When you own a pet, you make a commitment to always take care of it. You make its health and well-being your responsibility. Some people may not take this responsibility seriously enough. Because of this, many pets become abandoned when circumstances intervene. One such circumstance is moving overseas. Many people just do not want the additional responsibility of moving pets overseas.
What you need to know is that your commitment to take care of your pet does not end because of your need to move overseas. If you aren’t prepared to take the extra trouble of moving your pet overseas, then you should not have gotten a pet in the first place. However, you also need to know that moving pets overseas is not really a very complicated task. All you need is the will to go the extra mile and some tips to guide you:
1) See a veterinarian – before moving pets overseas, you need to make sure that they have no health problems. You should make an appointment with your veterinarian to have your pet examined for any diseases. This will help you make sure that your pet can really handle the stress of traveling.
More importantly, a visit to the vet will help you obtain the necessary documentation to bring pets into a foreign country. Do not, however, rely on the usual tests for the documentation. Some veterinarians may skip certain tests if they think those tests are unnecessary. What you need to do is to go to the USDA in order to get a list of the required certifications and tests to move your pets overseas.
2) Learn about the country – learn as much as you can about your pet’s destination. You need to learn about the policies of a country regarding pets. It is often the case that some countries will require your pets to be quarantined for about six moths. However, some countries are willing to forgo the quarantine period if you present the proper documentation.
By learning more about the policies of the country, you can make sure that the process of moving your pets overseas will be much smoother.
3) Hire a service – if handling the paperwork and taking care of all the details involved in moving pets overseas isn’t for you, then you should consider getting help. A good pet relocation service will help you take care of all the necessary stuff connected to moving your pets overseas. This includes the check-ups, the airport requirement, and others. A pet relocation service will also keep an eye on your pets and make sure that they are safe during travel. They can also give you a lot of help and advice on how to keep your pets comfortable when moving overseas.