Adventure of a lifetime and how to take your dog to Europe

The US to Europe

Before I begin I want to mention although there were a lot of spiritual things that happened to me and for me during this trip. This article is not about that. I have had countless people inquire "how did you get your dog to Europe" that I figured it would be nice to make this information available.

The year is 2022, I am finishing my 3 month cohort with Niki Novo and her Soul Teacher program and I am breaking up with my boyfriend. During the eclipse may I add.

This was not what I expected. Especially after relocating from Colorado to Austin, TX to be with him. However, the universe and the eclipse have a funny way of realigning your life for you.

So there I am living in Texas. A state and city I had no desire to be in, a remote job, and a wanderlust urge to "get out of dodge". There was one problem though. I have a little dog named Pickles, Mr. Pickles.

A friend at the time proposed we go to Europe for a few months and enjoy our time. I hadn't looked much into animal travel overseas, but knew at one point of animal quarantining and that would break my little guy's heart.

Except you no longer need to quarantine pets from the US to the EU. Thus, let me educate you on how to get your US pupper to and from.

First thing you need to understand are airline laws and dog sizes. My dog is a Coton de Tulear and he weighs close to 20lbs. He is on the larger size for a small breed and has flown in an airplane over 15 times, at this point. So I know he travels well and just sleeps during the flight.

Delta and United were the only US airlines I found that I could have in-cabin pets and not a weight restriction that fly to Europe. There are other airlines that do fly pets to Europe, but most require a 8kg limit and Pickles in his carrier weigh over that.

For pets that need to go in the hold you will also need to determine the right airline for you as not all are created equally and putting your baby in the hold is also scary.

Next piece of action is finding a vet in your area that will complete an "International Health Certificate" also known as a USDA Health Cert. This will be necessary to board an international flight with your pet, entry into your new country, and receive a EU pet passport if you travel around Europe.

The pricing can vary for these certifications and not all vets complete them. They can take a little to complete the process and it is something you want to preplan. I recommend at least visiting a vet 21 days in advance to make sure you meet all the requirements to the country you're to visit. You can find these requirements here.

Once you find the vet and ensure that the paperwork is accumulated and you meet the requirements you will return to the vet within 10 days of your departure date and they will begin the paperwork. The health cert will be delivered close to your delivery date.

That was the most nerve-racking part for me as my health cert did not arrive until the day prior to departure. However, we made it!

Traveling Within Europe with a dog

Technically to travel around Europe with a pet they're to have an EU pet passport. This is to verify their vaccination and health history in case you are asked for it. I will say through all the countries we trained and traveled through no one had asked me for this, but it is a nice thing to have. Especially if you decide to go to the UK which we did.

They're relatively easy to obtain and you will need your health cert. I was lucky enough to have a friend going to Europe with his pet right before me. The hotel they were using coordinated with a known Vet in Rome that provided EU pet passports as a service. If you're browsing vets simply call to ask if they provide this service, but I suspect it is fairly common. You absolutely need to acquire this in Europe. It is not something you can acquire in the states and be recognized.

The time it takes to receive your pet passport can vary. My friends was turned around within 48 hours where mine took over a week. Letting them know if you anticipate to leave the area may influence the turn around time.

Once we received the pet passport it was all aboard the train! Pickles and I cruised on the train over 1,000 miles eventually leading us to the coast of France.

Before I enlighten you on how to get a pet from the EU to the UK let me enlighten you with how friendly Europe is!

Pickles was able to accompany in bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and even some grocery stores. People love dogs over there and Pickles is a smiley and happy pup so he was a little favorite overseas. The waiter in Florence was so kind he even brought Pickles his own tiny plate of meat during dinner.

Seriously. My heart. We love Europe.

We loved Europe so much once we were approaching our 90 days I desperately did not want to leave. However, we were facing some concerns. You see the EU has rules against pets entering from certain countries just like the States do. Those countries tend to be the Baltic countries which I also heard were not super dog friendly.

Another issue is the UK is notoriously difficult to get pets in. They don't allow them via the EuroStar and it costs thousands to fly them in and you have to go through a courier.

What I learned that isn't widely known to Americas is there is the Channel Tunnel (also known as the Chunnel) and it is used my citizens with cars and this system is allowed to take a pet through. Which I then found a blog post that discussed renting a taxi service and coordinating to take you at a specific day/time. The company I used was Folkestone Taxi service and they were so helpful!

I coordinated in advance and their agents were extremely helpful in guiding me. Before you go to the UK you will need see a vet prior to your departure so that your dog can be treated with tapeworm (you cannot get around this, it is a requirement to get in). There were great vets in Calais where we stayed and saw us to meet this requirement!

The whole process for me was anxiety provoking, but my driver was experienced and helped me with the whole situation. The agents working the pet center are very calm and we were able to speed through the process without a problem.

The taxi service allows your pet to not be in a carrier so we had a relaxing ~30 minute journey from France to England. Once dropped off at the train station we were back to cruising!

The trains in the UK are very dog friendly and there is no rule they must be in a carrier or required a muzzle which made travel around the country enjoyable and easy!

UK back to Europe

This is where I found it the hardest to find any literature on. What do you need to do when you're leaving to the UK with your pet to go back to Europe.

I saw reports saying we may need a health certificate from the UK. The simple answer is as long you you got your pet passport from the EU and it is still valid (rabies vaccination has not expired while abroad) you don't have to do anything.

Unlike the UK you do not need a tapeworm treatment to enter France so you do not need to see a vet. If your pet passport is not from the EU (the UK had pet passports) since Brexit after a certain date they're no longer recognized.

In total, our escapade lasted 10 months. Pickles has now been to 10 countries. My little worldwide explorer. We both got to satisfy our soul with an adventure of a lifetime. I'm so grateful I got to share that experience with my little companion.

Time for our Favorites!

Italy

Italy is probably the most dog friendly country in the world, but also in the EU. The people adore dogs. They're incredibly relaxed. They welcomed dogs at a lot of places we ventured to including grocery stores in Turin. A big difference between Italy and France and how much they enjoy dogs is France has dog beaches and in Italy it feels like every beach is a dog beach! (I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but cane's welcome!)

France

France is incredibly dog friendly, it's a beautiful country. Pickles also developed quite a taste for french baguettes.

Scotland

The Scottish landscape is just as invigorating as its people. We found some great dog beaches, nature trails, and had a really lovely experience exploring around. Dogs are welcome in a lot of places in Scotland!

If you made it this far. You rock. If you have questions or comments feel journey to use the comment section! I hope to one day do this again and happy to help support anyone else looking for guidance on this.