Micron is my beloved space-cockroach, my favorite nano-beast, the one and only chihuahua of my heart.
It’s Day One of Ireland-related planning, and, of course, dog-travel is the first point of order. As of 3:15PM, I’ve spent about four hours researching, getting quotes, and talking with vets to fully understand what it takes to move a small dog from California to Dublin. Turns out it’s an expensive pain in the royal butts, but it could have been worse: until last year, in addition to everything else, there was a mandatory six-month quarantine for pets brought to Ireland. There is no way I’d consider that.
These days, all it takes is about $2,000 and sturdy nerves. Some curious facts besides the expected vaccination and documentation details:
- All pets traveling to Ireland have to first go to Dublin to pass inspection at Lissenhall Veterinary Hospital – the only traveling-pet-examination-station in all of Ireland
- Once in Dublin, the pet must be taken to Lissenhall by a special pet transporter(!), whom you pay in addition to Lissenhall’s own inspection fee.
- Aer Lingus only works with one such transporting service, called Pet Express, who are, fortunately, nothing short of amazing.
- There is no direct flight from LA to Dublin, so we get to have fun with TWO airlines’ pet policies.
- Our pet-moving expenses are as follows: moving stuff (crates, dishes, etc) $100-ish, vaccination and vet exam fee ($102) American Airlines in-cabin pet fee of $125, $1,220 to PetExpress (includes pick up and check into Aer Lingus during our layover in NYC, delivery from Dublin airport to Lisenhall Hospital and Aer Lingus’ €160 pet-transporting fee), Lissenhall’s own inspection fee of $230 – all in all close to $2,000. That’s more than our own one-way tickets put together. I love you, Micron. I really do.
Hit the jump for my working Micron-related checklist and some helpful links.
Micron-moving checklist, which will get updated as I get through it:
1. Vet visit tomorrow
- General health check-up
- Get updated Rabies vaccine
- Initiate Veterinary Certificate paperwork
- Put vet in touch with Pet Express (must officially hire Pet Express first)
- Make sure microchip is EU compliant (It’s not. Will discuss with Pet Express.)
2. Buy 2 carriers – one for taking Micron aboard American Airlines flight to NYC, one for her to travel from NYC to Dublin
- AA-approved in-cabin carriers are, at maximum, 19″ long x 13″ wide x 9″ high.
- Aer Lingus doesn’t allow pets into the cabin, so they must be transported in the cargo hold, inside a special crate which doesn’t come in the AA-approved size, at least as far as I can tell so far. Ha-hoo-hee!
3. Register Micron with American Airlines once we buy our plane tickets
4. Finalize export papers at SF branch of the USDA office (This is happening on June 25)
5. De-worm Micron 5 days prior to flight (to be done in NYC)
6. Make sure we have 6-8 hours between our flights at JFK airport in New York, where Pet Express will pick up Micron curbside and take care of everything from this point on. We’ll pick her up directly after our arrival at Lissenhall Hospital (an eleven-minute cab ride from the airport).
Links I’ve used to far:
- IATA (International Air Transport Association) Pet Travel Information
- Pets and International Travel | US Department of State
- Pet Express
- American Airlines pet travel info
- Aer Lingus baggage info
- Moving Pets Overseas | An American in Dublin
Phew! Hope this helps some peepsies out.
Long, long time reader, first time commenter.
So glad you are doing this for your dog, it breaks my heart to see so many people who leave to travel or live overseas that put their pets in the ‘too hard basket’ and just give them away or put them in a shelter to eventually face death. Boggles my mind that anyone can do that.
Hope it goes smooth for you, Micron is a lucky little guy.
Good luck and safe travels!
Thanks, Bex (for the kind words and for commenting for the first time!). There is zero possibility of Micron being left behind. Initially, I’d considered having my mom watch her for the year, but mom travels a lot, too, and I don’t think I could stand the separation. Plus, there is always the chance our stay might be extended beyond the year – and there’s the fact that I’d miss her too much. She’s part of the family, and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure she’s coming.
Thank you for the well-wihes, S!
So glad Micron is taking the trip with you, it’s good to know that the quarantine period isn’t as drastic. Just looked it up and it’s the same for Australia to UK now too, interesting to know!
I also find it so strange that dogs are allowed IN the cabin! It’s a big no-no here, all animals must travel in cargo. I had to get my dog flown from Adelaide to Sydney & ended up using a pet courier service & it did make it a lot easier, I think I was more stressed then my Mr Frodo was!
My mom and stepdad are contemplating moving cross-country after I finish graduate school (from Chicago to Arizona) and she’s already started researching how to get our 3 dogs (all of them Jack Russells) there. I’ll have to show his this post – it’s bound to be helpful.
I think it’s awesome that you’re taking Micron with you; I couldn’t imagine leaving my dogs behind on a trip or give them away. It would break my heart to do that.
Hope everything goes well for you (and for Micron, of course)!
I would be going through the same exact thing for my Cici. She’s my everything.
Good luck and dogspeed to you both! safe travels!
Hey, I’m sorry to hear of the expense it’s costing you to bring Micron to Ireland. I hope your transition goes well here and that you’re not missing out on the best weather we’ve had in Dublin for a while.
Giving you a heads up that I may walk over and say hello some day if I see you around the city. If you do have any questions about living here ask away.
Good luck! Looking forward to reading about your unfolding adventure <3
Just want to comment @ Bex,
Don’t judge all people too harshly. Some had no choice. For example, the staggering majority of airline will NOT fly snub nose dogs outside the country or a certain distance (like pugs). So a person having to move suddenly to take care of a family member might find himself having to choose between his dog and his mom. Especially if the choice has to be made quick and no time was allowed to plan or save money.
Myself, I am lucky that I chose a dog that was not snub nose, and still when I had to move the distance some airlines declined to fly the dog because it would mean that the dog would be in the airline care for more than 24 hours.
Been reader for about 6 years now and I am commenting for the first time! Very happy to have you writing again, Zo, especially during this journey you are about to take. My fella and I are the proud owners of a 90 lb Rottweiler and a little black feline, and when we contemplate our planned future move across the globe, we truly can’t imagine it without them. China is our goal, which I imagine will be far more strict and expensive that Ireland, but worth every damned penny. Good luck!I hope everything goes swimmingly. I will be tuning in every step of the way!
@Bill – I understand that and of course, some circumstances will be unique and really awful for the pet-owner to make a good decision, I too have a friend that had her health deteriorate rapidly and she could no longer look after her pets, she tried to re-home them but had very little luck. I think a circumstance like that would be utterly awful and feel for anyone facing something like that.
However, I’m not sure if it is my age group or what not, but I have known so many people in my own social circles and local alternative sub-culture that give away/surrender pets when going on working holidays or traveling. As Zoe said, it is expensive and time-consuming to do it all correctly and I’m repeatedly surprised at how many people just label it too hard and opt not to bother.
I think people have a responsibility to their animal and also should use a little common sense – it’s not uncommon to see people in the 20-30 bracket get a new pet knowing full well they want to travel before they settle down or whatever. I just wish people would think a bit more.
Also whoops, Micron is a girl not a boy, my bad! hehe.
Good luck! And safe travel to Ireland! Hopefully Micron’s journey will be as safe and stress free as possible!
He’s so worth it. Look at those EAR’S!!! <3 <3 <3
Hello Zo, I have been reading your work for about over two years, I have really enjoyed your insights and your take on art. I am also based in Ireland specifically Dublin as I am born and bred here and I want to just say I hope you find what you are looking for in Ireland. I really love Ireland and I think it is a great place with great people but we have so many little bits of crazy it can overwhelm people, things like weird inefficient ways of doing things and our acceptance of that system. But I honestly hope you make friends here and have fun, if you ever want a historical guide of Dublin and its museums and galleries please let me know, after a English-History degree and Masters of History I know my stuff and I just love showing people around Dublin, I think it is a great walking tour city!
Ah yes the pet laws here are very strict, but in some ways thats good :-) hope you get everything sorted.
I just read this because I was subjected to airline pet regulations early last year when adopting a dog from California to Colorado. It was just about a nightmare. I can’t even imagine all you went through logistically to get Micron across an ocean and international borders! You have my awe and respect! The regulations and requirements (like two separate flight cages) are pretty daunting! Congratulations for managing it all in such an upbeat manner. I had two meltdown just working on the US domestic stuff!