Taking small dog from NYC to London Heathrow

I was wondering if anyone could share there experience in moving their pet from New York to London.

Where is the "official government vet" located in NYC? Did you hire a company to help you transport your pet? What airline did you fly - were you happy?

Thank you!

Best wishes on your big move

I didn't fly out of NY.  I flew out of ATL to Heathrow last December.  I used British Airways and was very happy with them and very pleased with the service of the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow.

A recent post on here said now on the BA World Cargo website, they are requiring you use a pet travel agent now?  I didn't use anyone.  My vet and I did all the paperwork and I was able to book things myself.  Hopefully it's not one of those pet movers that you have to use because they can be so expensive.

Once you get your vet to fill out the forms, then you have to visit a USDA official for your state.  Probably can find out that information online.  I would suggest faxing the paperwork to the USDA vet for review before you get all the way there and they note some type of error.  Wish someone would have told me that - would have saved me a lot of driving.

I'm sure someone on here has done your flight and hopefully will reply to your post soon. Just thought I would share my experience

Just to add to what Lizzy said, the USDA vet in NY is based up in Albany and you can mail your forms up there (along with the check of course).

Also, you'll want to make sure that your vet is USDA certified before getting he or she to sign off your forms.  If you give the USDA office a call, they can tell you whether your vet is certified.  Most likely they are, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Here's the contact info: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/area_offices/states/newyork.html [nofollow]

As for airlines, I'm deciding between BA and Virgin.  Both seem to have a good reputation.  Once my citizenship comes through, I'll start calling to compare.  I'll be flying over with my dog, but from what I've read, you do need an agent to accompany your dog to ARC once you land.  I believe BA includes it in their price and Virgin offers it, but it's a separate cost from the cost of the flight. (If I'm wrong on this, please correct me!)

I'm planning to leave in November, so hopefully I can provide some more insight after that!

As for airlines, I'm deciding between BA and Virgin.  Both seem to have a good reputation.  Once my citizenship comes through, I'll start calling to compare.  I'll be flying over with my dog, but from what I've read, you do need an agent to accompany your dog to ARC once you land.  I believe BA includes it in their price and Virgin offers it, but it's a separate cost from the cost of the flight. (If I'm wrong on this, please correct me!)

That's true for BA (or was in April, when my guys flew over). I'm not positive on VA as far as whether the agent is required, I do know they charge extra fees on the UK side, though.

For BA, I just had to fax paperwork detailing the flight info and a description of my pets to the agent (James Cargo, in my case) and that was it.

I'll be flying over with my dog, but from what I've read, you do need an agent to accompany your dog to ARC once you land.  I believe BA includes it in their price and Virgin offers it, but it's a separate cost from the cost of the flight. (If I'm wrong on this, please correct me!)

That was indeed the case for Virgin when we flew over in Nov. 2008.  I realize it's been a little while now.  We took a taxi to the ARC at Heathrow and a Virgin agent met us there and handled all of the paperwork.  There was a separate fee which we paid to the agent directly by credit card.

We flew 2 cats and had a very good experience with Virgin. 

A few months ago I successfully got my small dog from NYC to London Heathrow.
The process is a pain for me but it worked out and now I am back to deal with my own visa.

I had to find a USDA accredited veterinarian, cost me loads, more then the original place I usually take her to.  I learn that the vet might not know everything about the movement of pet to another country.  So I had to rely on myself and the research I did.  This site had helped me with questions big time!  The important thing is to follow every step and make sure it's done correctly.  The USDA Vet is located near JFK, no bus or train get there so can only get there by car.  It's a small office on the ground floor.   It's a quick process, the USDA Vet took a look at the paper work, paid for it, and stamp stamp and out the door.  I used Virgin Atlantic to transport my dog to UK, took my dog to the airline cargo area on the day of the flight.  My dog arrived safely. 

Best wishes on your big move

I didn't fly out of NY.  I flew out of ATL to Heathrow last December.  I used British Airways and was very happy with them and very pleased with the service of the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow.

A recent post on here said now on the BA World Cargo website, they are requiring you use a pet travel agent now?  I didn't use anyone.  My vet and I did all the paperwork and I was able to book things myself.  Hopefully it's not one of those pet movers that you have to use because they can be so expensive.

Once you get your vet to fill out the forms, then you have to visit a USDA official for your state.  Probably can find out that information online.  I would suggest faxing the paperwork to the USDA vet for review before you get all the way there and they note some type of error.  Wish someone would have told me that - would have saved me a lot of driving.

I'm sure someone on here has done your flight and hopefully will reply to your post soon. Just thought I would share my experience

DITTO my experience was great with BA and the Animal Reception Center at Heathrow.  We flew our 2 dogs over on May 21 from ATL arriving May 22 at Heathro. 

Our personal vet took care of everything, and we took the papers to the USDA in Conyers, Ga to get signed off on, and then the vet did the flea treament 24 hrs before flight.  We did not use a Pet Scheme Agent either, as BA did not require one to be used then.  We did not fly with the dogs, as we were already in England and settled and dogs came then.  Delta (back in May) did require the again to be used if you weren't flying with the dogs/pets.  BA was just better all around for us, much nicer, friendly, helpful, and took great care of our dogs at both ends....as did the Reception Center.

Just wanted to provide some info and an update since I started calling around yesterday. 

I'm looking to fly from JFK to Heathrow in November.  He's an 18 pound dachshund and I got these prices based on a 26x18x19 crate.

British Airways was $936, which included the clearance fees and an agent.

Virgin Atlantic was $667, which did include an agent but not the clearance fees, which are an additional 275 pounds.