My husband and I have 2 greyhounds and 4 cats and wish to move with them from NJ to Germany. We understand that more than one trip may be necessary.
The dogs:
1) What airline has the best reputation for transporting large dogs safely from US to Europe, ideally Germany? (We will be going to Bochum, the nearest airport is Dusseldorf, though Frankfurt is not too far away either).
2) Where do I get the appropriate crates for such large dogs?
3) One of the dogs is 7 and the other 5 - is their age a problem?
4) Is there a special vet or certification process to be able to bring them into the country? They are up to date on their shots, although we did not go to a special vet in order to get their vaccinations. They were microchipped at one point (they are rescues), but I do not know much about it. Do I need to get them remicrochipped?
Cats:
1) One of the cats is 17 years old. Will microchipping a cat that age be problematic? Can a cat that old manage an international flight?
2) One of the cats has a pushed in face - she's a himalayan, we think. I have read that often dogs with such anatomy are not allowed to fly long distances because they develop breathing problems and die. Is that also true of cats? We are not sure how old she is, but likely around 10. Is that also a problem?
3) Our other 2 cats are rather large. Will that be a problem if we wish to bring them as carry ons?
4) What kind of carriers are best for the cats? We are assuming that we will take them on as carry-ons, one cat per person, two trips.
5) And what does one do for the cats (or dogs) in terms of allowing them to go to the bathroom? The last time we transported cats internationally was 16 years ago from Israel to the US. At that time the vet advised us to tranquilize the cats. One slept the entire 13 hour journey, the other one woke up, but neither of them seemed inclined to urinate or have bowel movements. Now I read that one should not tranquilize the animals, but I can imagine that causes other problems - howling, need for bathroom breaks etc. How does one deal with these issues?
6) Are ships even a possibility? I have read that mostly ships want animals kept in cargo, which would not be good for them. I wondered whether cats might be allowed in the cabins with the humans, especially if transporting our elderly cats by plane was deemed risky.
The dogs:
1) What airline has the best reputation for transporting large dogs safely from US to Europe, ideally Germany? (We will be going to Bochum, the nearest airport is Dusseldorf, though Frankfurt is not too far away either).
2) Where do I get the appropriate crates for such large dogs?
3) One of the dogs is 7 and the other 5 - is their age a problem?
4) Is there a special vet or certification process to be able to bring them into the country? They are up to date on their shots, although we did not go to a special vet in order to get their vaccinations. They were microchipped at one point (they are rescues), but I do not know much about it. Do I need to get them remicrochipped?
Cats:
1) One of the cats is 17 years old. Will microchipping a cat that age be problematic? Can a cat that old manage an international flight?
2) One of the cats has a pushed in face - she's a himalayan, we think. I have read that often dogs with such anatomy are not allowed to fly long distances because they develop breathing problems and die. Is that also true of cats? We are not sure how old she is, but likely around 10. Is that also a problem?
3) Our other 2 cats are rather large. Will that be a problem if we wish to bring them as carry ons?
4) What kind of carriers are best for the cats? We are assuming that we will take them on as carry-ons, one cat per person, two trips.
5) And what does one do for the cats (or dogs) in terms of allowing them to go to the bathroom? The last time we transported cats internationally was 16 years ago from Israel to the US. At that time the vet advised us to tranquilize the cats. One slept the entire 13 hour journey, the other one woke up, but neither of them seemed inclined to urinate or have bowel movements. Now I read that one should not tranquilize the animals, but I can imagine that causes other problems - howling, need for bathroom breaks etc. How does one deal with these issues?
6) Are ships even a possibility? I have read that mostly ships want animals kept in cargo, which would not be good for them. I wondered whether cats might be allowed in the cabins with the humans, especially if transporting our elderly cats by plane was deemed risky.
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