traveling with service dog

Never experienced the situation, Ann, but the UK have some of the most stringent quarantine rules in the world. I'd check with the UK embassy/consul nearest Cle Elum (Seattle??).

Dear Ann, Good for you wanting to travel with your service dog. I did a google search for you and came up with this website you might want to read and print out.... http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2007-02-26-E7-3195

Near where we live there is an organization that volunteers train dogs as service dogs called "Canine Partners for Life". Their website is http://www.k94life.org/

We go to their annual fund raiser dinner and wine auction they have because I love dogs and my husband like wines. If the first website I just gave you does not anwer your questions, I could contact "Canine Partners" to see if they have more information for you. They are in Cochranville, PA. Dogs seem to be accepted almost everywhere in England. Rules for taking pet to England have been changing for the better since 2000. The biggest problem you might encounter is people wanting to pet your dog. I am so happy you want to take your service dog with you. .... : ) Marie

My daughter has had a service dog for just over a year. It is so wonderful that we can take her with us, although we have not flown with her yet. I was wondering how you will take care potty issues with such a long flight?

Hi Ann

I had to do a bit of checking with a few departments but this is how it works on the airline I work for. Provided that the assistance animal has all the necessary health and vaccine certification for the UK we will accept any service animal on a flight free of charge. We would ask you to inform us ( or any other airline you fly into the UK on ) when you make your booking. Upon arrival in the UK, as well as all the usual passport imigration checks, there will be a representative of DEFRA ( the government body that deals with animal transportation ) who will need to see your dog's certification. We find that in the case of bona fide assistance animals this is a mere formality and after that you can start your vacation.

When you depart the UK it's even easier you and your dog just board as normal. All we ask is that you have registered your dog on all flights.

It's called the pet passport system and it's much simplified bring pets between the US & UK. You do need to plan well in advance (think 3 months minimum) because of the rabies/health certificate requirements.

Also - and I would guess this covers all dogs, whether or not they are service animals - you can generally only fly to certain airports (because of the need to have the right DEFRA folks on hand etc.). I think any of the big London airports are fine.

For more info:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/index.htm

Since I'm guessing your dog isn't a seeing eye dog, and unfortunately, there are some very under-informed airline staff as to the variety of types of service dogs, I would make sure to contact the airline well in advance. And, if at all possible, get their approval in writing so you have something to show if the airport staff decide to be a pain in the....

Have fun!
Kate

American Airlines has a good section, which is likely to reflect the general policies of most airlines:

http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/travelInformation/specialAssistance/serviceAnimals.jsp

Again, I would contact the airline prior to making any bookings and make sure you fully understand their policies. Also, I would start as soon as possible to go through the necessary steps as per the Pet Passport program to make sure your service animal is permitted to enter the UK.

Kate

For Susan,

Unless they are flying non-stop from Seattle to London, I would imagine the dog can make it from say Seattle to New York, take a potty break in NY and then to London without a problem. I know that my dog could go 12 hours without a potty break, but I don't recommend making any dog go that long unless absolutely necessary. I was considering importing a dog from Europe and would have flown there to pick him up myself. If so, I would have flown via either New York, DC or Atlanta for the shortest flight time over the Atlantic and allowed for a minimum of 3 hours to connect upon arrival in the US before boarding for my final destination. That should be sufficient time for going through customs, taking the dog out for a potty break and going back through security for the final flight. For anyone traveling with a dog, don't forget to allow for extra time between connections if you are flying more than a total of 8 hours and have to change planes.

We moved to Slovakia from Colorado with our Search and Rescue dog. He was able to ride in cabin with us during the flight. He is a 70 lb laborador retriever.

Here is what we did:

1. In the US we completed all the paperwork for importing a pet to Slovakia. Information was on the Slovakia consulate web site.

2. On the day of the flight, we gave "Buster" a light breakfast and a long walk.

3. During the 17 hour flight (Denver -> D.C. -> Munich -> Bratislava), Buster did not go to the bathroom. In D.C., the flight attendants let Buster out onto the tarmac to go to the bathroom, but he didn't go due to all the noise.

4. On the flight, Buster got a little water but not too much.

5. When we arrived, he went straight out the door to go pee and was just fine (although thirsty).

6. When we got here, we completed the pet passport paperwork.

Buster started to do work with the Slovak national SAR team, but he is going blind due to a genetic condition(which we found out in Slovakia).

Hope this helps,
Ann