Rusty and Talon's move from a tiny, isolated Texas town to beautiful Germany came unexpectedly in the summer of 2012. They lived with my mother for several years after I moved overseas for my job.
Unfortunately, this summer while visiting, I realized my mother was no longer able to care for them properly. I had just a little over one month to get them prepared for international travel. Due to my own summer schedule, I could not ship and receive the dogs. I needed help. I searched pet travel companies and liked what I saw with PetRelocation. I contacted them and am so thankful I did.
Joe and Sarah began the process for me, but it was Abbey who held my hand (and eight paws) all the way through. She worked closely with my small town rural veterinarian who was uncomfortable completing the mountain of paperwork (the specific deadlines are scary!).
Abbey repeatedly contacted my vet and walked him through each step in the correct order to meet German import requirements. He was so relieved! Also, Rusty and Talon are seniors and just simple country dogs who had never been crate trained, had never flown, etc. Abbey helped with all of that, too.
Rusty and Talon were picked up in the middle-of-nowhere Texas and driven to Dallas for their flight. Abbey set me up with a pet/flight tracking system so that I knew exactly where my pets were at all times...when they departed, when they landed, etc. This was so wonderful! When I saw the email that their flight had successfully landed at Frankfurt Airport, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. A few hours later my country dogs were at my door and looked glad that their adventure was over!
It's been two days, and both Rusty and Talon are settling in well. They already enjoy the walking paths so common in Germany and are glad to be out of the Texas heat.
If I have one suggestion for pet owners it is to be well organized and keep all your pet records up to date. This makes your travel so much easier (I'm glad I'm organized!).
I also suggest being careful about microchipping your pet. Not all microchips are accepted for international travel, and Abbey made sure I got the right kind. Some microchips are fine for the US and re-homing a lost pet. International travel requires a special kind of microchip, however, and many vets do not carry the brands that meet these specifications (and many vets don't know themselves if their chips are approved). It took a lot of research on my part to find a vet in my area that could provide the correct chip. Be careful! You don't want to have to microchip twice!
Thanks to Abbey, Sarah, Joe, Dr. Vick Burk in Rotan, Texas, his staff (Deena and Shannon), and all the nameless people who assisted stateside and here in Germany. Rusty and Talon are now world travelers in their old age! Retirement must be grand!
-Grace
Pet Travel Details:
Name: Grace
Pets' Names: Rusty and Talon
From: Texas
To: Germany