Preparation
1. Have your dog microchipped and vaccinated against rabies. The microchip number and vaccination details and dates must be entered in a European Pet Passport.
2. Then you must wait 4 weeks.
3. Return to the vet with the dog and get him to take a blood sample to be sent to a registered laboratory, usually either in the UK or Athens, to be tested for rabies antigens. It will take about 2 to 3 weeks for the results to come back (apparently Athens can be quicker but no guarantee that they come back at all
).
4. Once a positive result is obtained...
5. The vet will enter the date the sample was taken and the test results into the dog’s Pet Passport.
6. You must then wait 6 months from the date the blood sample was taken.
7. Then you can send your dog, cargo only, to the UK...
Costs
As for costs, preparing the dog as above is dependent on the individual vet’s charges.
It is well worth shopping around as some vets are considerably more expensive than others…you should expect to pay no more than €300 and some vets will charge a great deal less.
Unless you can keep the dog yourself until it is ready to travel to the UK you then have to cover the cost of boarding the dog for the 7 months waiting period.
Shipping costs at the moment are standing at around €650 to send a small dog to Heathrow. (I believe that there are now other airports, but be 100% sure before you send, as some are not as experienced as Heathrow are and might be worth the travelling in the UK for the sake of the dog).
You must also ensure that you giev your dog a yearly rabies booster for UK. Other parts of Europe are only every two years.
Compliments of CYDRA (Cyprus Dogs Rehoming Association) and Eve (of course)
_________________
"Your dog is your friend, your partner, your defender. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true until the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion"