handle the stress of doing it myself, while it's cheaper I just have too much to coordinate already  I checked with Air Animal and their quote was 4250, which is crazy because I was so happy with the starting price they advertise of 2000    so I'm going to stick with Starwood as that seems to be the middle road option.