Our experience importing our dog from the US to Switzerland

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
I promised myself that if we successfully imported our dog to Switzerland, I would make a thread about it both to express excitement and to provide information for prospective importers. Lots of great archived threads, but it's always nice if you chance upon one where user was flying same airline, has a similarly sized pet, or other details of their travel will be like yours.

DETAILS

Breed: golden retriever

Weight : 76 - 85 pounds depending on her activity level

Airline : Delta

Kennel: used older model XL Varikennel - 500 series. Used a sky kennel expansion kit made by Atwood's Pet Transport to get the kennel an additional 3 inches in height. Cost us $75 or so including shipping. This expense saved us $1000 though because she was too tall to stand in an unmodified kennel without her ears touching the top of the kennel. Pets MUST be able to stand up in the kennel without any part of their ears or heads touching the top of the kennel. Delta airlines fly all Giant/700 series kennels as cargo. I was quoted a minimum of $1100 to fly her cargo in an unmodified kennel.

Time: Arrived at the airport 3 hours before scheduled flight

Departure info: One day before the summer pet travel embargo for Delta that lasts from May 15 - September 15.

Price: $200 oversized checked baggage fee

Route: was supposed to be Minneapolis -> Atlanta -> Zurich. plane had engine problems from Atlanta, so they stopped at JFK and switched planes.

STEPS INVOLVED Took her to get her rabies up-to-date at vet within 30 days of departure date. Had vet put in microchip that meets ISO Standards 11784/11785. We did not purchase it ourselves. Took her back to vet within 10 days of travel to have vet confirm she is fit to fly. Took forms we received from visit in step 3 to the local USDA where they signed and stamped the forms. Upon our vets recommendation, we fed our pet as late as possible the night before the flight and then withheld food until she arrived in Switzerland. This was intended to reduce the likelihood of her vomiting or soiling herself. This is not in compliance with the airline expectation that she's be fed 4 hours before the flight. Dutifully kept an eye out for her on the tarmac and asked agents and flight attendants about her during each leg of the flight. Here is where user results may (likely will) vary

Arrived at baggage claim and asked someone where to pick her up. Informed that she'll be right next to baggage carousel here over-sized baggage comes. Get her and then ask customs guy what to do next. He asks where she's coming from. How long she's staying. Has a cursory glance at our forms. Before my husband can get his wallet out expecting to pay various fees, he says everything is okay and waves us through without paying a single franc ! If you're reading this thread trying to get more information about importing your pet, that's what I've got for you. I'm happy to answer more detailed questions if I can, but I don't know if there's much more to say. If you're hoping for the financial break, maybe it's because we flew in on a Saturday or maybe the guy just didn't know what he was doing.

Good luck!

2
you got lucky. I had to pay the 88CHF when I arrived.

3
i think you got lucky too because i think there's a second fee of a few hundred francs that also is supposed to be paid.

4
88CHF is the customs fee. http://www.bvet.admin.ch/themen/0161...x.html?lang=en

Then you also have to register the dogs' microchips in the federal database by going to a veterinarian (for me it was 360CHF** for two dogs), AND you have to pay your dog taxes to the Kanton (haven't done that yet so I don't know how much they are), AND you have to take the SKN (don't remember what that means) Praxis course* on how to be a good dog owner within one year of arriving, which depending who you get it from, can range from 100CHF to 250CHF per dog.

*only if you acquired the dog after 1.september.2008. Additionally if you cannot prove that you owned a dog before 1.september.2008 you have to take a Theory course, which is another 100CHF roughly.

**360CHF included one DHLPP vaccination, heartworm medication and flea/tick preventative for two furchildren.

5

just the CHF 88 fee - nothing extra. At least until you go to the vet (which is supposed to be done within 8-10 days of arrival) and when you register at the Gemeinde - some cantons make you register your pets as well.

6
It's not a customs fee. It's the fee for the "grenztierärztliche Untersuchung" (veterinary check on entry to the country), which, as the linked text states, is not done by the Federal Veterinary Office but by customs officers, but on behalf of the FVO. Besides that, it's a bit of a joke in that it usually doesn't involve any real checks other than a brief glance at the documents and a chip scan and printing out a receipt for the fee.

Talking about ID chip scans -- before our pooch became a regular transatlantic commuter a few years ago, my AOH made it absolutely clear to the vet in Michigan that a Euro chip was needed. No prob, he said, and that several times. It took us years to find out that the problems that sometimes occurred upon arrival at ZRH were due to the fact that that moron had implanted an American chip all the same.

7
thanks for the tips reminders about getting her registered. i'm still stateside for awhile. i'm pretty sure my husband planned to get this done this week.

8
Do you know where I can read up on the rules and regulation for the SKN courses? We've done our share of doggy training in the US and I really don't want to do this here again if not absolutely necessary.

9
Info from the BVeet website:

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/tsp/02222/index.html?lang=de (not available in English, I'm afraid.)

And the databank of trainers certified to do the SKN courses:

http://bvet.bytix.com/plus/trainer/

If you have owned your dog prior to 1 Sept 2008 you are not required to do the course - however I would strongly recommend that you do so. It's not just training, the course covers legal issues specific to Switzerland, and discusses what Swiss society expects of dogs owners - which can be very, very different from what you may be used to.

Five hours, usually in 1 hour classes, where you get to meet other dog owners in a convivial atmosphere, where your dog gets a chance to meet some new buddies - a good start towards 'integration' here in CH.

Wishing you and your dog all the best here in Switzerland.

10
This is my favourite post to date. It has been extremely useful to me. I am just getting ready to move to Basel with my pup and some of these pointers have been invaluable. The steps have been very similar for me (coming from Canada). I only wish I could send her as baggage but no such luck...I guess this is not an option at all past a certain size. I even tried to book her cargo space like a horse (so that I could be with her during the flight, but no dice.

Despite all that, we're all set now and your post was really helpful. For example, Winnifred is quite large and I ordered the largest Sky Kennel available (the 700) about a month ago so that she could get used to it and all was looking good until she grew some more (she's still growing and she's put on more than two inches over the past two months). It was looking like a very tight fit (and possibly a problem with the airline even taking her), but then I saw your post and thought that perhaps this extension kit would work for the 700 model, too. I contacted Atwoods and they shipped the kit to me (in Toronto) the next day. I'm just about to assemble the whole thing but that little tidbit saved me from having to order a custom crate (and, potentially delaying our whole trip because of having to wait for one to be built).

I can't seem to officially thank you but thanks nonetheless!

11
Great post. I am getting ready to transport my cat. Just got her chipped today. I am a little confused about some of the regulations and have found differing information on the Swiss government's own website.

Coming from the U.S., does one need a rabies titer (serology) or not? It seems that we are no longer classified as a country with a high incidence of rabies and therefore do not need the titer, but the form that the vet had to fill out has a space for it and when I went through the Swiss site in German and specified that I was coming from the U.S. it said that I needed one. In English it said that I didn't. Yikes. I don't want to get there and find out I should have had one.

Why did you specify that you did not buy the chip yourself? I had to order the chip myself as there is not a single vet in the area that stocks them.

Why did you need the USDA stamp? I haven't read that anywhere. I saw that a stamp was needed if the vet wasn't properly authorized. I assumed that a licensed vet is properly authorized, but maybe not?

As I understand it, I do not need the animal health permit because the U.S. not a high rabies risk country? Can someone verify this? (Although a person in my state just died of rabies , but shhhh).

Thank you!

12
If you can get to Montreal and fly from there you can fly your dog as excess baggage on Swiss no matter what the size. From Toronto on Lufthansa or Air Canada it seems to be as cargo - or this is how it was when I was flying over with my dog. She's 40 kilos and flew in the XXL kennel (the ones for great Danes) and I had no issues on Swiss, but Trying to sort her on L and AC was a nightmare. The fee was $350 CDN.

Good luck!

13
Joy2: I'm not sure if the process is exactly the same for the US and Canada, but, if it is, then I can confirm that the rabies titres are not necessary (however, a valid rabies certificate bearing the microchip number is) and please be aware that the chip has to precede the rabies vaccine. I believe a USDA endorsement is necessary (in my case it was the Canadian Food Inspection Agency), and I also found that this was not clear in the official literature. You can download the EU certificate from the official Swiss site and you will see what needs to be done there. I completed the first page myself (with the exception of the number up top), then had my vet fill out the first section of the second page, and then the "Official Veterinarian" (from the CFIA) endorsed it. This is the last step, as far as I know (but I'm not on the plane just yet). I hope that makes some sense. If you're not sure, make sure you call the Swiss consulate and the USDA...in my case, my vet had to talk to CFIA to clarify exactly which fields were to be filled out by whom.

JanerMacP: Thanks so much for this advice. Unfortunately, I called Swiss Air and they had the same restrictions as Air Canada for my dog (cargo only)...perhaps it's a weight thing. My dog weighs 130 pounds and the crate is over 50 pounds so the combined load is pretty hefty. I wasn't worried about cost at all (since my partner's company is paying for Winnifred's relocation service), so I just went with the direct flight from Toronto to Zurich (Air Canada), and it looks like I'm all set, but I will definitely need to look into this again if/when I ever make the trip back across the big pond. I'll probably need to have a custom crate built by then anyway so that will be a whole other issue, I'm sure.

One other note on this (flying from Montreal reminded me): Air Transat (which flies direct from Montreal to Basel) has way better rates when it comes to transporting animals, however, they have some 'breed' restrictions posted on their site (such as "Pit Bull" and "Mastiff", which isn't even a breed). They basically state that they will not ship these dogs (at all). I can't, for the life of me, understand this kind of policy but I just thought I'd post in case anyone is looking into using them to relocate their dogs.

14
Thank you so much for sharing your expirience. I feel like i can breathe a sigh of relief when i hear stories like this. my husband is importing our two dogs (american cocker spaniel and german shorthair pointer) in september, and i just cant wait till they come through those doors at the airport.

15
Hi, We moved from the UK to Basel with out dog and we had a slightly different experience! We went through a company called ladyhaye and our route was Heathrow to Basel flying with BMI. The dog had to be at the airport 4 hours before the flight and he had to be delivered to a completely different part of the airport (Cargo - by terminal 5).

All went smooth our end but we had a few issues in Basel. Our dog had to be collected at the cargo section of the airport which was approx 5-10 mins walk from the main arrivals building. Customs were a little strict with us, we had to pay an import fee on him (on the cost of the dog) because he wasn't listed on our C1844 form for moving of goods for personal use into Switzerland. We paid the fee and an another handling fee. This was done by a company called Wolffgramm. It took us 2 hours in total to get our dog out of the airport! The guy at Wolffgramm had said that this was the first live animal he had to get customs clearance for (which I found a little odd)!

We were glad to get our boy out and couldn't be bothered to argue the fees so we just paid them (I think it was 100 francs or so). Once your dog is in Basel, you have to register him/her in your Canton. This was straight forward, if you have attended training classes in your country and have proof (a certificate of sorts) then take it with you plus the pet passport to the local Geimeinde and then you wont have to do the mandatory dog training classes for new dog owners in Basel (a law has recently been passed stating that all new dog owners must attend a 12 week course - including imported dogs). Then expect a bill for 205 francs for the registration of your dog :-) at least you get a metal tag with a number on it however for your money. This may be different in each canton, we registered him in Allschwil.

He has settled in quite nicely now and is very content here, he just needs some friends now to play with!

16
Old post, but responding nonetheless since I just saw it. I just posted it and didn't really follow up after the first few days. Glad the info about the extension kit helped you too! Before I knew about the option, I was so frustrated that a few inches were going to cost me several hundred more dollars!

17
Thank you for this information. Definitely will help us when we bring in our pets in the future.

18
My experience went as smoothly as one could imagine. I was really stressed beforehand, but it ended up being a non-event! I flew Lufthansa - supposedly one of the most "pet-friendly" airlines. I brought my French Bulldog puppy in a Sherpa pet carrier. Since she weighs only 6 kilos, I was able to carry her on, for a fee of $125 I believe. She slept the whole time, I did not hear a peep from her, and she kept her bag dry almost the entire flight - only peed during the Frankfurt - ZRH connection, nothing on the long haul flight. I had lined her sherpa bag with an absorbent pet bag liner, so it stayed quite dry anyway.

Customs in ZRH was very quick - they scanned her chip (Homeaway is an American/European-compatable brand we used), collected her import tax fee since I bought her during the trip, did not charge the CHF88 or any other fees. It probably helped that my vet in the US dutifully filled out the model of the veterinary certificate on the bvet website, but they barely looked at it.

http://www.bvet.admin.ch/themen/0161...x.html?lang=en

19
I'll add to the mix, since my experience is still fresh in my mind. And since Jetset had a great format, I'll follow it for my own:

DETAILS

Breed: cat

Weight: 13 pounds

Airline: Swiss.com

Kennel: Sherpa Original Deluxe Pet Carrier

Time: Arrived at the airport 2 hours before scheduled flight

Departure info: January 10th

Price: $100 payable at the check in counter (paid via CC)

Route: direct, Newark, NJ - Basel

STEPS INVOLVED

- Took him to get him rabies shot at vet within 30 days of departure date.

- Had vet put in microchip that meets ISO Standards 11784/11785. We did not purchase it ourselves (he had it in stock, as well as the forms required to be filled out by him)

- Took him back to vet within 10 days of travel to have vet confirm she is fit to fly. (this was stressful, as the holidays/vet closure left me only 7 days from departure)

- FedEx'd forms we received from visit in Step 3 to the local USDA where they signed and stamped the forms and FedEx'd them back (FedEx used due to the tight timeline

IMPORTANT NOTE HERE: Switzerland requires additional paper beside the USDA forms. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulation...tzerland.shtml . The omission of this document with the USDA and rabies forms caused yet more stress for me

- He rode in the plane with us, sitting on the table next to my seat (we flew business class). During take off/landing he had to be moved to the space behind my seat and the bulkhead.

The cat was very quiet the entire ride and only made a small wet spot inside the kennel. After we landed we took him through customs, declaring him (we didn't know if we had to or not, but felt it was prudent to do so). The guy at the counter glanced at the paperwork, checked for the chip and wished us a nice day. No money changed hands.