Quarantine for dogs
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:30 pm
I was looking for some information on this before I left South Africa, but it's very difficult to find, so I'll share my experience for anyone else looking to bring over their dogs to the UK.
First off, we have two small dogs, one is very calm and relaxed and the other is a bit hyper and tends to get stressed fairly easily. His way of dealing with stress or anxiety is usually by barking.
In terms of flights, I used Keringa in South Africa and they arrange to pick up the animals and arrange for the flight. We had our dogs fly 5 days before us to give them time to settle in (this was one of my concerns, but it wasn't an issue at all to let them fly before). The flight prices were R6700 with SAA and R8000 with BA (if I remember correctly). We chose the cheaper one of the two. The agents also build cages for the dogs and fetch them early in the morning to give them all the required treatment.
I looked on Defra's website for all the kennels in the area we were going to stay in (London is big and there are only two kennels within travelling distance and only one really that is central enough to make sense if you don't know where you will be staying). I also emailed both kennels and made my decision based on the responses I received - the one kennel answered all my questions and the other just sent me a "canned" response. The cost is approximately £600 for two small dogs a month.
There wasn't much of a discount for paying all upfront, so it makes more sense to pay it in £££'s once you are earning it and using your money elsewhere. The deposit however, was quite substantial - that covers the first month and a half really.
In terms of preparations beforehand - I filled in all the paperwork myself. It's very easy, so don't be fooled if anyone tells you that it's very complicated - it's a lot of paperwork, but not complicated. The paperwork includes applying for an import license, to make sure that you give yourself about 6 to 8 weeks for it to arrive. The kennel also scanned a copy just in case it went missing in the post.
A few days before flying (I think it's 3 days), they had to have a check up and be certified that they are fit for flying. Don't worry about calming stuff for the plane, as Keringa apparently sorts that out. If using another agent (not sure if there are any others), just check with them. You don't need to worry about rabies vaccinations, as they WILL be vaccinated again in the UK, regardless of whether they've had their vaccine or not. According to our vet, our vaccines are strong enough to leave 10 times the amount of antibodies in their bodies a year after being vaccinated, yet the UK insists on vaccinating again.
The day they arrived in London, there was apparently a huge traffic jam on the M25, so it took them the entire day to get to the kennels, but once they got there, I got an email confirming that they arrived safely.
The kennels I chose have visiting hours from 17:00 to 19:00 on a Monday, 15:00 to 17:00 for the rest of the work week and 12:00 to 16:00 on a Saturday. They are closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays. The plan was to see them twice or three times a week, but really only Saturdays are practical. I'm seeing them as much as I can while I'm not working, but once that starts, it will not be possible to see them during the other hours.
Nothing can really prepare you for the first visit. It's a mixture of shock with regards to the small space and the fact that they are stuck there for six months. The kennels are noisy, it's smelly, it looks and feels like a prison and it almost seems inhumane to keep animals there. But you really get used to it and right now I realise that it's not that bad. It's not one of my favourite places to go by a far stretch of the imagination, but I am getting used to it and do it because of my dogs. The first day, the little one that barks a lot was already hoarse from barking so much. This added even more to my distress. I went and found some solutions and asked the kennel staff to give them some Res-Q-Remedy which you can buy at any Boots or Superdrug. This really helped a lot to calm them down.
Going to visit them now (they've been there for just under 10 weeks) is much easier and I know that they will be fine. I suspect that the kennels conform to the minimum standard for large dogs, so my dogs share a large dog kennel. It's small for small dogs, so I can imagine what it must be like to have a large dog in that space. They are not allowed to go out for six months.
The kennel staff have all been super-helpful and anything you ask for, they try to assist as far as possible. They really seem to care about the animals and their well-being.
All in all, if I had to do this again, despite being in the middle of it and not knowing the end-result, I would do it again. It is a costly and painful exercise, but definitely worth it if you love your animals.
Something else I also didn't know, was that unlike in South Africa, the kennels are completely indoors. I actually planned a bit of my emigration around them to make sure they are here during summer and don't have to endure the winter, but since they are indoors, it doesn't really matter (winter is just more expensive as you also have to pay for heating).
Please feel free to send me a PM or reply here if you want to know more about my experience or have any questions I might be able to answer. I know that when I went through it all, I had 101 questions, but it was very difficult finding any answers.
First off, we have two small dogs, one is very calm and relaxed and the other is a bit hyper and tends to get stressed fairly easily. His way of dealing with stress or anxiety is usually by barking.
In terms of flights, I used Keringa in South Africa and they arrange to pick up the animals and arrange for the flight. We had our dogs fly 5 days before us to give them time to settle in (this was one of my concerns, but it wasn't an issue at all to let them fly before). The flight prices were R6700 with SAA and R8000 with BA (if I remember correctly). We chose the cheaper one of the two. The agents also build cages for the dogs and fetch them early in the morning to give them all the required treatment.
I looked on Defra's website for all the kennels in the area we were going to stay in (London is big and there are only two kennels within travelling distance and only one really that is central enough to make sense if you don't know where you will be staying). I also emailed both kennels and made my decision based on the responses I received - the one kennel answered all my questions and the other just sent me a "canned" response. The cost is approximately £600 for two small dogs a month.
There wasn't much of a discount for paying all upfront, so it makes more sense to pay it in £££'s once you are earning it and using your money elsewhere. The deposit however, was quite substantial - that covers the first month and a half really.
In terms of preparations beforehand - I filled in all the paperwork myself. It's very easy, so don't be fooled if anyone tells you that it's very complicated - it's a lot of paperwork, but not complicated. The paperwork includes applying for an import license, to make sure that you give yourself about 6 to 8 weeks for it to arrive. The kennel also scanned a copy just in case it went missing in the post.
A few days before flying (I think it's 3 days), they had to have a check up and be certified that they are fit for flying. Don't worry about calming stuff for the plane, as Keringa apparently sorts that out. If using another agent (not sure if there are any others), just check with them. You don't need to worry about rabies vaccinations, as they WILL be vaccinated again in the UK, regardless of whether they've had their vaccine or not. According to our vet, our vaccines are strong enough to leave 10 times the amount of antibodies in their bodies a year after being vaccinated, yet the UK insists on vaccinating again.
The day they arrived in London, there was apparently a huge traffic jam on the M25, so it took them the entire day to get to the kennels, but once they got there, I got an email confirming that they arrived safely.
The kennels I chose have visiting hours from 17:00 to 19:00 on a Monday, 15:00 to 17:00 for the rest of the work week and 12:00 to 16:00 on a Saturday. They are closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays. The plan was to see them twice or three times a week, but really only Saturdays are practical. I'm seeing them as much as I can while I'm not working, but once that starts, it will not be possible to see them during the other hours.
Nothing can really prepare you for the first visit. It's a mixture of shock with regards to the small space and the fact that they are stuck there for six months. The kennels are noisy, it's smelly, it looks and feels like a prison and it almost seems inhumane to keep animals there. But you really get used to it and right now I realise that it's not that bad. It's not one of my favourite places to go by a far stretch of the imagination, but I am getting used to it and do it because of my dogs. The first day, the little one that barks a lot was already hoarse from barking so much. This added even more to my distress. I went and found some solutions and asked the kennel staff to give them some Res-Q-Remedy which you can buy at any Boots or Superdrug. This really helped a lot to calm them down.
Going to visit them now (they've been there for just under 10 weeks) is much easier and I know that they will be fine. I suspect that the kennels conform to the minimum standard for large dogs, so my dogs share a large dog kennel. It's small for small dogs, so I can imagine what it must be like to have a large dog in that space. They are not allowed to go out for six months.
The kennel staff have all been super-helpful and anything you ask for, they try to assist as far as possible. They really seem to care about the animals and their well-being.
All in all, if I had to do this again, despite being in the middle of it and not knowing the end-result, I would do it again. It is a costly and painful exercise, but definitely worth it if you love your animals.
Something else I also didn't know, was that unlike in South Africa, the kennels are completely indoors. I actually planned a bit of my emigration around them to make sure they are here during summer and don't have to endure the winter, but since they are indoors, it doesn't really matter (winter is just more expensive as you also have to pay for heating).
Please feel free to send me a PM or reply here if you want to know more about my experience or have any questions I might be able to answer. I know that when I went through it all, I had 101 questions, but it was very difficult finding any answers.