Carol's Page

Hey Carol! Love the pic, we have a dog that wants to be a wrestler too! Enjoy the Holidays!

Hey Carol! Welcome to My Pet Move! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message. Thanks so much for joining!

Hi Carol,
I have the same question as you do about moving back to the US with my dog within a year of moving abroad (to France). I will enclose his original paperwork from the US (proving his rabies vaccination is good for 3yrs) along with an international health certificate from my French Vet. I will let you know what happens if you would like (we leave this Tuesday, May 12) as I know what turmoil I am going through about the move and would like to help ease the worry for others if possible :)

Hello Carol,
I just completed my flight from Paris to San Francisco on Air France (direct) and it went very smoothly. I duct-taped a plastic sleeve onto the side of my dog's carrier with his health certs from france and the usa inside. I taped a big photo of my dog on top of the cage with an introduction, HI MY NAME IS HENRY, AND I AM VERY FRIENDLY (along with micro-chip info, rabies date info, my address and phone). As I boarded the plane, I CONFIRMED by dog was on board with the ticket taker (she happily confirmed via computer my dog and 2 suitcases were on board). Next - I had a flight attendant take a note to the captain for me, which included a photo of my dog and asked the captain to please remember my dog in the hold, and to please regulate the temp and air circulation. It might seem overboard, but I couldnt take a chance.
So - the greatest thing happened. The captain announced with his regular weather and flight time..."And, Alexandra...Henry is OK and feeling good in the hold and the temp has been regulated to..." Then he finished with humor, "Henry, is there anything you want to tell your mom? WOOF WOOF!"
It made my heart sing! Next, two flight attendants and the co-pilot came by at different times to smile and tell me everything was fine and that they all loved the photo because they could picture who was down below. It seemed to be fun for the crew - maybe very few people write notes or communicate? So I highly recommend Air France for anyone travelling. So finally, the pickup in SF was easy. My dog and another dog were just outside the Homeland Security Animal Arrivals door, next to the baggage claim. Filled out live animal on customs form, but they simply asked if i brought dog food (i said only in the cage) and they said "ok, go ahead, have a nice day"...It was much easier than I thought. My dog was happy. Important note: i FROZE his bowl of water the day before the trip and it lasted to SF (on the way to Paris, I did not freeze it and it spilled everywhere). Also, I but two beds inside his crate and he was comfortable (first time i only used a kennel pad and it did not stay in place and was soaked on arrival). Hope this helps, Carol.

Also - the only regulations that I can see for the USA are that your dog must have current rabies vaccination (i included his documentation showing 3yr vaccine) and current health certificate (mine was only one day old...generally it.s within 10 days, but I have also heard within 3 days is optimal).

The French Certificate looked like a post-it, it was so small...it did not look very official to me, but looks like it was...Just said, OK TO TRAVEL basically.

Hi Carol - I haven't checked my email in a long time, so hopefully by now you and Lexi made the trip safe and sound? I would like to know your experience on Korean Air. Many good wishes for you both. Alex