Shipping Animals Overseas - Part 1
Shipping Animals Overseas – Part 1
By Debbie Sehulster – Mindset Wizardry
Moving to Brazil has been an adventure full of unanticipated challenges and learning. As I mentioned in our last blog, we will be posting some of our stories about the extreme changes associated with living in another country.
Anyone who knows me understands how much I love animals. My husband and I always have a houseful of rescued dogs and cats and we love them as if they were our children. When we decided to move to Brazil, it was important for us to find a house or apartment that accepts dogs and cats and to find a way to transport them safely to Brazil.
We were moving on our own, without a relocation company so we had to figure this out ourselves. I started by investigating pet transport services. These are companies that will handle the transport and customs clearance for all kinds of pets. It is a concierge service with prices to match. The estimates I got to move 5 pets ranged from $22,000-35,000. When I started investigating why the costs were so high, one company told me that they had to order special cages and the only way to fly my large dogs to Brazil was to fly them through Germany. They also told me that the only flights that would accommodate large cages go through Europe. Why on earth would I fly them across the Atlantic and then down to Brazil? The whole thing seemed OUTRAGEOUS. It was cheaper to ship everything from a four-bedroom house to Brazil than it was to ship three cats and two dogs! A private jet might have been less expensive too!
I knew that there had to be a better way to do this. So, I started by investigating which airlines were transporting pets internationally and then contacted them about their requirements. American Airlines had a pet transport service, and they regularly fly to major cities in Brazil. They provided me with the required kennel dimensions and the required inspections we needed to do with our veterinarian. I didn’t need a service to book this, I could do this with simple phone calls or emails.
I booked our dogs on a flight in January to Sao Paulo and then our plan was to book them on a connecting flight to Salvador using a local airline. It sounded like a great plan until it wasn’t.
We learned from the local carrier that they could not accommodate the kennel for our larger dog. So, my husband, Roberto created a plan B – drive from Salvador to Sao Paulo and transport the dogs by car. It would be a multi-day trip, but it was doable.
Roberto drove to Sao Paulo with a friend, and they went to pick up the dogs. We hired a local courier to help us get the dogs from American Airlines and through customs. Once they had the dogs, they loaded them into our little blue Hyundai SUV with the two large, disassembled kennels and started the drive up the coast.
There had been a lot of rain which caused landslides and traffic jams. They were unable to make a lot of progress on the drive on the first day, so they decided to book a hotel in Rio. They arrived in the evening and when they went to check in, they were told that big dogs were not allowed in the hotel. Roberto contacted a travel agency and looked for rental houses.
It took a couple of hours but luckily, they found a hotel that would take large dogs – the Hilton on Copacabana Beach. Imagine what it would be like to be a dog and be introduced to the ocean at one of the most famous beaches in the world.
Over the next several days, they drove up the coast stopping in various beach towns. It was quite an adventure for all.
Lessons from this experience – when facing a new challenge, don’t assume that the obvious and easy solution is the best. Do your own investigation, ask questions and be ready to pivot as obstacles emerge. Also, the pivot often leads to a much better experience than your original plan, so it is good to keep an open mind.