How to successfully relocate your pet without an agency

They say moving to a new house is one of the most stressful things you can do, but if you want to really test your sanity, try moving countries with a pet. That was the task in front of me – to move from Hong Kong to the United States, with my 11-year-old dachshund Jai Jai in tow. The following is based on my personal experiences but will hopefully give you an idea of what to do, should you be faced with a similar journey.

Read more: How to keep your pet safe on a plane

Preparation and costs

When Googling solutions for moving countries with a pet, the advice is a resounding chorus of specialist pet relocation agents. These companies, ranging from global brands to local one-man-bands, all promise a hassle-free solution, though for a significant fee. Prices quoted to me ranged from HK$30,000 to HK$50,000 – the price of business class ticket and more. Perhaps due to these fees, there are Facebook groups that charter private jets for shared dog transport – the divided cost working out around the same as a passenger seat plus the pet transporter services. After some more research, I was fairly confident I could arrange everything myself, and save a lot of money in the process. And I did.

Booking your flight

Transporting pets by air generally falls into three main options: cargo, checked luggage and in-cabin. Most relocation agents suggest choosing cargo, as it often provides a more direct flight and is more easily tracked, though checked luggage is a lot cheaper – often just the price of an extra case. Having a small, and somewhat mature, dog, I was keen to keep him with me in the cabin for the journey if possible, so I looked into which flights allowed this. There are only a few airlines that allow pets in-cabin out of Hong Kong airport. Even airlines such as United, that promotes its pet travel globally, doesn’t offer in-cabin travel from HKG. The website Bring Fido is a great resource for checking what each airline allows.

The best bet for my route from Hong Kong to Chicago was to fly with Air Canada via Toronto, as it offered a generous allowance for pet travel in the cabin, and all for the price of an extra bag. Only a certain number of pets are allowed on each flight, so bookings must be made over the phone to ensure there is space. The airline unusually allows pets in premium economy and business classes, subject to space, weight and bag size. Before you book, double check your dog is within the size limits, and will fit comfortably (can stand and turnaround) in the given bag size on the airline’s website. If you don’t already own a suitable bag, make sure you do this well in advance, so the dog can get used to going in it.

Paper work

The documents that are required to fly, and more importantly to enter your destination, vary from country to country. Travel to either the UK or Australia is more complex, while European destinations and North America is relatively easy.

As Hong Kong is considered a rabies-free, or rabies-controlled region, quarantine is not needed when entering North America. However, proof is needed that the animal is licenced, microchipped, up to date with its rabies vaccine and has a full health check from a vet. The SPCA in Hong Kong offers a rabies titer test, which assesses the animal’s immunity to rabies and though this wasn’t on the requirements for the US, I chose to have it done, just in case. This takes four to six weeks to process, as the blood is sent to a lab in the UK for testing. The health check needs to be done within 10 days of travelling to be valid. Keep all these documents in a safe place, as you won’t be allowed to travel without them.

Checking in and security

Once your ticket is booked and your documents are in order, the final challenge is the airport. Having never seen a dog at the airport before, I expected this to be a challenge but in fact the ground staff were very clued up on the whole procedure. They asked to see my dog’s paperwork and placed him on the bag scales – the combined weight had to be less than 10kg, even though this isn’t mentioned on their website. They then radioed ahead to security to let them know a dog was coming through.

At security I was told to keep the dog in the bag and the bag was given a manual check rather than put through the metal detector. Interestingly at security in Canada, they ask you to remove the dog from the bag and go through the metal detector with them.

Dogs must remain in their bags in Hong Kong airport, which is perhaps why I hadn’t spotted one before. And though you’re unlikely to be welcomed into any restaurant or lounge with a dog, keeping it discreet I was able to find a table in the general area to have something to eat and drink.

On board

The rules state that, like any baggage, the dog bag must remain under the seat in front during take-off and landing, and staff informed me that the dog must remain in the bag at all times during the flight, though the top could be opened if needed. Due to the legs of the seats, the bag naturally fits in a space between two seats rather than any one, so it’s easier if travelling with someone. I was lucky – and perhaps this was planned by the airline – that I had an empty seat next to me, as to not disturb other passengers.

Rather than give the dog its normal meals during the journey, I chose to give regular snacks and water – as it got quite hot in the bag. The snacks are also handy to help equalise the dog’s ears before landing. One concern on such a long journey is allowing the dog somewhere to do his business. Though I made efforts to take him outside before going through security, and trips to the plane bathroom every couple of hours with a puppy pad, he chose to hold it in until we landed.

Customs and entering the country

North American airports have a very different attitude to dogs and, both during the layover in Canada and the arrival in America, he was allowed out of the bag to walk on his lead. When you fill in the customs landing form you must declare that you are bringing in a live animal. This meant that, during the US pre-clearance immigration, I was required to take him to a second customs desk, where the customs officer examined all his paper work before sending us through. As we had essentially entered the US before leaving Canada, we arrived as a domestic flight and no more checks were needed on final landing.

Was it all worth it?

Our entire journey was over 20 hours in total, which is obviously a stressful time for both the dog and the owner! I can only imagine this is what travelling with kids is like. However, I’m still glad I opted for in-cabin travel rather than the anticipation of cargo. A new apartment and new city are big changes for a dog, but he is settling in to his new life now, and Chicago is a very dog-friendly city.  

Feature image from Shutterstock.