Moving to London ..halp?

so that's...exciting?? lol I'm kind of in panic mode, it isn't until next fall but still.. AHH!!
I got a job opportunity I am going to take but there is just so much to do!
Will be staying with family thank goodness lol so there's a place to live with people who love Merlin so that's settled, as well as a job.. but everything else is like AHHHHH
Anybody done the pet passport thing? I can't find a vet who knows what it is and it's sincerely starting to bother me. DID YOU NOT GO TO SCHOOL FOR THIS?! UGH Where do people in the UK get dog stuff online?? Lol I can't find anything I feel like an idiot

I have only been to London in the summer.. any advice???? I'm scared but excited for the change!

It was so sudden.. but it's too good of an opportunity to pass up! I know I'll regret not taking the chance

Wow you are braver then me! I have never been out of the USA.

I might be in the same boat as you when me and OH visit his family in Mexico soon ... I don't even know when that is and that freaks me out lol.

That's super exciting! I think it will be an awesome opportunity, and the fact that you hqve family in the area will really help! If Mike is stationed overseas we'll be living outside the US, too...just hope it is an english speaking area. LOL

Now, for the dog side of things...from my research, its a pretty involved process, but you have plenty of time

First, your pet must be microchipped with an ISO standard chip. Then he has to have a rabies vaccine. Then he has to have a rabies titer done, then vaccinated again. This is all done over a six month period (or maybe the six months starts after the titer? I don't remember). Once that six month period is over, you get all your health and travel certificates in order from the USDA no earlier than 30 days from your pets ship ddate. I think a tapeworm deworming has to be done a day before the flight, too, but I can't remember.

Lots of good info online! I'm sure some other members will provide a good link. I'm on my phone currently .

Wow, that's really freaking awesome. Good luck! I can't wait to hear about your adventures there. I have no advice to give, being not very well traveled myself. That is just really exciting though!

Awesome!

I've taken dogs from England to WA a few times. It has changed now and is a much quicker and easier process, it use to be six months.

It's just microchip, rabies vet certificate then once you get to the UK I would recommend getting a pet passport.

If you are in London there will be tons of little boutique stores but the big pet store near my house in England is pets at home and my mum orders from pet planet or amazon.

Good news is there are lids of home delivery raw services.

You will love it! Europe is so accessible and flights within Europe are so cheap! I totally know what you mean about OMG is this real! The job opportunity is going to look AMAZING on your resume!

Congratulations

I'm volunteering in Spain right now for 2 months, and have 2 weeks left. I was so excited/ nervous to come but it's been such a great experience even though I don't speak the language fluently.

Travelling into (and out of the UK if you want to explore):

https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad

You won't find the UK anything like the US for dog stuff, shopping etc etc. London will probably be the best place you could be for cool dog shops, but it's not like over there (why do you think I order my biothane collars, tags etc from etsy?!?!). I don't really have any good online places for you to look, as I don't really have any favourite shops... But if there's anything specific you are after I can probably find it for you as I obviously know lots of UK dog people

You can't take dogs into shops or restaurants, again, London will have places you can eat outside I am sure, but they usually aren't allowed inside. Unless you're in the countryside as they often have dog friendly pubs for walkers! I don't really know how accessible places are for dogs in London, if I'm totally honest. Your family who live there will probably know better!!

Dog theft is on the rise, so NEVER leave him unattended if you do visit shops etc (not to scare you, but it's good to be very cautious).

I can't really talk for London, as it's still on my 'to do' list!!!! But my biggest piece of advice is this.... GET OUT OF LONDON!!

There's soooooo much to see. For a tiny island the landscape is SO varied, and there are differences between all the cities, and towns and villages. Explore!!!! Compared to the US we are accessible (I've driven to the south coast today from mid Wales and it took me 5 hours). Try and see as much as you can the northern cities are particularly fun speak to any UK person and they will tell you there's a huge difference the northerners and southerners! The accents change from town to town. If it's possible, try and pack in as much exploring as possible

Flights are very cheap to many countries in Europe too. Ryanair or Easyjet are the budget airlines, and depending on when you go, you can get RIDICULOUSLY cheap flights. You can go to another country for a weekend, and be back for work Monday morning take advantage of it!

And most importantly.... And I mean MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!

BRING MERLIN TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I insist you bring him to Wales so I can smoosh his fuzzy face. And I offer dog sitting duties for when you're flying off to other countries.... It's only about an 8 to 10 hour round trip to get him to me nothing!! Failing that I will come to London with a photo and ask every person that passes if they've seen him until I find him! Then I am stealing him.

Thanks for the advice! haha and merlin and I will certainly be traveling we would love to visit!

It's all kind of a lot of things at once! I am confused because NO VET seems to know what a pet passport is...perhaps I should ask about regular health certificates and all the documentation I need? It's all so confusing. Like do you send it or deal with it that day??

The job is kind of high stress and it's making me nervous.. but, I HAVE to at least try. The internship was stressful and the employers were kind of nuts but.. if I don't at least try I know I'll hate myself for it..

It's a good move I think. I've been itching for a change and this is certainly a big one.

Worse case scenario I hate it and in 6 months I just move back lol

Obviously with the high stress of the new job and moving you should just leave Merlin here. It will be easier for both of you.... So when should I drive up to pick him up?

I have nothing else of any use to add. LOL.

The problem with London is that it doesn't import a lot of stuff from the states for whatever reason.

I buy most of my stuff when I was in london locally at Pet Pavilion. It's getting a lot better now actually but a few years ago it was impossible to get almost any US based dog food/treat in London...There were no bully sticks in London in my area when I was there last!!!! NO ONE even knew what they were... boo!

I'm going to be in London for Christmas again this year, if you have any specific questions I can help you check when I'm there?


Edit: I do think they changed their requirements, I'm not 100% sure but it used to be you NEED a PETS passport which is rabies shot, blood sent to EU certified lab, 6 months later same thing. And then you have to worm right before getting to the UK. But now I believe if your dog is microchipped, have a rabies certificate done at least 1 month before, have a certificate of health from your vet in English that's all? But don't quote me on this. Our dogs had PETS passports but they were done in the UK (for re-entry), it wasn't nearly as complicated when the vets knew what they were doing.

Pet passports are a European thing I believe. You won't be able to get one until you find your vet in London. You just need a health certificate from here.

Lol Merlin is packin his bully sticks!!

Oh god I am going to have to export bully sticks like a crazy person before I leave!
There is a requirement change! It just changed last year I believe, now it doesn't take 6 months. I have until next fall to figure everything out but I'm so nervous!! I'm going to call tomorrow and make 100% sure, not sure what is this certificate they are talking about.

I don't think so actually because when I tried to bring Nia over a few years ago, I spoke on the phone to the representative and they said I have to do it out of Europe if my dog is not in Europe. They have a specific guide for your vet if you choose to do it out of Europe. Now I think it's changed a bit but PETS used to be absolutely necessary to enter any dogs into the UK without the 6 months quarantine. That's how I never ended bringing Nia over. But again, when I looked at it again a few weeks ago the requirements seem to be different now.

I'm not sure if you can bring meat products ...into the UK... I would be careful there!

I ended up finding bully sticks in one shop, I can't remember which and they sold it in a pack of 12 and were I think 4 inch ones. They were SO stinky...and the sizes were all different but the dogs were happy. But maybe they have them there now, I haven't tried to buy any since 2-3 years ago.

Bully stick are available now. Pampered pets, pets at home and our feed store have all had them down south.

I never did a pet passport until I took Bryan back for the third time. Interesting. I just got a certificate of health and the blood test.

https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/pet-passport

Yeah this page says pet passports are only issued within the EU

Thanks. That's good to know actually. Now it's easier for me if I wanted to take Nia in. I tried to look up the website I had been on before, and it was the PETScheme passport but that site redirects to the site you linked now so they probably don't do that anymore.

That site is pretty straightforward and easy to navigate.

https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview

According to this you microchip then vaccinate... and bc the USA is "listed" he doesn't need the titer done. Then right before is the health cert and worming. Looks like the whole thing will take just over a month. If it were me I would prob just be crazy and do the whole titer routine then get the pet passport when I got to London(esp since you have the time).

Also, Muffin says he LOVES Aussies and is more than happy to share the endless supply of bully sticks I buy him. You think we are kidding, but we're not.

Wow... how exciting!! I have no tips, but wanted to wish you & Merlin the best of luck. Sounds amazing.

Oh, congrats! What an adventure!

From what's being said here it looks like things have changed a lot since I filled out UK paperwork. I'll admit, I didn't look at the link.

It used to be that you took a titer and sent it in. If it was acceptable it was six months from the time of blood draw IIRC. If the titer didn't have acceptable levels you had to revaccinate, wait six weeks and try again. Never saw one fail the second titer.

Years ago when I was in Portland somehow the word got out that I was good with export paperwork and we had a ton of them come to our clinic. It's nice to be appreciated for your talents, but that was a headache.

Fun irrelevant fact: exporting to China sucks the most.