Taking Pets to the USA

The USA is one of the most common destinations to fly dogs and cats to in the world. The airline connections between UK and USA are very good and we can fly pets to all four corners of the USA. The longest direct flight we do is for pets to fly to Los Angeles and that is around 11 hours. This may seem like a very long time for the pets to be confined to a crate, but they settle down nicely and get over the journey very well.

The UK is still classed as rabies free by the USA government and the rules for importation of dogs and cats are governed by the Centre for Disease Control. From a veterinary point of view, it is very simple to import a dog from the UK to USA or a cat from the UK to USA. The only mandatory requirement is that they need to have a health check to make sure they are fit and healthy to fly – and this is actually imposed by the airlines to ensure the welfare of the pets they carry.

It is highly recommended to have your dog or cat vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days before they enter the USA and have a microchip to identify them. If a dog or cat is imported into USA and does not have a rabies vaccination, then the owner has to sign a confinement agreement, which states that they need to be kept away from other animals until a period of at least 30 days after a rabies vaccination. Different states impose this rule differently to imports pets from the UK to USA. For example, Florida insists that imported dogs and cats do have a valid rabies vaccination, but the rest of the USA seems to be a little more lax on this rule.