More and more of us are taking our pets with us when we go overseas. But there's red tape to deal with first, reports Amanda Phelan, and Catherine Dalyexplains the trials of preparing her dog for a trip
For the past four years Joan O'Sullivan from Sutton, in north Dublin, has wanted to travel to Australia to visit her son and the two grandchildren she has not yet seen. Although she loves her only son dearly, another male is competing for her attention. He is hairy, and a little smelly when damp, but he has big brown eyes and loyalty in spades. His name is Buddy, and because of him she keeps putting off her trip and the ticket that her son, Liam, is offering.
O'Sullivan, who has owned Buddy for more than 10 years, cannot take him to Australia without big expense and a mandatory 30-day quarantine. If she goes alone, and puts him in a kennel, she is convinced he will die of a broken heart. If, on the other hand, she opts to stay closer to home, and to travel within the EU, O'Sullivan can take her beloved dog with her.
More and more of us are travelling with our pets. They can now get their own EU passports, complete with photographs, allowing you to fly, drive or even ferry your ferret along with you on holiday. Up to two animals are allowed on passages from Ireland to France, for example.
But planning a trip with your pet is vital, whether for short- or long-haul destinations, according to Denise Cox of the website www.irishanimals.ie. "The last thing you want is to have to surrender your animal to the pound, which is heartbreaking," she says.
According to Patrick Keating, a vet in Raheny, north Dublin, the pet-passport scheme is particularly popular with people who have holiday homes in France or Italy, and he has plenty of Polish and Lithuanian clients who are anxious to bring their pets home for breaks such as Christmas.
Microchipping, rabies shots and treatment for ticks and tapeworms are compulsory before a pet can travel. They will cost about €300 in total, which is cheaper than housing your dog for three weeks in a Dublin kennel, where accommodation costs up to €20 a night (see panel, right).
Although it takes only a few weeks to obtain a pet passport, it takes six months to confirm that rabies inoculations have been effective - and therefore allowing you to get back into Ireland.
"You need to be planning about seven months ahead," says Keating. "But the passports are a great idea and are ideal for people going to holiday homes in Europe."
If you do get your travel papers, beware of trying to bring your animal back into Ireland if you have been to a non-approved country (see www.agriculture.gov.ie for the official list).
Far-flung destinations, such as the US and Australia, are an easier prospect. If you are returning from one of these countries in a hurry, you can complete a pet's quarantine here. There is an approved kennel in Swords, Co Dublin, but the process is expensive, costing up to €2,000.
Animals can only fly into certain destinations down under, but quarantine has been reduced to four weeks, and you are allowed to visit you pet. See www.daff.gov.au/aqis for more information.
The hoops we've jumped through to take our dog abroad, from jabs
and microchips to passports and ferry tickets
WE GO to France for four or five weeks each year, so leaving Kayla, our dog, behind during the summer holidays was never really an option. Putting her in kennels would be expensive and unfair, and leaving her with family or friends would use up a year's worth of babysitting. Besides, we'd miss her. And, judging by the pitiful, brown-eyed how-could-you-leave-me- behind? expression that she gives me even if I go upstairs, she'd miss us too.
Doing all the paperwork to bring her out of the country with us takes months. For a start we had to get Kayla a pet passport, in which the details of her injections and treatments are listed.
She has also been microchipped, so she can be identified, and vaccinated against rabies. We have to wait six months after a positive blood test, to show the vaccine has taken, before we can start crossing borders with her.
Getting Kayla to France is one thing. Before she leaves she has to be treated for worms, fleas and ticks by a registered vet close enough to the ferry port to mean she can be treated between 24 and 48 hours before sailing.
When we're booking the ferry crossing, Kayla has to have her own kennel - €35 each way, and there are only a limited number, so book ahead - and we have to check in earlier than everyone else.
It sounds like a lot of hoops to jump through just to bring our canine companion on holidays with us. But flying would have been even worse, especially as we could find no carrier that would fly Kayla from Dublin to France.
We reckon it's worth it. We have our own place in France, and we know what to expect when we get there.
We know where Kayla will sleep, and, although she chews a lot less than she did a few months ago, at least it will be our own furniture she's munching on.
All I have to figure out now is how to stop her from getting sick on any car journey of over an hour . . . Did I mention that she likes to travel on the back seat rather than in the boot?
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Where to start if you want to travel with your pet
Before travelling to the EU with your dog, cat or ferret, you must:
Have a passport photograph taken of your animal (only your animal, not with you in the frame).
Attach the photograph to a pet-passport application form, available from the Department of Agriculture (www.agriculture.gov.ie). The passport will be delivered to your vet by registered post within 10 days.
Your vet must then:
Microchip. This generally costs €35-€45. If you have an old microchip, make sure your vet checks that it can be read by an approved scanner.
Vaccinate against rabies. It takes 21 days from the date of the final vaccination until the animal is considered to be immune to the disease.
Perform a compulsory blood test, to ensure the vaccination was effective.
Most vets charge between €200 and €300 for the complete vaccination and testing process.
The animal will not be allowed back into Ireland until six months after the date of the blood test to prove it has been successfully vaccinated. If your animal is overseas and you can't wait to bring it back, your pet can be brought into Ireland and then quarantined for six months at an approved facility in Swords, Co Dublin, where half a year's accommodation costs about €2,000.
Have it treated for ticks and tapeworms between 24 and 48 hours before check-in at the ferry terminal or airport.
Dr Patrick Keating of Raheny Veterinary Hospital warns that vaccinations must be up to date, with boosters given every 12 months. Don't get caught overseas with expired vaccinations; if you do, you'll have to start the whole process over again, this time with your pooch in quarantine.
Long-haul destinations, such as Australia, have similar vaccination requirements but require animals to be quarantined for four weeks after arrival. See the website of Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, www.daff.gov.au/ aqis. In the US, animals are examined on entry; they must be free of disease and have been vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days before entry.
For more information call the Department of Agriculture's helpline on 1890-504604 or e-mail pets@agriculture. gov.ie.