Shipping 2 dogs

After receiving some other info (thanks Stephanie303).....maybe the dogs are going back with us. Anybody have ANY idea what shipping 2 dogs (1 dog 57 lbs, 1 dog 32 lbs) from Spokane to Manchester would cost....before we start really looking into it? I am assuming I won't be able to ship from Spokane and will have to take them to Seattle. I have seen quotes from other people ranging in the $5,000 area. I think if we do it, we will get things set with our local Vet and then maybe just arrange the travel through a specialist. Likely send my UK wife back before me a few days early.....then hopefully just take the dogs to Seattle and drop them off with someone who has a clue what they are doing and has boxes etc ready to go. Then my wife can beg favours from friends to come pick the dogs up.

Yikes.....getting a couple of quotes now. For a 57lb and 32lb dog.....$6500-6700. Sounding like if we leave the dogs here we would save closer to $10,000. Then there's the guilt of course.....

After receiving some other info (thanks Stephanie303).....maybe the dogs are going back with us. Anybody have ANY idea what shipping 2 dogs (1 dog 57 lbs, 1 dog 32 lbs) from Spokane to Manchester would cost....before we start really looking into it? I am assuming I won't be able to ship from Spokane and will have to take them to Seattle. I have seen quotes from other people ranging in the $5,000 area. I think if we do it, we will get things set with our local Vet and then maybe just arrange the travel through a specialist. Likely send my UK wife back before me a few days early.....then hopefully just take the dogs to Seattle and drop them off with someone who has a clue what they are doing and has boxes etc ready to go. Then my wife can beg favours from friends to come pick the dogs up.

Yikes.....getting a couple of quotes now. For a 57lb and 32lb dog.....$6500-6700. Sounding like if we leave the dogs here we would save closer to $10,000. Then there's the guilt of course.....

Wow! Thats a lotta dough to ship 2 dogs!
Can you check with the airlines to see how much it would be get them to the UK either on the same flight as you or on their own (they can be put on the plane in the USA and picked up in UK without anyone traveling with them) without going through an agency?  To be honest, if you are doing all the legwork, including all the paperwork & getting the crates, etc..  and arranging to get the pets to the airport anyway, what is the point of paying a specialist/agency to basically just book the flights?

There is always the option of flying into Europe (Amsterdam/Brussels/Paris)  the dogs travel as excess baggage rather than cargo going into Europe, so the cost is MUCH less (I also have a persian (snub nose) which not many airlines will take in Cargo). When I came in through Paris it was $200 each for my 2 pets with Delta.  My husband met me at CDG and then we drove to Calais (pets/paperwork were checked in at the pet reception centre which took all of 10 minutes) & took the auto train to Dover. Though if I did it all over again I would spend a night in Paris, just because we were in Paris! I also flew from a small airport (you mentioned Spokane) Albany, NY to Detroit to Paris, if you have the dogs travel as excess baggage, they can fly from a regional airport with connections.
These are just some options to consider  When I was bringing my two over, I looked into & thought about just about every option there is, including leaving them behind with my mother. Hopefully you can find good homes for your dogs if you can't find a something that will work for you!

Thanks.....we thought of all those. I had some people I know who went the Europe route, but that was after they had been there a while and had transportation (car) set up on that side. Same thing with the paperwork....we will do all the Vet stuff but I'll send my wife ahead of me to be there when the dogs get there. The companies we have contacted all I have to do is drop them off at Seattle and then they will take care of customs and everything else.....and I think my wife just wants them delivered to her parents house on that side. We knew we could probably shave at least the companies charges (about $1500).....but when it gets right down to it......how much are we prepared to pay so we don't have the "hassle"? When we shipped our cats and another dog this way it was a nightmare with customs in Seattle.....they are really messed up unless they are better now than they were.

Oh I didn't know you had done all this before! Yes, it is very true, sometimes it is worth it to pay the extra $$$$ to keep a bit of sanity during this whole process 

Yep....kind of did it before. It wasn't as expensive as sending them to the UK....and not as much of a hassle. Bringing them into Seattle was the ultimate of stupid. The customs offices (if they are still in the same place) we NOT at the airport. You had to drive a good ways away to do the paperwork....and they weren't overly quick and stood around talking a lot (just literally talking about silly things) while you were waiting. Seems there is a disease with these types of people that think they NEED to make people wait.

Well, be prepared to wait on this side as well.  Took nearly 4 hours to clear my cats.  But this was before they simplified the process so hopefully not as bad now.

Hi F4mandolin,

If it makes you feel any better, I brought 2 dogs and a cat over in December. It took just under 2 hours to clear them at Heathrow Animal Reception Centre.

As far as the cost, I flew from the East Coast, so it was considerably less than you were quoted. I hope you get to bring your furbabies to the UK. I couldn't imagine having to leave mine behind.

We'll be taking two cats from Boston MA to heathrow this summer.    I haven't got a quote yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

I wonder if it would be significantly cheaper to do an internal US flight to an east coast city (NY, Boston etc) and then do the transatlantic from there.   I remember when we brought our cats from California to Massachusetts 10 years ago the cost was pretty small.

At this web page

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/us/en/travel-information/flying-with-pets.html

It says this:

"The cost of taking your dog or cat on one of our flights depends on the size of its travel box. Give us a call with the length, height and width of the box and we’ll be able to give you an exact quote."

Might be worth measuring and giving them a ring ?   Best of luck with your move !

sdt99,

I used Virgin Atlantic and I highly recommend their pet cargo services. Paying based on  carrier dimensions instead of weight saved me a lot of money.

Thanks GAToWales.   At first I read your account name as Gato-Wales (Gato-cat in Spanish).  Spanish cats in Wales ?! I guess I have cats and moving on the brain at the moment. 

At this time.....flying them to the East coast is also just tooooo much work. I think we will just stick with the original plan. Wife goes over first, then I drive the dogs to Seattle (5 hrs) and hand them off. I think we may even pay the extra $300 or so to have them delivered at that side since we won't have a car yet. Once you spend $6300 or so.....what's another $300? But then again.....the house needs to sell first and that's not on the market for another 2 weeks or so. Then I get to go paranoid like a lot of other people and start up the VISA process.