Shipping Pets from The U.S.?

[sarabear]

Hi All,

I've recently been offered a job in Wellington that I'm very excited about, and my husband and I are looking into what would be involved with making the move.

We'd like to bring our cat with us from New Jersey. I've seen a lot of helpful advice on relocating pets from the U.K., but not much on moving them from the U.S. Has anyone had experience with this? If so, what company did you use, and how did it work out? Our kitty was in a shelter for six months before we got her, so I'm sure she'd be okay in quarantine, but I'm a little worried about the stress of air travel, especially since it would basically be 3 flights to get there.

Thanks!
Sara

[CjChris]

It takes six months for your cat to clear all the tests and procedures involved in travel to NZ, then it will be in quarantine for 30 days here. We used International Pet Transportation (http://www.iptlax.com/) on the US end. When you talk to them, they'll send you all the docs you need along with a list of required tests, etc. You'll need to have a vet that will agree to do everything needed, which includes tests and treatments for your cat along with LOTS of paperwork. IPT will walk you through that process (and I warn you, it is costly).

We had Shado-Lans in Levin, NZ keep our cats for quarantine. We booked their accomodations after our cats had their rabies titre results and we knew that on X date they would be cleared to fly.

They did fine with the flight as far as we could tell. You don't get to be with your kitty other than to drop off at the airport. It was a stressful situation for me because I knew what they were in for!! We have strictly indoor cats, so they were a bit anxious over all the new noises and sights of the airport.

Good luck and congrats on your job offer!

Christine

[Nathan]

Sara,

When you have enough posts to use the PM function contact me by PM if you have more questions.

As Christine wrote, basically, you can quarentine for 1 mo if you do the up-front work in US....for about 6 mo and have adequate records prior to that. Otherwise, you have to quarentine for 6 mo here.

We found Continental to be the best way to get the cats to LAX because they don't have the same temperature restrictions on flying....they have AC vans and don't leave the little beggars on the tarmac.

Welcome to the forum.

Nathan

[Howie]

I used IPT as well for my dog. Also from NJ. He flew to LAX and we spent a night and day there and did his final tests before his flight to AKL. He was happy coming off the flight in LA and even voluntarily slept in his crate in the hotel that night. I think the qurantine was harder than the flight for him (and for me).

[sarabear]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your helpful responses! This is a big step, and it is v. helpful to know that there's such a supportive forum available to help with all the little things (like knowing the animals have it better on Continental).

I was wondering if anyone knows, is the Shadowlans facility pretty nice? How easy is it to visit your pets there (they say they encourage visits, but for example if they only allow it from 9 to 5 on week days, that could make it tough for a working couple). How easy is it to get to from Welly?

Sara

[Justine+Ben]

Hello all,

I would love some advice about shipping pets from the East Coast of Canada (Montreal) to New Zealand. There doesn't seem to be much info. on the web about it. I have shipped my two cats from UK to USA/Canada before and the process was quite straightforward.

Do I have to take them to L.A. first and then give them to a shipping company there? How long should they remain in L.A. before the flight to NZ?

Can anyone recommend a shipping company?

If anyone has any advice or experience in this matter it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Justine

[BkyMonster]

So far I am liking IPT for a shipping company. ( http://www.iptlax.com/ ) They specialize in shipping animals to Aus/NZ. We'll see if I still like them once my doggies arrive
They are based out of LAX so that does pose some restrictions. I'm a bit sad that I can't fly out of San Francisco. I hate the LAX airport.

What I'm doing with my animals is flying them down to LAX from Portland, OR. It is IPT policy that the animals have at least one day of rest (no flying) before going on the international flight. They have kennels or you can get a hotel with your animal overnight (They have a list of pet friendly places to stay in the area).

Basically you would fly your animals to LAX and you can then either pick them up yourself and then drop them off the next day with an IPT representative or IPT will pick them up at the cargo area and take them to their kennels for a day of rest while you fly on ahead.

HTH

[Nathan]

Hello all,

I would love some advice about shipping pets from the East Coast of Canada (Montreal) to New Zealand.
Do I have to take them to L.A. first and then give them to a shipping company there?
How long should they remain in L.A. before the flight to NZ?
Can anyone recommend a shipping company?

If anyone has any advice or experience in this matter it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Justine

Unless there is some bizarre TSA rule (Of course, there is!) that insists you accompany the cats coming from Canada, you can probably ship them via Continental to LAX. If the pets were coming from anywhere in US, you would not have to accompany them, just take them to the airport and ship them. IPT would take care of them from there..again, assuming they have the same policies for you as for us. They would remain in LA for about a day.
You could then still fly from SF. The quarentine facility would take care of them on this end (NZ end).

Good luck. If you have questions, PM me.

Nathan

[TheDude]

I'm starting the process today, myself. I'm meeting with my vet in a couple hours to notify him of my plans and departure. I'm estimating that it's going to cost me about $3200 to ship my dog to New Zealand.

I'll keep everything logged and updated here for people to use as a reference in the future.

I'm going to use Jetpets due to the high recommendation I've received from this website. I'm going to fly with my dog to LAX where I will then hand him off to Jetpets.

I received this quote via email from Jet Pets.

Booking service: airfreight (Air New Zealand, LAX to Christchurch) $672.81, USDA (endorsements/overtime sealing) $375.00 and handling fee (Jet Pets, Inc.) $420.00 - total $1,467.81 (US)

I'll be using a Quarantine facility in Christchurch which I received the following quote: $1485(NZ) $1143(US)

So before any vet costs or transportation to L.A., I'm already up to $2,611.26 (US) I'll find out soon what the vet costs will be.

Edit: Evidently I can fly my dog from one U.S. city to another as checked baggage on Continental for free.

[BkyMonster]

That sounds about right Dude
I'm paying about $2400 for 2 dogs (1 large 1 small) from LAX to Auckland and another $2500 for quarantine for them.

The vet costs do add up as you are supposed to have exams for them with each of the blood draws/microchip checks etc.
The titre will probably run you about $90ish, and vaccinations vary from vet to vet.
I had ISO chips put in my dogs (they now have american standard ships and international ones, ha ) and a lepto vaccine as the quarantine asked for it (though if you can get away with not doing it, do. )