Traveling with Pets
The emotional support peacock. Maybe not the greatest seatmate on an airplane but then again, such a bird might be more pleasant company than some. Whether or not the traveling animal is an emotional support animal, family pet, or valuable competition horse there is a lot to consider when traveling with an animal.
When traveling with animals there are two things to consider: the health and well being of the animal, and the laws governing the movement and introduction of animals at the intended destination. Most destinations will require some sort of health certificate. This means the animal needs to be examined by a veterinarian, and depending of the laws of the destination, vaccinations and health tests will be carried out.
Each state in the United States has different laws on what needs to be included on the health certificate. If you are traveling by air, each airline has different standards on what is required. The minimum information you need to have to prepare your pet for interstate transport is date of departure, the exact address of your destination and if you are flying, the airline, a phone number for the airline, the flight number and the actual rabies certificate, not just the tag.
Be advised that the rules for Hawaii are significantly different due to the lack of endemic rabies. It takes a least four months to qualify an adult pet that has had at least one rabies vaccination to be able to enter the state. It takes at least 10 months to qualify a newborn puppy or kitten. There are also fees associated with taking a pet into Hawaii.
If you are traveling by car with your pet, keep with you the vaccination history, and recent health history. If your pet is on regular medications a copy of that information as well. Wimberley Veterinary Clinic has an app you can download for free that will have all your pet's health information at your fingertips.
International travel is more complicated than domestic travel. For international travel with your pet, the first step is to be sure you want to do this. Many countries have prolonged quarantine regulations and many owners don't want to put their pets through that process. Check on this first before proceeding.
Give your veterinarian all the pertinent information about your travels as early as possible before leaving. Often, preparing the correct paperwork and vaccinating the animal per the destination country's laws can take one to six months.
The more advance planning that is done, the easier it is to travel with your pet. If you are contemplating traveling with your pet, please contact our office at your earliest convenience. We are happy to help your pet travel anywhere in the world.