Norma Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Hi. At long last, we will be instructing a visa agent later this month (not a straightforward application, in case you were wondering why we're not doing it ourselves). Anyway, we have two labs and 1 cat, all three were chipped some time ago, so that's done. Worst case scenario (or best - depending on you look at it), is that the visa is approved by Christmas (unlikely), and husband offered job, before our pets are fully approved etc. We have a kennel/cattery that we trust (have used them before) who will prepare and pass the pets over to a pet-courier firm, for the flight etc. Our plan is to kennel the pets in the UK for a couple of weeks, whilst we move, settle in and get everything ready for their release from the Oz quarantine. Sooo, to get to the point, we need details of procedures and quotes from pet-couriers please. I would also like to hear of companies that you are not happy with, so that we can make an informed choice. No, detailed gruesome stories please, that would be too heart-breaking. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 In my years on here, Pet Air are probably the most highly regarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
House Biatch Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 We are in the process of sending our 2 dogs out in October and have booked Golden Arrow Shippers. They have been doing this for many years and so far everything is going very smoothly and the help and advise has been excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 PetAir is the way to go.My wife sent two dogs over here to Queensland in January this year.The Best thing to do is let PetAir do the lot.My wife did it herself,and found that most of the vets in our local town had no idea Lots of problems,in the end she had to get PetAir to phone the vet to instruct them what to do. They mostly do pets to EU countries,in the UK, you do not need a Pet Passport for Australia..Plus PetAir have their own vets and it's cheaper.They will even board your pets till you are ready to send them.Take your pets to the airport and make sure everything is done Right.If you decide to use PetAir Ask for Catherine Allaway,she was great. The only bit of a hick up was with Dogtainers in Sydney They pick the dogs up from Eastern Creek Quarantine and put them on a flight to Queensland.It was hard getting in touch,and nobody knew what to do.It seems to be a one man band.But really it was me being over anxious i suppose. You probably know how much the Quarantine is.$1800 each pet.For 10 days.You pay that here in Australia.Best of British Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Don't think you are going to get actual quotes here, you will need to contact some of the pet carriers for quotes. We have moved internationally four times, used Airpets twice, Golden Arrow once and Jetpets once. Best service was Golden Arrow. Just very efficient, reassuring and obviously got to know the cats very well as they boarded there for a fortnight before flying. On the other hand the container the cats travelled in was much smaller than the one that Airpets had used previously. We didn't see it until the cats arrived in Australia and I was a bit upset when I did as I had been expecting something Airpets size. Jetpets container was small and service not so good, so I guess they come bottom of the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JULIE RYCROFT Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 As mentioned above, Im looking also at Golden Arrow for my Rhodesian Ridgeback in September, We are looking at £5,000 altogether, its a shame Perth quarantine closed as we have to send him to Sydney first, which is added cost to fly him on to Perth after his 10 day stint in Sydney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I've gone with Golden Arrow for my labrador who leaves at the end of July. They have been ever so helpful, kind and patient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hi there. Yes, the more I read, the more I notice that PetAir's name keeps popping up. Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hi - I would be interested to hear how their transfer worked out. Norma x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hi Zack, I think I probably would have done the same as your wife did. Now though, the more I think on it, the more practical it will be to let it all be done by one firm. I have spoken with PetAir briefly and they gave me a ball-park figure of around £7k for both dogs and the cat. Very expensive but I suppose it's a case of, you get what you pay for. We'll be asking for a more detailed breakdown shortly. I'm hoping that the £7k was an overestimate!! Kindest - Norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hi - Yes, the size of container is a big issue for us too. Airpets have told us over the phone, that an oversized container isn't a good idea as the animals can feel insecure rattling around in so much space, so they prefer to use something snug. Sooo, if a courier is using something even small than Airpet would use, yes, I would be very concerned about that too. Thank you for your feedback. It's very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hello there. Yes, I've been reading about the quarantine locations being limited. It would seem to make sense to have at least 1 quarantine holding area in each territory but for reasons known only to the authorities, they've chosen not to do that. In turn, this could force owners to use cheap pet couriers, who cut corners to the detriment of the welfare of the animal. It's forcing migrants into a very difficult position of possibly choosing not to take their animal with them .... Thanks so much for your feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Hi - it sounds as though you have everything tied up nicely! I would be interested to hear what you thought of the overall service, once you have settled in. Have a fabulous birthday!!! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
House Biatch Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I think it depends on how much you want the pet carrier to do. Golden Arrow are charging us £3039 to ship our lab & terrier. We opted to take care of our own vets stuff because we found a brilliant vet who's charges are very, very reasonable and Golden Arrow sent us a schedule of what needed doing and when. We also opted to take our dogs to Golden Arrow before flying rather than them collect them from us. They were even helpful by offering to meet us at a convenient location to save us driving all the way there. So far, we are more than happy with our choice :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norma Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 I think I'm going to have to do a lot more research and get a thorough breakdown, like you did. Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPetairUK Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 One of the best bits advice i can think of is to decide if your vets are any good at the export work. No-one can expect vets to be good at everything. If they are good at the export work and they are reasonable then using one of the shippers who just offer the flight ticket and crate is fine, but if you cant manage the vet work between you and your vets, then you would be better to use a company who manages the vet work for you as well. There really are no "bad" pet shippers in UK, we all just offer something slightly different in terms of backup and assistance in UK preparing your pets for emigration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JULIE RYCROFT Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 One of the best bits advice i can think of is to decide if your vets are any good at the export work. No-one can expect vets to be good at everything. If they are good at the export work and they are reasonable then using one of the shippers who just offer the flight ticket and crate is fine, but if you cant manage the vet work between you and your vets, then you would be better to use a company who manages the vet work for you as well. There really are no "bad" pet shippers in UK, we all just offer something slightly different in terms of backup and assistance in UK preparing your pets for emigration Can I just ask, who sorts out the passport, the vet or the shippers, I have just been told to take my dog the vet for flea and worming treatment and then to take him to the shippers ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPetairUK Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Pets going to Australia dont need a passport, i dont really know what you mean as it does not make too much sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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