August 19, 2024

Pet Relocation UAE - A helpful guide !

I’ve moved countries twice with our fur kids and know how stressful it can be! Our first relocation was Dubai to Qatar just before the blockade hit, and then back to Dubai 12 months later when the blockade was still in place.

Like every pet parent that has flown their fur kids, I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. With so many companies offering pet relocation, I wanted to make sure my fur kids were in the best possible hands and their journey would be as stress free as possible.

With a French and English Bulldog and a Persian cat, I was mindful that snub nosed animals were limited to travel. For their safety and wellbeing, certain airlines only accept snub nosed animals during cooler months, so I stayed behind until it was safe for them to travel.

We now have five fur kids, and a time will come again when we need to relocate them out of the UAE. If you’re a pet parent, please bear in mind that relocation costs can be expensive – whether you’re doing the process on your own or using a pet relocation company to assist you. We save money every month for our fur kids and make sure we have available funds for emergencies – which includes covering the costs of relocation (should we need to at short notice) and for unexpected vet bills. Having a fur kid is a lifelong commitment, and if you can’t commit to relocating your pet with you when you leave the UAE, please look at alternative options like fostering or waiting to welcome a fur kid into your family when you can financially commit.

We caught up with Kirsty and her relocation team at Pawsome Pets who have won multiple awards, and there’s a reason for it! They’re a team of genuine pet loving people and treat every pet relocating with them like their own. With many years experience in relocating pets, Kirsty debunked some myths and we got the answers to common questions asked when relocating fur kids in or out of the UAE.

How long have you bee relocating pets in the UAE for?

My first relocation was a rescue cat called Jamie Hendrix. He and I flew to UK on 21^st September 2016 – this is the day that we consider as Pawsome Pets anniversary, albeit at that point we didn’t even have a name!

Why did you start Pawsome Pets?

I’m an animal lover and had a variety of pets all my life. My first dog was a beautiful border collie called Lassie who lived until she was 19 years old. Since coming to UAE in January 2007 my husband and I fostered a lot of cats, and in later years, dogs also.

We’d been fostering Jamie Hendrix for a number of months. He was overlooked by so many people due to him not having a tail (it was amputated due to an injury he sustained when he was on the streets of Dubai). He had the chance of being sponsored by a rescue charity in the UK, so I reached out to a number of relocation companies to assist with his move to UK. I found it incredibly confusing and frustrating as the information provided was not comprehensive or easily understandable – with a lot of ‘hidden extra costs’. After a particularly rude encounter with one relocation company, I figured that it couldn’t be that hard and decided to try to make the various arrangements myself. Everything went well, but it was so much more stressful & time consuming than I ever imagined, despite lots of assistance from various sources.

I then helped a couple of other rescue groups with pets traveling to Europe, until a friend persuaded me to help her relocate her cat to New Zealand. This was of course a whole different level of stress and complexity, but she persuaded me, and Pickle arrived safely in Auckland, despite all my reservations .

It was then I realised I was truly enjoying what I was doing and felt at that time, there was a significant gap in terms of options for pet parents, for a service which was truly comprehensive and transparently priced. So, I took the leap to set myself up professionally, took advice from various authorities such as Dubai Economic Department, Dubai Municipality & Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, came up with a name and Pawsome Pets was officially born.

Starting on my own, doing all aspects of the job; paperwork, vet visits, driving to the airport in the middle of the night, business administration, social media and website, etc. From there Pawsome Pets grew based on our reputation and word of mouth, into the business we are today. A three times award winning pet relocation company and cattery, with a team of 16 and a fleet of 5 vehicles.

Along the way there’ve been highs and lows, but we are who we are simply because everyone on the team genuinely cares about what they do. We all have a love of pets and the services we provide, either directly or via trusted partners, and are built on a fundamental principle that we ask ourselves every day; “if this was my pet, would this be what I would be recommending or is this a service provider (for example, vets, airlines, etc.) that I would be entrusting their care to?”.

What advice would you give to pet parents looking to relocate their pets to or from the UAE?

Do your research well in advance with regards to where you want
to live, if the facilities in that area suit you and your pets’
requirements.
Reach out to a number of recommended companies both in the
country you’re travelling from, and to the UAE to seek advice on
requirements and costs.
When researching requirements, don’t assume that your vet has
all the answers. In all likelihood they are vets, not pet relocation
professionals and may not have up to date information and thus, despite
the best of intentions, provide advice that may not in fact be accurate.
Ensure to start the process of getting ready for a move as
early as possible as there are varying requirements between different
countries, so have in mind the average timeline required for the country
you are traveling from.
Depending on the breed of your pet, restrictions may apply due
to the time of year. For example, snub nosed pets may only travel in
winter, you may need to plan your travel around this also.
Keep in mind that arranging travel for pets is more complex and
can be a longer process than your own travel arrangements. Researching or
starting the process sooner rather than later is never going to cause you
an issue as your relocation professional can always slow or speed up the
process as required. However, if you start your travel process at short
notice, it is not possible always to fast track arrangements no matter how
much we would like to.
Please keep your vaccinations up to date. For some destinations
the timelines are up to 6 months or more and even missing a vaccination
due date by one day can push you back months.
Research those locations you may be potentially relocating to, so you have an overview of timelines and requirements.
Do not underestimate the time needed and start the process earlier rather than later by at least connecting with you chosen pet relocation professional

What’s the biggest myth you want to debunk about pet relocation?

I have two!

‘Traveling in the hold is dangerous’ – the cargo hold of an aircraft is temperature controlled, dark, quiet and the ‘white noise’ is conducive to the pets falling asleep on the flight. Whilst no mode of transport is risk free, ensuring that your pet is in a sufficiently sized travel crate, with access to water and following IATA requirements and guidelines, it is in fact one of the least dangerous and stressful modes of travel.

‘Using a pet relocation professional is expensive’ – yes, pet relocation can be expensive, but no, that isn’t because you’re using a pet relocation professional! When seeking quotes from professional relocation companies, they should be able to differentiate those costs which are actual costs, and those which are their service fees. In most cases (and certainly ours) the service fee is a fraction of the overall cost. On many occasions, we have witnessed pet owners trying to do their own relocations and regrettably in some cases, spending more money on unnecessary services (for example, your vet advising on requirements which are in fact not required for where you are going), using a mode of travel which is in fact more expensive than other feasible options, or worse case, making mistakes that result in additional costs that would otherwise have been unnecessary. The fees charged by most pet relocation professionals are reasonable for the work they do and the expertise they offer.

Which cat and dog breeds are banned in the UAE?

The best source for up-to-date information regards restricted breeds for import into UAE is via https://www.moccae.gov.ae

Which country has the strictest pet relocation process?

There are a number of countries in which processes are complex and lengthy. They require a little more planning and are a little more timebound; Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, USA to name a few. Requirements are detailed and certain formalities such as quarantine on arrival, is governed by availability of space, so this can add to the time needed to prepare and arrange permits, quarantine, etc.

What do you like about Where My Paws At?

We love that Where My Paws At was born from a genuine passion and love for pets, and helping owners, as opposed to simply seeing it as a ‘business opportunity’. We see similar ethics and values behind everything you do and that the primary focus is always doing the best we can for our pets and other pets and animals in need.

Find out more about Pawsome Pets and pet relocation...

If you’d like to know more about Pawsome Pets and their services, click here.

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