HELP!!!! I have an opportunity for an assignment in the UK for 3 mths...

[xultar]

BUT!!! I have 3 chihuahuas!

Any recommendations for long-term pet care?

[Kahuna]

1. Ummm.

:9

[Sanity Claws]

2. Check out what's involved in bringing them with you

I think the six month quarantine rule was changed in the last couple of years.

[glitch]

3. You can't take them with? I thought the UK revised their rules, if they

have their shots and are chipped they don't have to go through quarantine.

Edit: they are adorable!

[Gloria]

4. Gosh, they're ADORABLE!!!! --I have two plus

a min pin and putting them in a kennel for any length of time freaks me out because I know they would freak out. One did a week a few years ago and hated us for two weeks....

Have you looked into in-home petting sitters? They'll water plants, etc. and check in a couple of times a day. Others will stay...maybe they could stay a couple of nights a week in addition to day visits...

There a couple of petsitter organizations on the web that certify sitters all over the US...you can do a search and they will come up with names...

[acmejack]

5. Quite a dilemma!

Under similar circumstances, I kenneled my dog. I hated to do it, but it was the painful method all around. There are some neat "Pet Hotels" and even resorts!

A little checking will find a place which will die to provide references to you. They have amazing options for your pet, large play spaces, etc.

I don't know your budgetary situation, it can get a little pricey. What area are you in? I will be happy to see if any of my contacts have someone in your area they can recommend.

a

[xultar]

8. I'm in Suwanee. I am thinking of Barking Hound Village Inn @ buckhead.

I'd have no problems with them living there for 3 months.

[medeak]

6. check this link

I use it every time I travel... you can take them with you

http://www.petswelcome.com/

England Tourist Bureau Email
British Tourist Agency [e-mail]
Rabies-Health Certificate Requirements: Vaccination certificate must be less than 1 year old. Health Certificate must be current.

Quarantine: Not required

Import Permit: Not required

Miscellaneous: New: Pet Travel Scheme. (1) Pets must be microchipoped. (2) Pet must be vaccinated against rabies and (3) Rabies blood test must be done 6 months prior to travel. (4) PETS certificate must be issued by a government authorized vet. (4) Pets must be checked for tcks & tapeworms between 24 and 48 hours before being checked in to travel into the UK. (5) Must use approved transport company. Those animals not satisfying requirements may be quarantined for up to 6 months. For addional information: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/index.htm

[xultar]

7. (3) Rabies blood test must be done 6 months prior to travel

My pets have all been vaccinated but none have had blood work. :cry:

[medeak]

11. talk to your vet

wink wink nod nod.. ;-)

[BooScout]

13. It's not so easy to get a Pet Passport

I have one but it takes 7 months total to get, not 6. You vaccinate for rabies (It has to be done by a USDA Certified Vet btw), then after 30 days you get a titer test on their blood, send it to Kansas (The only lab approved for the US except for Military pets) and then wait 6 months. So total, it's 7 months. You also have to de-worm them by a USDA certified vet 24 to 48 hours before you leave. You also have to microchip them with a chip that can be read by the Scanners in the UK, otherwise you ahve to buy and bring your own scanner.

Flying to from the US to the UK, they MUST fly cargo. Which means even though they are small enough to fly with you in the cabin on US domestic flights you can't do it into the UK. The good news is that British Air is supposed to be now flying pets into Gatwick from Atlanta.....as of a few months ago the closest airport to Atlanta flying pets into the UK was Orlando.You need to check with BA about that though, because when I called them earlier in the summer, they were not even aware that DEFRA (The UK equivalent of the USDA) had approved the Atlanta to Gatwick route for pets.

[tenshi816]

9. I live in the UK now

and I'm pretty sure if you get what they refer to here as a "pet passport" for your dogs, you won't have to leave them behind.

I love chihuahuas - big dogs in teeny bodies. That's all we had when I was growing up. When I was 10, my mother decided to breed ours and she died giving birth. I cried myself to sleep for months.

Where will you be in the UK? I'm in Yorkshire, not far from Leeds. Give me a yell before you come over, if you do decide to come. There are chapters of Democrats Abroad UK in London and Leeds, and they're always glad to have new people.

[xultar]

10. I'm hoping I can come and ask for political asylum. That is why my

pets are concerning me cuz I won't wanna come back.

[tenshi816]

12. Good luck to you!

I've been waiting for exactly something like this to happen - an American seeking asylum in Britain from the current political situation in the USA.

The only high-profile person to date that I know of from Georgia is Preston King,, who you can read about here: http://www.jointcenter.org/publications1/focus/FocusDetail.php?recordID=137. He's still here after 4 decades, and although he's a distinguished university professor in Britain, he's a wanted man in the United States. Britain happily took him in. I don't know if they called it political asylum at the time (1960), but when you consider the circumstances (a black man resisting the draft), it amounts to the same thing.

I look forward to meeting up with you and your three babies!

[Bo]

14. Pet condos