flying your dog back to UK
The only direct flight for animals to UK is with Thomson.
They fly out of PUJ and POP.
British airways fly dogs from here to UK only on their cargo flight which goes SDQ via Miami. I don't have any contact info for BA cargo.
No animals (except for assistance dogs*) can enter the UK traveling in the cabin of an aircraft. They must all go in the cargo hold.
*To utilise an assistance dog, regardless of the type of disability, a handler must qualify as disabled under the UK's Equality Act of 2010.
AIA Pets handle pet travel for Thomson. Contact them via their contact form on their website.
AIA Pet Travel | Airbridge International Agencies
Fill out their quote form - you can omit the flight numbers and dates if you don't know them yet.
After this first contact you'll get direct email address and phone numbers.
I'm currently waiting for a firm quote on flight dates. Their recent estimated price for a 40lb dog and large crate was ?730 plus the export agent's fee at Punta Cana... a crazy amount considering the average price is $US200 to fly a dog to Europe... and considering I am having to do so much of the research and paperwork at this end myself.
btw unless you have recently flown in with Thomson or already have a return ticket you can't fly Thomson with your dog. No one way tickets for humans are available and you can't buy a return from UK and only use the inbound part as ticket will be cancelled if you're not on the outbound flight.
To make sure the Thomson pilot knows there is a live animal on his flight and so sets the thermostat correctly you can contact Thomson office in Punta Cana. Talk to Fidel or Mario nicely and they will pass the message onto the captain of your dog's flight. Thomson office Punta Cana 809 468 7176.
If your dog already has a passport it's not too much of a hassle to get the correct vet documents and blood test done. If, like mine, it doesn't then it's an expensive and lengthy process ie. minimum of 4 months. Involving microchip, rabies vaccination, blood test (sent to and processed by an authorized US lab) and tapeworm treatment all done in a certain order and at a certain time with strict periods of waiting time between treatments.
Microchip 1500rd
Rabies shot 300rd
Muestra sangre 3500rd
Prueba sangre 4675rd
Certificate salud 1000rd
Yes, yes I'm sure you can get them cheaper somewhere else but that's what I had to pay in Bayahibe.
All documents need to be completed as specified on the DEFRA site
Pet Travel Scheme ? Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency
The Third Country Vet Certificate and other documents need to be both signed and stamped by your vet AND the equivalent Dominican authority to UK's DEFRA. I believe it is the Ministry of Agriculture / Livestock (ganaderia).
So far all I have found is this link...
Ministerio de Agricultura - Informaci?n sobre procedimientos para la Exportaci?n de Productos y sub productos de origen Animal
My next step is trying to find the department at the airport that handles animal exports.
Oh, and the written text and stamps on the documents must be in a different coloured ink to the form itself - I kid you not!
A useful link to common errors resulting in you having to pay extra ??? to clear your dog at the UK end...
Pet Travel Scheme common problems
I heard of one person on the north coast who had to pay an extra ?600 at the UK end as their vet didn't fill the treatment dates out correctly and their documents weren't signed and stamped by the Dominican version of DEFRA...
The Third Country Vet Certificate should be issued by your vet and completed in English. Annex II applies if you are bringing in less than 5 animals. I found a pdf of a current valid version online but as it's UK issued it's A4 size and we don't have A4 paper here so it doesn't print properly! I've converted a copy to 8.5 x 14 inch paper if anyone needs it PM me!
