I remember reading about pet removal a few months ago, but simply cannot find that thread again. Our house has now finally sold, albeit at 2/3 of what we thought we would get, and we are at the point where we have to make the BIG DECISION: What to do with the animals. 1st Prize would be to find them a good home in SA I guess (least traumatic for them(?)), 2nd prize would be to bring them here (least traumatic for us, although I would have to convince our landlord to let them stay till we move next year March). Has anybody moved pets, especially dogs, from SA recently and can you recommend a good removal company (an idea of costs would also be appreciated).
Thanks!

We had to make the same decision, also coming from S.A. We ended up leaving our dog with my parents who lives on a farm with other dogs. It was difficult for us but now when I look back and see the dog on visits I am happy we did it that way. The trauma for the animal and the adjustment is not worth it. Here they wil live a life sitting inside a small house and when they go out they have to be on a leash. It would have breaked my heart more, not to mention the six months quarantine the animal will have to do....

I thought we didnt need to put them in quarantine? Yes, my dogs arent use to leashes, dont need them, our property is big enough. But they are used to being together and I dont know anybody who would be prepared to take even ONE of them, never mind the two together. Also, they are real pets, sleep indoors, on the couch. Know many people who will have a boerboel and german shepherd share their couch? The boerboel is quite old, I am not sure she will handle the flight. Neither of them have ever been on public transport, and only go in the car when they need to go to the vet (although lately we have been using a travelling vet who comes to the house). But they will pine for us. The boerboel (my dog) apparently sits at the gate howling, which she has never done, but started doing after I left.
What to do??

Sorry you are right about the quarantine, it is otherway around. But still a boerboel is a big dog , unless you will live on a farm in CH. Then I would consider it. We had a jack Russel and although small they are very active and needs space, they get bored very fast. I just couln't imagine th poor thing having to go through life being inside a small apartment. I can barely handle it myself.. It is a difficult desicion, but also think of the animal. I feel very sorry for you, wnt through the same. Good luck.

Hi There
I moved my 2 dogs from SA to Budapest in November 2006 and then to Switzerland in 2007. My dogs are a boxer cross (9) and a Weimeraner(5). I used a Johannesburg company to do the relocation - Waterfalls Kennels - they were really good and know exactly what to do. My SA vet did the necessary vaccinations and did all the blood tests etc. for titre testing that is required. There is no quarantine required in Europe so the process is relatively easy. I bought the necessary cages etc. from Waterfall Kennels (I used the plastic ones) and took delivery of them early so both my dogs started sleeping in them instead of their normal beds. Most airlines will not accept dogs that are heavily drugged - they must be able to stand up properly - I gave my dogs Nutricalm when they travelled - in total they were given 8 each by the time they boarded the plane. You can book your dogs onto the same plane as you and collect them at the airport. It is easier in Switzerland as the Swiss authorities at the airport speak good English. The dogs are checked by state vets at both ends of the journey. My dogs had to go on two flights and I was really worried but they both travelled really well and were fine when we collected them - apart from a lot of excitement:-) Unfortunately I lost my boxer to cancer a year ago. I live in Walchwil (Canton Zug) and my Weimeraner and I go on loads of great walks almost always off leash. I call her back if there are people or cyclists so she doesn't bother them. I find the Swiss people very dog friendly and as long as you are a responsible dog owner I think there is a great life for dogs here.

At the time that I moved my dogs I think it cost +-R17,000 and they were flown with Lufthansa.

Hope this helps.

Maxine

We arrived with our cat and dog yesterday from SA! What a mission, but certainly more viable than leaving your animals behind! We followed all the following info: http://www.abceurope.ch/documents/importregulations.pdf

The whole process takes ages. You will visit the vet many times. Will take 4 months with waiting periods etc. We used petwings, they do the state vet etc on the sa side. I would suggest getting help at the airport this side from someone like petwings, as no at the airport this side knew where and what we had to do!

I only have a daschund, but we went from a 5 acre plot, to a 1 bed flat. He seems to be coping just fine.

Sorry prices: Petwings quote for a small dog and a cat was about R11000,
then we got here and had to pay R4000 for import duties and R800 for vet handling fee. The vaccines and microchip were about R1100 per animal. Hope this helps. . .

Nelly

Great news and welcome to Switzerland!

We moved out to Japan in 2000 with no animals and came back in 2006 with 3 Basset Hounds and a cockatoo. It took my secretary 6 months to get our cockatoo an export permit and she had to negotiate with 3 different government ministries! It was a hassle, but it was absolutely worth it. Hope you and your pets will all be happy here.

Thanks for the info, Nelly, and welcome! We decided to leave our two dogs and two cats in SA because I just couldnt find a place close to my work where I could keep a german shepherd and a boerboel. Although we found good homes for them, I still miss them terribly and worry about them, especially since we had to split the two dogs. You made the right decision.

Hi there. We moved from SA to switzerland end Feb 08, then looked for house here and then arranged for our dogs (Boerboel and Jack Russell) to join us (for 4 months they were with a friend in SA). We used petwings in SA and here, I would definitely use an agent unless you speak the language of where you stay. Just a word of warning - the Jack Russell has adjusted fine, but our Boerboel seemed to very traumatised by the whole experience. To be honest, I am also traumatised by having to clean the house full of dog hairs every week :-) If you want more info, send me a PM and we can always chat about the details. Good luck with the decision!

Hi Bobby.Buchi.Welcome to Switzerland. I am so sorry that you have decided to leave your animals behind. We relocated from Cape Town almost two years ago with our three cats and I'm happy to say that they coped very well with the long flight and have settled in wonderfully. We too decided to leave our two dogs behind and though we thought we had found a good home for them both of them lost their lives a few months ago. The one dog got knocked over by a car and the other died of tick fever. We still feel we should've brought them with us. Is there no way you could reconsider your decision.

Our story has a happy ending, fortunately.
Cupcake, my boerboel, has wonderful owners. I get regular updates, and even photographs. She is the only dog on the property, which she prefers, lives in a female-only home (men make her nervous), and sleeps inside as she is used to.
Storm, the german shepherd lives with a teacher and his family, and she has become firmly attached to them, especially the man of the house. She is very active, gets to swim in the pool whenever she wants, and also sleeps inside. Her new owner is impressed with her intelligence, says she swims like a human not a dog, and she has already cornered two intruders in the garden without biting them.
Our two cats, Misty and Cleo have settled down with my stepdaughter.
So we are content now that we have done the right thing.
I have tried to insert a photo of Cupcake but am not succeeding. If someone can talk me through it, I will post a photo.

It sounds like they are all doing great. I have had clients who have left family pets behind for a variety of reasons. For me it would have been impossible to do that but I understand there are circumstances where the pet might be better off elsewhere. I think you have done right by all your animals. I am sure the decision was painful but a truly unselfish one.

One of the moderators posted that the feature to upload a photo is broken at the moment...that's why you can't do so. They are working on the problem.

Hi,

I am wondering about moving my two dogs to europe,there is just no way i can leave them behind in SA. does anyone know if its possible to fly them into switzerland and be able to drive them to england asap? they wouldnt cope with any sort of quarrantine and i am running out of options!!

You will need a European pet passport to get your dawgs in to England which will tell the border control that they have been in Europe for at least 6 months. Otherwise they have to go into quarantine. This process is one of the reasons why my wife and I decided to move to Switzerland, no quarantine. Gotta love the Swiss. And you can't bring your dogs to Switzerland from SA unless you have a residents permit for yourself. No quick fix I'm afraid. I have heard of people sneaking their dogs in through France. Just have no idea how. Also I wouldn't take the chance. I wouldn't want my dawgs destroyed because I didn't do things all legit.

Good luck!

Hi all,

We are also in the process of moving to Switzerland, my hubby arrived in Zurich on Monday and I am leaving SA on the 18th of September. We were also willing to pay anything to take our "baby" with us to Zurich. I (by shear luck) found out that I could take Coco with me in the cabin as "exess bagage"! It will only cost around R2500 as long as she and her carry bag does not weigh more than 8kg's. Taking her using a pet carrier company would have cost around R10 000!

I was ecstatic! I was soooo worried about having her in a dark scary place in the cargo hold, not to mention all the horror stories you read of pilots forgetting to regulate the temp in the cargo hold when there is animals on board.

I am still nervous about how she will react to the whole flying thing, but I bought some Eco-vet No Fear drops that is supposed to keep her calm - think I might need them more than her though! We used my husband's points to upgrade me to first class so hopefully the extra space will make things easier for us during the flight.

See you in Switzerland soon!

Did not have time to read all the threads here. I got my Congo with me when I came here. I did not come from as far as you but I could never leave him behind. The climate here is great for dogs, not too hot and if they are used to sleeping indoors, whats better than a central heated place? or a fireplace?
My friend got her 3 dogs from Canada. She got them on a ship. Her husband came by plane and she came with her dogs by ship. I am sure it is less traumatic although longer journey and you can be with them all the time.

Your old dog would be devastated to change owners after sucha long time or be separated from his shepherd friend. I would opt for a ship journey. It's cheaper anyway and you could make it a nice relaxing journey for yourself, have your hubby prepare a fence for them in the garden by the time u get here

Cybersuz, good luck with the flight - Coco will be fine. You need to try and remain calm though or she will sense that you're 'nervous'. You are lucky that you can take her on board with you. Just curious - Coco is a dog right, not a sphynx?

Hi,

Yes, she is a doggie, I must chage my profile picture to a pic of her. I just love the Sphynx cats, I think they are super gorgeous! They look like Yoda from Star Wars! Want one but they say it is too cold in Switzerland for them, and in summer they get sunburn!

Our pets were all in the cargo hold of the plane from Tokyo and the Captain came to talk to us about the temperature in the cargo hold as he wanted to be sure it was right for the parrot as well as the dogs. They arrived here perfectly fine. It is better for the pets that the hold is dark as the pets sleep. They don't hear humans talking, smell food being served, etc.

I don't know what "horror stories" you are referring to. I have worked with many pet shippers over the years and not once has this been my experience.

Many animals travel better in the cargo hold than in the cabin as they don't have nervous owner fussing over them, plus in the cargo hold they can have a larger, sturdier and roomier kennel fitted with a water bottle, which is essential for a long flight to avoid dehydration. How does one affix a water bottle to a carry bag? The extra space in first class doesn't change anything from my perspective.

I once sat next to a passenger with a dog that whined most of the flight. It was awful. In first class, if your dog does anything but sleep, you are going to annoy others who opted to be in first class for a reason.

If you are travelling with your dog, you don't need to use the services of a pet shipper. My pet shipper always recommends pets travel with the owner (though not necessarily in the cabin). This keeps the costs down.