Shipping Your Dog or Cat with AMC

If you're PSCing to Aviano and will be traveling with AMC {taking the rotator}, your family is allowed two pets. AMC defines pets as dogs and cats. That isn't to say that you cannot ship any other types of animals, but any other type of animal will likely have its own special rules and you will need to contact your TMO office to learn what those rules are.

One of the best reasons to fly AMC with a pet is that they do not impose a seasonal embargo. Which means, if you are PSCing in the summer or winter, you will not have to watch the weather to make sure that it doesn't spike above or dip below a magic number before you board. That takes a lot of stress off the pet owner!

Commercial airlines do impose pet embargoes and take them very seriously, and for good reason. If the cargo area of the aircraft is not heated or cooled, it could be a serious danger to the animal. Even though AMC does not impose these restrictions you should definitely learn about them and keep them in mind in the, likely, event that a leg of your trip is on a commercial airline.

If you have more than 2 animals, you will have to move them under the Space-Available Pet Program. I have not had any experience with this program. We only have 1 dog. But I have had experience with Space-A "Human Program"....we didn't get on the plane. There was no more "space available". Hopefully, the pet program has better odds.

Your pet must have all of the documentation that I mentioned before, like the rabies certificate and pet passport. I made copies of all of these documents and put them in document protectors and attached them directly to the kennel. The originals were in a folder to be hand-carried.

The animal's kennel must be approved for air shipment following IATA (International Air Transportation Association) guidelines. The IATA has very specific guidelines regarding the size of the kennel, in regards to the size of the animal, and the types of materials that the kennel can be made of and the amount of necessary ventilation available. 

When I was shopping for ours at a big box pet supply store in the U.S., several kennels had tags claiming approval by commercial airlines or by IATA. No airlines endorse particular kennels, nor does the IATA, but most of the kennels available, in fact, meet the standards. Your main concern is probably going to be determining the size you need. So before you go shopping, follow the links I've provided with the IATA guidelines and kennel requirements, do the math to determine the size you need for your dog or cat. Your kennel cannot be soft sided or collapsible. If you show up at the gate with the wrong kind of or size of kennel, you will be turned away. Remember it's all for the safety of your furry loved one!

While you may have a free ride on the rotator, your pet does not. You are charged per kennel. If the pet and its kennel have a combined weight of 70 lbs or less, it is charged as 1 item. Our dog {22lbs} and her kennel cost about $100 to fly. That is $100 per leg of the trip. If you are changing flights {highly likely}, you will be paying double. Be prepared for that.

Pet & kennel weight of 71-140 lbs, is charged as 2 pieces. 141-150 lbs, is 3 pieces.

*Pets and kennels with a combined weight of more than 150 lbs WILL NOT be accepted under any circumstances. If you've got big dogs, this may be a concern for you. Look into it so there are no sad surprises at the gate.

AMC has a brochure with their rules, as well as a lot of great travel tips for your pets. It's a definite must read!

This can be a very stressful portion of your move, but if you have everything in order, have read, understood, and followed the rules, it will likely go smoothly. It is still best to plan for contingencies. Have a friend or family member on standby in case your furry family member needs a temporary home until you get settled in Italy. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Next time, I'll talk about shipping your pet by commercial airlines and unaccompanied shipping options. There are a lot of options out there! You just need to find out what works best for you and your pet.

The Hairy Heartbeat of Your Home

{Yes, I totally stole the title from the More Than commercial. Unless of course you haven't seen that commercial.....in that case, it's completely original.}

I was particularly worried about shipping our dog to Italy from the U.S. I had heard horror stories of people being turned away at the airport, for any variety of reasons, left scrambling to find care and transportation for their pets. And quite honestly, I can say that I have seen this first-hand a few times...and for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, things went quite smoothly for us, but I attribute that to a great deal of research and preparation. I was a nervous wreck about it and making sure that I had every contingency planned for soothed my nerves!

My advice is START EARLY. If you even think that you may be getting orders overseas, go ahead and get your dogs or cats chipped if they aren't already. Specifically, your pet must be microchipped with an ISO 11784 or 11785. Huh?! Yea, I don't know what that means, but I do know that Homeagain microchips are recognized in Europe and in the States so that seems like the easiest way to go. Widely available, reasonably priced, easy to continue registration online. Easy peasy.

Are there other options? Yea. Easier options? I can't imagine it.

In addition to being chipped, dogs and cats must also have a current rabies shot. The shot must be administered between 30 days and 11 months from the date of travel. While I do not see it on the checklist from the vet clinic, my dog also required a blood test that had to be completed at least 3 months before depature. Because there are specific dates and timelines that must be met, it can feel like you're doing some sort of paperwork limbo.

If your base has a veterinary clinic, rely heavily on their knowledge of the process. They've done this before and they have all of the regulations at their fingertips. {Though I still researched the topic to death! Did I mention I was a nervous wreck?}

The vet clinic at our losing base had very limited number of available appointments and was generally difficult for me to use. So, I got all of the documents that I needed from them and used my civilian vet to accomplish all of the necessary shots and bloodwork. Because she was not familiar with the process of pet exportation, we worked closely, I explained the process, and then I had all paperwork double-checked by the base clinic. Totally worth the extra legwork!

Ouch! Don't remind me!

After all of the shots, chips, bloodwork, x-rays, MRIs....okay, maybe it wasn't all THAT bad, but after all the actual work is done, you will still have to visit either your base clinic or a USDA-accredited vet to complete your pet's Bilingual Veterinary Health Certificate {Pet Passport}. This is accomplished within 10 days of travel. The certificate expires 10 days after the date of the vet's signature.

You really should plan for delays in travel and wait as late as you can before getting this completed, that is to say, as close to your actual date of travel as possible. My husband got stuck in Germany for 2 days while traveling with our dog. There were mechanical problems with the aircraft. He didn't know how long he would be there. Her paperwork was for Italy ONLY which meant he needed to get to Italy before those 10 days expired. {Did I mention I was a nervous wreck about the dog?}

All ended well though. They made it here safe and sound.

There is a lot more to say about bringing your pet to Italy and I plan to cover that in the next few weeks. There are differences in commercial and AMC rules regarding pets. There are weight limits, required fees, and equipment guidelines that must be met. Hopefully, having some of this information will help you have fewer sleepless nights than I did.