Btw hi Y, did u manage to travel with ur dog to uk? Im in the same struggle as im moving to the uk and also with my dog i have t found the right people who can help me with that, as thomson airways demand i need a custom broker to do the procedure for the dog.. Arghh can u help me somehow? Or letting me know if u managed to sort all thats stuff?.
P.s my dog got microship, bloodtest, rabies and all sorted out already. Hope to hear from u soon
Ok I'll post it here for everyone
Yes I flew her back to the UK with no issues in June 2014 but trying to find the right paperwork and procedure was hell. The UK are very fussy about paperwork. I’ve heard of owners being charged ?600 odd for admin and kennel fee because their paperwork wasn’t in order/wrong dates written down by the DR vet etc.
I arrived in the UK a week before my dog. I didn't fly Thomson but the dog flew with Thomson as cargo.
AIA Pets in the UK handle animal flights and payments for Thomson (see contact info in my previous post). I made first contact via the online quote form* then dealt with an agent direct.
*Enter “unknown” in the flight number box if appropriate.
I looked for “human” flights and gave AIA the flight details (they won’t do it for you). They confirmed that she could fly on that plane, booked it and took payment ?830 airfreight + ?50 clearing fee at gatwick. Expensive as my dog is only 40lbs/18kilos and the equivalent human price for that flight was ?550.
I used Caribe Cargo to raise the airway bill in the DR ($50). On request they sent a copy to me and their PUJ office. Paranoid me visited their PUJ office to check if they had received it and to “make friends” with the staff that were going to load my dog on the plane (no bribes were needed
With the airway bill and flight confirmed I contacted an import clearing agent at Gatwick - KRL who work with AIA Pets. I paid them a small fee (can’t remember how much ?50?) to get her through immigration/customs at Gatwick. I was instructed to collect her from their Gatwick warehouse 4 hours after the flight had landed.
Dog paperwork: My dog is a DR one and so has no passport. Make sure all paperwork has been filled out correctly and everything had been done in the right order. It took 4 months (with all the waiting between blood test etc) to prepare her for the flight.
Doggy paperwork:
1) a Third Country Veterinary Certificate (now also called “Model of animal health certificate for non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets from territories or third countries”, either from your vet or download the latest version from gov.uk link below under the section “Third country official veterinary certificate”
https://www.gov.uk/pet-travel-information-for-pet-owners#documentation
Pay attention to completion rules eg. blue ink only, blue stamp ink only, capital letters, dates filled out See my next post on how to fill in.
2) “Declaration” confirming no intention to sell or trade your pet. It’s download from above link under the same section.
How to print UK A4 sized documents on US 8.5x11inch paper.
UK document size A4 is different to US (Dominican) paper size. If you try to print it, the form will break up over multiple pages.
To print A4 to US 8.5x11inch paper:
Set the printer magnification to 94% or use Fit to Page, if your printer has that option.
3) vaccination card/history
4) FAVN Certificate, (rabies antibody titration test) issued by the US laboratory who processes your dog’s rabies blood test.
5) Fit to fly certificate / Certification de Salud. Your vet issues this within 96 hours of departure and the DR department of Agriculture at PUJ signs & stamps it on the day of flight.
Dept Agriculture at Punta Cana airport (PUJ) 809 959 1555. You must call them at least 2 working days before departure date in order to make an appointment to fill out the paperwork on the day of departure.
They must also stamp and sign the Third Country Vet cert and each page of all attached documents.
In my absence I was lucky to have expert help to take her to the airport and put her on the plane - from Collares Rojo an animal shelter in Bayahibe who're used to flying dogs out via Punta Cana and know all the staff at the airport. My dog arrived back in the UK on time, relatively untraumatised and in good health
Tips: secure the flight crate door with tie wraps so no one can accidently open it and lose your dog.
Put an ID tag on your dog (with destination contact info).
Write name & destination address in waterproof marker on crate. Additional transit stickers were provided by Caribe Cargo.
They didn’t put water in her crate as it would just spill but she was offered water before she left. You could try using ice but it would probably melt before she flew. Make sure you give her water when you collect her from UK airport (she was too traumatised and refused the water offered to her by the handlers when she landed).
I put a thick towel on the bottom of the crate for a little comfort.
Caribe Cargo at PUJ were really good about looking after her. They assured me she would be kept in a cool place next to a fan whilst waiting. And that the pilot has to sign an animal-on-board form so they’re aware she is on board although i’m not sure if the cargo hold is temperature controlled?
