XP; pet moving company

[Deleted]

I posted this on the international board, but I figured I'd try here too.

H and I are in the process of relocating to London. Has anyone used a pet relocation company to move their pets? She's too big (27lbs) to take on the plane with me and I don't want to put her in cargo. I've come across a few companies that will do the paperwork and move her for me. Basically, we get her to the airport here and then they drop her off with us in london.

Any recommendations or companies I should stay away from?

Thanks!

[dexteroni]

I may be wrong about this, but I thought pet moving companies put the pets in cargo? If that's the case, I would rather they be in cargo on my flight, so I can see them right away afterward.

[Deleted]

I'm dumb and thought that by using a company she might be able to fly in the cabin with us.

They can make it so that she's on the same flight that we're on too.

[dexteroni]

You would think that in this day and age that would exist. How hard could it be? Just remove one out of three seats so there's room for a crate. I know I would pay a premium for it, and we would go on a lot more vacations.

So if they can arrange it so that she's on your flight, what's the difference between using a service and just bringing your dog on the flight the normal way?

[Deleted]

A few of them will rent a hard sided crates fitted for international travel. Also, they'll take care of all of the travel paper work for us and help her through customs once she gets to london.

One of the companies that I talked to today said it would be best if she can fly the day after we do so that we can pick her up the minute she clears customs.

[katietornado]

We did a lot of research on this last year; we were thisclose to moving to the Netherlands. What is your timeline? You could book your dog in a kennel on a cruise ship. I think it's Cunard that does this. But...it's always booked many months out. What's great is that Cunard's transatlantic voyages go to the UK. I too wa sshocked that these pet relocation companies wanted over $9000 to move our dog and 3 cats, and they weren't even going to put them in the cabin. No thank you.

Good luck...this whole process is not easy, but I'm so glad you're committed to taking your pup along with you!