Going abroad to veterinary school?

[mokadet]

I'm an military brat and lived in Europe for a good part of my childhood. We brought our two dogs to England and back again. At that time quarantine in the UK was a horrible 6 months. From looking around now it seems that for the UK, NZ and Australia the minimum quarantine is down to 30 days (if you time the rabies vaccines and titers correctly). However, there is a ton of paper work, tests and forms to complete. Recently, a client at the animal hospital I work at decided he was moving to Hawaii (a rabies-free island with similar requirements as NZ, UK, etc). He and the doc spent a good hour weeding through the paperwork making sure that the vaccines were given at the right time, etc. If you do decide to take your pet abroad make sure you start looking at the requiremnets ASAP (it looks like it could take up to a year to get everything done).

On the other hand it is relatively easy to bring dogs/cats in to the US. You just have to have a rabies certificate verifying that they are up to date. If they are not satisfied they can quarantine your animal, but I think the max is 30 day. Birds, however, look like a huge headache (only exacerbated by the bird flu scare, I'm sure).

P.S. Another thing to think about (especially for trips such as east coast USA to Murdoch, Australia) is the actually transport. At least from what I have read pets must be transported in cargo (versus in the cabin) and cannot be let out of the cages during lay-overs. Our dogs survived pretty well on the 7ish hour trip to from England, but the trip down under is at least twice that! To me this sounds as traumatic as 30 days in quarantine.

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[Apollo84]

I have not looked into this, but has anyone transported pet rabbits overseas? I was just wondering if the same restrictions apply- such as getting rabies titer and vaccine, etc, even though vets don't give rabbits that vaccine routinely (or at all) as they do in dogs and cats. In addition, I know UK has a large pet population and they are probably even more strict since they don't want any infectious rabbit diseases and Australia kills rabbits as pests and probably wouldn't appreciate me bringing more rabbits, if I were to go there for school.

 

[birdvet2006]

Mokadet,

Your pet (cat/dog) doesn't have to undergo quarantine in the UK if you're coming from the USA. This is due to the PETS scheme now being permitted for US pets. US pets need to get a passport, then get microchipped & rabies vaccinated (same day). A blood sample for rabies titre goes out about a month after the vaccine, and you have to wait about 6 months after the bloodwork goes out until you can travel into the UK with your pet. I believe your pet must also be de-wormed just prior to leaving for the UK.

Not sure about rabbits. They don't teach us about traveling with any other species here in the UK.

 

[laurafinn]

Our dogs survived pretty well on the 7ish hour trip to from England, but the trip down under is at least twice that! To me this sounds as traumatic as 30 days in quarantine.

Yes, the trip is in cargo, and the dog/cat crate cannot be opened until the animal reaches the quarantine facility. My dog flew from San Francisco to Christchurch and was in his crate for 20 hours or more -- you're required to go to the USDA and get the crate sealed several hours before the flight leaves; also, any transfer of planes adds hours too. There is enough absorbent material in the crate to handle accidents, but it can't be pleasant for a very house-trained animal. My dog is a very resilient sort, so I knew he'd come out OK.

Also for New Zealand, you need to start preparations 7 months in advance. There is an exception for dogs and cats who have complete vet records from birth, I think they can leave for NZ within 4 months. Quarantine is 30 days, the kennels are pretty nice and you are allowed to visit.

So yeah, it takes a lot, but I think it was worth it for me. It sounds way hokey, but I made a promise when I adopted my dog that he would always be able to depend on me. And he's a great dog.

 

[youthman]

Another concern is whether or not you have a banned breed. I'm not sure what country has banned what (or even what city) but I know the list keeps growing.