Moving with pets

[Palmerito]

Has anyone any advice and/ or experience in moving to Spain and having your pets move with you? If I moved, what kind of regulations are there concerning dogs - quarantine times, documents, vaccines, etc.

[omeyas]

A quick search in google, "bringing pets to Spain" will throw up a ton of stuff!
Here's one (http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/importing_pets_how_to_bring_your_pet_to_spain/)to start you off.

[greytop]

Has anyone any advice and/ or experience in moving to Spain and having your pets move with you? If I moved, what kind of regulations are there concerning dogs - quarantine times, documents, vaccines, etc.I moved to Spain, by road, 5 years ago with a cat from UK. The process was not too difficult and the vets knew the details. It involved getting inoculations for her, having a blood test to make sure they had worked and getting a licence from the Ministry of Agriculture. There are strict timescales you must observe so get all the details early so that you know when to start the process.
BTW no-one ever stopped me at any border to ask for any of the paperwork! It may well be different if you fly as the airlines will make all the checks to avoid them being penalised. One reason (apart from the cat's welfare!) is that if I had wanted to take her back to the UK it would have been easier.
Vet services in Spain are good and there seem to be many of them around. We used our local vet and she was very helpful and made sure we were notified to renew innoculations - very important if they go outside as there are many strays around. The cat died when she was 20 years old so I guess the experience did not harm her :)

[María Madrid]

You'll get all the information you need at your closest Spanish consulate. In any case I don't think there'll be any problem. My friends moved to US and they were allowed to take their cat with them, they just needed to bring with them some kind of international "pet pass" they got at their vet, which includes all relevant information about recent innoculations, some test results... nothing too fussy. That being ir order, they had no problem, no quarantine or anything, and these things normally work both ways. Saludos.

[Mike_2]

Hola Palmerito - We recently moved from the US to Spain with our cat and we didn't have any problems at all. Our cat needed a microchip and a certificate which was completed by the vet and approved by the department of agriculture. We also needed a form to present to the airline, Iberica, when we boarded the plane. We arrived in Madrid and I think we could have walked straight through customs if we didn't ask the official what were supposed to do about the cat. He directed us to a counter where someone glanced over our paperwork and sent us on our way. I wish is was as easy for me to immigrate!

Anyway, I may have some links to the paperwork you need to complete. If you need them just let me know.

cheers

Mike

[NIeves]

You are very lucky that you take your pets with you. I decided not to do it because they are old and the travel from Switzerland to Spain is too hard or them as they also are very sensitive (or sensible?) animals and could have hart attack during the travel. So I asked my parents if they could keep them. But I miss them a lot as I grew them up :'(

Gulliver and Lila:


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[greytop]

You are very lucky that you take your pets with you. I decided not to do it because they are old and the travel from Switzerland to Spain is too hard or them as they also are very sensitive (or sensible?) animals and could have heart attack during the travel. So I asked my parents if they could keep them. But I miss them a lot as I raised them :'(

Gulliver and Lila:
That's a pity. They'll miss you too but as long as they get fed they'll soon adapt to their new life. Hope you are too!

[NIeves]

Gulliver and Lila are in their house. The only thing that changed is, that I'm not around. They have a wonderful home at my parents house. I do miss them a lot.

[MrMark]

I don't know if this is of help to anyone, but I've noticed these people now have a section for Spain (ie holiday accommodation suitable for people with pets):

http://www.pawsforawalk.co.uk/

I never saw the point myself - surely a week or two away from the family dog isn't going to hurt anyone?

[PattyN]

If you are flying with your pet in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you, it should not be a problem as long as you have made arrangements with the airline ahead of time. If the pet needs to fly in the cargo compartment with the luggage, most airlines will not let you check the pet if the weather is extremely hot or extremenly cold at any of the stops. Although the cargo compartment is climate controlled, it can be left open for a long time while the plane is on the ground with luggage being loaded/unloaded.