How long does it take for your animal to be cleared??

I'm wondering if anyone who has gone through the program could tell me how long it took for their animal to be released to them after they landed in the UK.
I'm about to purchase my ticket to Glasgow and will need to first land in Manchester (where my dog will be cleared), then I will fly to Glasgow. I'm wondering how long I will need to wait, for ticket purchasing reasons.  There are two options for me: arrive at 8:05am and leave at 11:35 a.m. or arrive at 8:05 a.m. and leave at 3:30 p.m.
Which would you recommend??
Thank you!

You need to give yourself 4-5 hours to clear.  Call the Animal Reception centre in Manchester and they will tell you.  I sent my cat on an earlier flight so that she was cleard by the time I landed. 

Mrs Pink is absolutely correct, the reception center has to fax all the documents over to defra and they take about 4 hours to fax an approval reply. Since we moved to the UK before our dogs did, I actually met with the UK Reception Staff before we returned to the US to get the dogs.
We reviewed all my documents and they gave me a direct line to fax them to before we departed the US. This made me feel better knowing the documents would be there before we landed, and the staff knew who I was if there were problems.

Wishing you the best!

I'm wondering if anyone who has gone through the program could tell me how long it took for their animal to be released to them after they landed in the UK.
I'm about to purchase my ticket to Glasgow and will need to first land in Manchester (where my dog will be cleared), then I will fly to Glasgow. I'm wondering how long I will need to wait, for ticket purchasing reasons. There are two options for me: arrive at 8:05am and leave at 11:35 a.m. or arrive at 8:05 a.m. and leave at 3:30 p.m.
Which would you recommend??
Thank you!

I did this. Houston to London to Aberdeen. My cat cleared really fast ~ 2 hours. However, I booked our connection based on the longer clearing time as recommened by the cargo company. I would recommend you do the same. I don't think 8-11 is enough time to ensure that it is done. It depends on what other cargo they have to check etc. Also, I was able to check my cat as extra luggage from London to Aberdeen which was only 15GBP vs. having him fly cargo which was 415GBP.  If you haven't looked into that then I would highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, there are NO flights that accept animals from Manchester to Glasgow   So, we'll be taking a train.  Which is nice though, because I'll be able to see the country   I booked a train leaving at 15:58, which will give us enough time for my dog to clear and then get there and relax a bit.  It'd be nice to take him for a walk and clean him up a bit!

It took just over 3 hours to get Raisin out of the Animal Reception Center.

That's a cute name for a dog  

That's a cute name for a dog  

awww, thanks!  But I cant take credit for it since she had her name when I rescued her!

My Virgin Atlantic flight landed at 7 AM and we got my cat out around noon.  It was annoying to wait because they don't actually come out and tell you your paperwork is fine until about 5 minutes before they bring your pet to you.

I called several times during the day, to see if my kitty had been cleared, where she was in the pathway etc..  They were very helpful. 

from the time I landed until I was able to get them in my car, it took about an hour and a half. But they told me I was only the 2nd person to come through Gatwick under this scheme.  I thought it was pretty fast turn around.