Pet Scheme For Dummies Part 1 of 2

no, just the last two, fleas and deworming.  Just follow the Factsheet for non-eu cats and dogs it will tell you everything you need to know.

mmgd - Check out the offical DEFRA website. It is very clear in the order of what needs to happen and paperwork wise. I downloaded my forms from.  You can also contact your USDA vet (there's usually one main one per state) and he/she can fax the info to your vet and/or you.

this is a little off subject....but has anyone ever rung and spoke to DEFRA.  Thier number one answer to all questions is "have you checked the webiste?"  I'm sure they probably get tons of calls a day, but a little friendlyness goes a long way. 

also, if your question pertains to exporting your dogs to another country, they are not much help.  I called them to find out any info on flying back to the US with dogs and they literally said..."your flying them out of the UK?  we don't deal with those kinds of questions."  Maybe I just caught somebody on an off day.

also, if your question pertains to exporting your dogs to another country, they are not much help.  I called them to find out any info on flying back to the US with dogs and they literally said..."your flying them out of the UK?  we don't deal with those kinds of questions."  Maybe I just caught somebody on an off day.

try

http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/entering_us/2bringyourpet.htm

thanks Pinky....   I found that site a few weeks ago.  I'm pretty sure I'm all set with the dogs.  They got thier rabiis shots well before the 30 days prior to flying out, I've booked their health exam for withing 10 days of flying.  As far as I can tell, that's all i need to do for them to get back into the US.  So much less paperwork than coming over.  I'm relieved about that.

I successfully emailed DEFRA and got a response within a day.

Bump

Hope this helps

Here are the forms I had to fill out and still have with me.
1. Health cerficate from the vet stating his vaccinations - signed by the vet
2. Rabies vaccination certifciate given to me by my vet - signed by my vet
3. Pet Travel Scheme: Entry or Re-Entry of Pet Cat or Dog to the United Kingdom (my vet acquired this for me too) Signed by my vet AND the USDA Veternarian. This is the one that has to be notorized with an embossed seal
4. Request for FAVN-OIE Rabies Antibody Test ( again my vet acquired from the lab in Kansas where they did the test) -signed by my vet and labelled with the results from the test with the FAVN Supervisor's signature from kansas
5. Pet Travel Scheme Declaration Form (carbon copy) - signed by myself
6. Cerficate of Acclimation from the airline (printed off the airline's website) signed by me and my vet

Just going over my paperwork and want to confirm what all the above forms are....

1) What exactly is the "health certificate"? Is this just a paper from the vet stating the vaccinations?

2) How is this different than above?

3) This is the EU Journal 998 form, correct?

4) Got it.

5) Not sure what the declaration form is? Where do I get this?

6) Do I get this from the airline when I drop off my pet? Continental did not say anything about this....they only stated I needed the 998 form (and I have my Aphis 7001 form as well)

There seem to be a lot more forms listed here than what are listed on the Defra Documents Page. Thanks in advance!

When I flew, I had to produce the following when I checked in at BA World Cargo:

+ APHIS 7001 form, signed by me, the local vet, and the USDA vet, and embossed by the USDA vet
+ EEC 998/2003 form, signed by me, the local vet, and the USDA vet, and embossed by the USDA vet
+ Rabies vaccination certificate - the paperwork from when the vaccine was given (not sure that everyone has to produce this, as the information is contained on both the APHIS 7001 and EEC 998/2003 forms, but I was asked to show mine)
+ Original results of the FAVN-OIE Rabies Antibody test from the lab at Kansas State

All other forms were provided for me at BA World Cargo and I filled them out there when I dropped the boys off.  You might want to give Continental a call to see if they require any additional paperwork, especially if it's something they want done ahead of time and faxed to the UK (I had to complete a C5 form and fax it to Gatwick before our flight).

I've read this before on here but can't find it again!

What are the opinions on how long before the flight they should have their food taken away? It it just 12 hours or a full 24 hours?

I hate them now having food that long My cats are eaters!

My cats are eaters!

Mine are, too!  Our flight was at 6:25pm, so we had to check in at BA World Cargo by 2:30pm.  I had been told by a BA official on the phone to "feed them a normal meal two hours beforehand" but I never could get a straight answer about what that exactly meant - 2 hours before check-in? 2 hours before the flight?  So I fed them around noon, right before we left to drive up to Atlanta (and Toby promptly threw it back up - he tends to pick up on stress, and has a wobbly tummy at the best of times) and I gave them a chance to go to the bathroom before we checked in, but neither had to go at that time.  When I got to the ARC at Gatwick at 10am the next day (15 hours after check-in, and 17 hours after their last meal) they'd already been given food and water and a chance to use the litterbox, and the woman there told me that only one of them had wet their bed during the trip (my bet's on Toby), and that there were no other "accidents."

All this to say that I fed my guys six hours before the flight and we all go through just fine.   They nibbled a bit on the drive home but didn't really eat a full meal until the next day (and since they had to stay at the ARC for an extra 28 hours, the next day was actually three full days after the start of our trip).

I'm not so concerned about my cats missing a meal (they could stand to miss one or two!), I'm more concerned about accidents in the crate. By the time we get to the airport on Thursday and make our way back to Bath on Friday, that's almost 24 hours! The airlines will clean out anything that happens on the way over, correct?? I'm very concerned about their bladders! 

I'm not so concerned about my cats missing a meal (they could stand to miss one or two!), I'm more concerned about accidents in the crate. By the time we get to the airport on Thursday and make our way back to Bath on Friday, that's almost 24 hours! The airlines will clean out anything that happens on the way over, correct?? I'm very concerned about their bladders! 

They will - within reason (i.e. you won't get a cat crate full of poo when you pick them up, but you'll probably want to scrub things down when you get home for good).  I'm not sure how much extra room you'll have coming over, but I brought a small dustpan/litterbox and a gallon baggie of cat litter with me so that I could put down a box for them in the backseat during the trip home.  They'll have a chance to go before that as well - once they get to Gatwick ARC, they're immediately put in separate cages with food, water and litter while they wait for you to arrive and for the paperwork to be processed.  They only go back into the crates when you're ready to leave.

Of everything that I could possibly be worried about, this was the issue that plagued me the most - and in the end everything was completely fine, the boys were happy to see me but didn't seem traumatized at all, and I felt like a giant worrywart for nothing. 

This is great news! I'm glad to hear they're put in a cage with litter while they wait at Gatwick. They'll probably be too freaked to use it, but at least they'll have the option. I don't envy the person who has to put my girl kitty back into the crate....if I have any concern of her having a full bladder in the car, that transfer back into the crate will take care of that! She's fine once she's in there, it's getting her in that's the headache.

I'm getting an error when clicking the link to the approved facility. Does anyone know if that site has changed or maybe it is just down for a bit?