# Pets?



## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Has anyone here moved their pets with them to Australia, or is anyone considering doing so?


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## oloov (Nov 15, 2010)

Nelly87 said:


> Has anyone here moved their pets with them to Australia, or is anyone considering doing so?


We are moving with our German Shepherd, it is much more complicated process then getting our visa, and much more expensive. 
We did hire pet relocation company International Pet Transportation from the United States to Australia and New Zealand ,and so far they are very helpful and professional.
We are moving to Australia from US.


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Do you worry about him being in cargo? I'm extremely worried about my cat going in the cargo area, at the same time if I take an airline that allows him in the cabin, I know he'll meow the whole way and people will hate me


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## oloov (Nov 15, 2010)

Yes, we are worried about that, she will be in a kennel for at least 20h. And even more worried about month in quarantine. She is not the best with strangers. But the other option would be to put her for an adoption, and that is not an option for my wife.


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

It's such a tough decision - my cat would have to fly 20 to 24 hours (direct flight Netherlands-Melbourne). I'm so scared that it'll hurt him; not just the cargo, but even _I_ get stomach aches from the pressure on a plane sometimes, let alone a fragile little kitty.

On the other hand, I adopted him from a shelter after he was abandoned, hit by a car and near dead, so the thought of "abandoning" him "again" breaks my heart. Some people tell me "what's a day in a cat's life if it means he gets unconditional love and good care for the rest of his days", others tell me it's animal cruelty and selfish. He'd be fine with the quarantine - he spent enough time in the shelter to know what it's like, but dogs are different; they are much more dependent on their specific owners.


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## PoisonedCooKie (Aug 30, 2011)

I know exactly what you're going through! I'm planning on moving my cat with us from Belgium to Melbourne. :-s I know it's going to be hard on him but I just hope that he's going to be asleep most of the trip. To be honest, I don't know how am I gonna survive that one month of him being in quarantine LOL People saying "it's just a cat" just don't get me. Maybe I'm crazy, but I simply can't just leave behind a living creature that has been in my life for past 6 years. Sure it's costly, and take a lot of organization for paperwork, vets etc. but I think I would regret much much more if just let it go and leave him. Both, my boyfriend and I love him!
Unfortunately, I don't think any of the airplane companies will allow you to take your pet to the cabin with you, especially when going to Australia. That's what the quarantine is for 
@Nelly87 As you're from Holland, do you know about any companies around here that are taking care of relocating pets overseas? I know about couple of such organizations in England, but it seams a bit complicated regarding that I probably will fly to Oz from Belgium or Germany and not London. 
Please keep us posted about your adventures with your furry friend


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## JohnGibbons (Feb 14, 2012)

There are some shipping services which help us in moving our pets from one place to another.We can hire them according to our needs and services provided by them.


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

@PoisonedCooKie --- I have not looked into any Dutch pet transport services in depth, but I do know they exist. I also think it's worth calling KLM; that's the biggest Dutch airline who fly directly into Melbourne from Amsterdam, they allow animals as hand luggage in SOME cases, I am just not 100% sure if that also counts for intercontinental flights.

I am now in Australia and subletting my place in The Netherlands - the person living there now is a good friend who *loves* my cat and is taking care of the cat for a year. The agreement technically is that he is a babysitter for a year (I don't want to fly over the cat unless I know for sure I am staying) but the silent agreement was that if he wants to keep him after that, I can deal with that.

Make no mistake, my cat is absolutely my baby. I am one of those people... and I'd like to think he's best off with me. But at the end of the day, when I was on the plane to Melbourne I realized that _I_ hate that long flight so how can I put him through it without his consent? Also now that I am here in Australia, I am also wondering; emigration already is quite a task for me, I have no way of telling how hard it would be on a cat to be in a completely different place.

I am not saying it is by default a bad or good decision... but I am starting to come to a point where I want what is best for him. If that means he can stay with my friend, who loves and pampers him to bits, I will have to accept that. If the friend can't or won't keep him after the year, for whatever reason, and I can't find a new home that I _know_ will be just as good - I will fly him over in a heartbeat, provided I can buy all the best care for him on the plane and during his month of quarantine.

It's such a hard choice. I adopted him from the shelter and I feel like that is promising a homeless animal a home. At the same rate I don't want to put him through too much if he can have just as good a home without it... and since Australian shelters generally have death rows, if my cat is well off in The Netherlands, I'd be doing a better deed adopting a kitty from a shelter here.

It's heartbreaking though. He really is my baby... but I am giving it time to see if I am really his best option or not. If it's the shelter or emigration, it's definitely emigration. But if he can stay with a close friend there, where I know he'll be treated just as good... I can't justify all the hassle.

But this decision is personal for everyone. If I had the money right now to ensure prime care during relocation, I would probably already have him here.


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## nstwinmom (Feb 22, 2012)

Quarantined? Oh my! If they've been vaccinated to date I don't understand that would be nessecary?
Is it the same for a dog?
My concern is also getting our dogs there from Canada. We are also looking at about a 20+hour flight. I am very nervous with having them in the cargo for such a long duration. However I think that's the only way they can get there...


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

@nstwinmom

Yes, generally, quarantine is a basic requirement before they can enter, minimum of a month. Depending on what they need to get tested for. Make sure you talk about your situation to both the appropriate department of immigration and your vet - ask your vet if they have done this before (prepare an animal for Australia). He or she might know "shortcuts". I know my vet back home had prepared a dog for emigration to Australia who ended up not needing quarantine _at all_ (which I have never heard of before but I'm sure the vet wouldn't lie). Talk to all the parties that would be involved in the situation and you might find a way to limit the dogs' discomfort. Your vet might have practical experiences that other parties don't.

The quarantine includes tests of various kinds from what I know - they want to be sure no strange/unfamiliar diseases manifest once landed in Australia. They'd rather be safe than sorry I suppose? And I'm sure they have caught people who ended up not having done the right testing and having to send them back.

What kind of dogs are your dogs? Big? Small? Healthy or very sensitive health-wise?

Sadly I haven't been able to find any boat transport to Australia! I was really hoping I could just take my cat on an extremely long cruise, let it live in my cabin with me, get it to Australia that way  but nope. Doesn't seem to exist. Just cruises starting in Australia and going to another part of Australia. Apparently, transpacific cruises are risky?


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## nstwinmom (Feb 22, 2012)

yes--well to be honest this is the thing that is stressing me out the most!
We have French Bulldogs, so they are about 30lbs.
Not fussy on the long haul for them, and really not looking forward to a month of quarantine. I guess like you say something to look into. From what I can see sounds like this can be a long grewling process to get all the documentation in place to get them over there.
Oh my, animals are our best friends but my god such a PITA sometimes eh? hehehe


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## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Well I've read a handful of stories from people who actually do make the move with their pet at such a distance (in fact, these were Europe-Australia stories, so even further than Canada I think?) and to be fair the testimonies I have read were all good. I suppose it also depends on how "on top" of things you are, if you have a pet transport agency guide you through the process or not, and where the quarantine takes place... but one of the stories I read actually said that the quarantine facility was nothing short of a nice (almost fancy) pet hotel and he was more worried about the cost of stay than the quality of stay. 

I have a problem with transporting my cat because he already screams on buses because of the loud engine hurting his ears... I can only imagine what I would be doing to him on a plane, with the pressure, darkness and length of time as well. I guess only people who have seen your animal during travel, can judge if this is right for them? If I had a cat like my old neighbor's, who just slept on their laps in the car and generally was not very anxious about engines (my cat is fine in a car standing still... as soon as the engine starts he freaks out) or anything other than "I want food and potty"... I wouldn't hesitate.

The people who have taken this step before overall say it was well worth it, and that the one day of discomfort for the pet and a month of discomfort for them during quarantine (I hear you can even visit them there? Sounds strange but apparently is true) was not a big price to keeping their pets with them. Their pets seem to all have recovered just fine and walk around like nothing ever happened.

At the end of the day for me the line is drawn at the shelter/pound - whatever happens my cat will not end up back there (I adopted him from the pound) so if he runs out of friends of mine who can look after him for whatever reason, he will be flown over, no question. 

I guess in a way I am secretly hoping my partner will make the decision for me and fly the cat over as a surprise, hahaha. I don't want to have to make the decision of putting the cat through that, at the same I don't wanna let him go... that would totally be the easy way out.


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