Taking the Plunge - My dog to the UK

I know there are 5 million topics on this but I was hoping for a starting point and cost.
The person who was half owner of my dog is never home and feels bad leaving Tyson alone so much and wanted to find a family for him.  I am heart broken so I want to know how to get him here.  I don't want him with some unknown family I will never see when I am there.

I guess first is costs and then procedure.

I am too upset at this moment to read all over the internet so I figure you guys are so great I might get it in a nutshell.  I know its 6 months, microchiped, rabbies ect...

Anything would help.
thanks

Costs - depends on the size of your dog and where you're shipping from, I seem to remember he's pretty big so I'd guesstimate $1,500+ airfare. Then you've got another $300+ for the vet stuff/paperwork.

Timeline is about 7 months, 6 if you've already got rabies/microchip done.

In order, they're basically: microchip, rabies vaccine, sending blood to KS, getting result from KS, 4+ months after sending blood to KS get the USDA to signoff on papers, 2+ months after that they're good to fly. Pre-flight you need to get the tick/tapeworm treatment done (24-48hrs pre-checkin) and the airline may require additional paperwork.

That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.

What type of dog is he?  

Tyson is a mix Lab/Springer about 50 pounds...

Thanks E - thats a good starting point - Kevin and I will be discussing this tonight more in depth.

I don't have any advice, but good luck with everything and hopefully I will get to meet Tyson soon!