STORIES OF THE PETS TRAVEL SCHEME
DIARY OF A TRIP TO FRANCE
JUDY
Vacances en France (avec une amie à quatre pattes.....)
submitted By Gill Ovens
We are frequent visitors to France usually staying with friends who have dogs of their own and we really missed Judy, our young Springer Spaniel, when we were on holiday. She was well looked after in the kennels but when we went for long walks in the French countryside we knew that something was missing. This is a diary of how we finally achieved our goal of travelling to France (and back!) with Judy.
August 1999
When details of the PETS pilot scheme were announced we went straight to our vet to start the ball rolling! Judy had already been fitted with a microchip just after we bought her two years ago so she just needed the rabies vaccine (cost about £40)
September
A month later the vet took a sample of her blood (cost about £45, but this is the charge made by the laboratory), warning us that the results may take some time as there was only one laboratory in the UK who could test the samples. In fact the results came back in under two weeks – she had produced the necessary antibodies so the result was "all clear" At this time the PETS certificate had not been printed so there was nothing more we could do for a few months.
December
Time to book our travel. We are going to Alençon in Normandy in April and normally we would go via Portsmouth to Caen but this is a 6 hour crossing and we decided that’s too long for Judy to stay in the car even if we can visit her during the crossing. And how would she react if the sea was rough? So we decided to go from Dover to Calais – this takes only just over an hour. Booking was easy and the P&O staff knew all about the PETS pilot, they even sent out an information sheet.
January 2000
Just after Christmas the PETS certificate became available. We had another visit to the vet so that he could issue this to us (he made no charge!) By this time we learned that we would also need something called an "Export Health Certificate" to take Judy into France. A phone call to MAFF and an application form was sent to me, I filled in all the details required and sent it back. They will send the certificate to our vet 10 days before we travel and we have to take Judy to see him within 48 hours of our departure. A quick check of the travel tickets – Sunday afternoon departure so that’s OK, we’ll need to see the vet Friday evening or Saturday morning.
February
We knew that the dogs need to be checked by a vet in France We knew that the dogs need to be checked by a vet in France "not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours" before returning to the UK and be treated against "exotic parasites". No problem, I thought, I’ll phone my friend Dominique in Normandy and get her to have a word with her vet. She kindly did this and phoned me to say that her vet knew nothing about the scheme !! I was concerned (to say the least ...) and had visions of us driving around in France trying to find a vet to give the treatment (within the narrow time allowed)
At this point I happened to buy a copy of Dogs Today and when I saw that they had an internet mailing list I joined. Good move! I posted a short note asking if anyone else wanted to share experiences of the PETS scheme and had a reply straight away from Renée offering help and advice. She has been such a help and has kept me calm whenever I started to panic. Because she lives in France she knows all about the French systems and even has a contact at their MAFF equivalent government department.
Microchips are not common in France where they prefer the tattoo for identification. Worried that not all vets would have a scanner to read Judy’s chip I decided to buy one. A phone call to Avid, the makers of the chip, details of my credit card and a scanner was delivered to my door the very next day. The lady at Avid said that several people had decided to buy their own scanners. It’s quite small, like a remote control, and gives a satisfying beep when the chip is located. It cost £50 + VAT, not cheap, but worth it for peace of mind!.
February 28th – the Pilot Scheme starts ......
On Monday 28th February dogs and cats start travelling to Britain without having to go into quarantine – at last ! It was on the radio and on the TV news. The first dog through was called Frodo Baggins ....
Still concerned about finding a PETS friendly vet I wrote to the tourist office in Alençon asking for a list of vets in the Orne region. When I got the list I wrote to several vets to ask if they were familiar with the new scheme and could do the necessary tapeworm/tick treatment
March
I’m starting to get some replies from the French vets – they know all about the scheme and the UK regulations and the treatment would not be a problem. One of the vets is in the centre of Alencon so only a short drive from our friends’ house. I am starting to feel a little calmer .....
Vacances en France (Aller et Retour ......)
APRIL 2000
Time for our holiday and for Judy’s first trip to France.
A final visit to the vet for the Export Health Certificate (£31) and the next day we set off for the ferry (after checking, and rechecking all the documents just to make sure ..... )
We travelled with P&O Stena Dover to Calais. Having Judy in the car gave us priority loading and unloading – an unexpected bonus! An hour and a quarter later we were in France. I offered the Export Health Certificate at passport control but nobody wanted to look at it! Then it was onto the motorway for the 4 hour drive to our friends’ home in Normandy. We stopped on the way for Judy to stretch her legs and to take her first steps on French soil – all she was interested in was playing with her ball ..........
Our friends live just outside Alençon on the edge
of a large forest – perfect for Judy (and for us!) They have
three horses, two cats and a Border Collie called Manoux –
Judy’s new "best friend". Judy was very interested
on market day – she looked longingly at the man selling
saucissons and had a good sniff around the fish stall. But most
of all she liked running around the forest and we went there
every day.
The day before our return we visited a vet in Alençon (see Renée’s list) for the tapeworm/tick treatment. He was very efficient and friendly. He gave Judy an injection (Droncit) and for the tick treatment we were offered a choice of spray or pipette Frontline. He charged 170 Francs.
There was a slight hiccup on the way back to Calais. Farmers had dumped lorryloads of very fresh, very smelly manure all around a roundabout at Bernay, south of Rouen, completely blocking the roads. Police were trying to sort everyone out but it was chaotic. We had to find our way round all the back roads (some of which we visited twice ....) but we got to Calais in good time.
At Calais the paperwork and microchip were thoroughly checked, a yellow sticker was placed on our windscreen and we were on our way back to England.
We did it !
Last word from Judy "When are we going again?"
XENA'S STORY
The 28th of Febuary 2000 was an historic day for the UK. It opened its doors to Europe and a new chapter in Euro relations. Some will say that its just for the convenience of holidaymakers and those who wish to lead the high life abroad. Too higher a price to pay for a rabies free Britain.
The good news is that the 28th saw more than history in the making. It saw a rescue that has taken 16 long months to put into effect but in the end has had a spectacular result for one dog. Xena a 2 yr old Dobermann was bought on the continent and left in a kennels in Belgium at five months after languishing for over a month she was rescued and brought to France where she's been staying in a foster home til such time as the arrangements could be made to get her into the UK to a permanent home.
A physical and mental wreck after her experiences she has spent months adjusting. To have put her into quarantine would only have sent her back to the same state. It takes seven months to prepare for the Pets Travel scheme and the 28th saw the final stages of planning pay off with splendid results. Xena entered the UK at 6.15am on the 28th the fourth dog from Europe to enter the Uk in a hundred years without quarantine. All documentation was present and correct and she breezed through her checks.By mid-morning she was in her new home and wondering what all the fuss was about. Its been a long journey for Xena but little does she know what history she has made.
Petsafe Holidays are proud to have prepared all Xenas Pet Travel Scheme preparations and to have shared a small part in that history making.
UK PETS TRAVEL SCHEME
Zak's owner has done everything right. He's microchipped, vaccinated, blood tested and yet hes stuck in Belgium. Why?
UPDATE 16.03.00
Zak, adult Rohdesian Ridgeback born and bred in the UK has never set foot outside it until the 14th of Feb. He has only ever been in a qualifying country. He is microchipped vaccinated for rabies and after 30 days has a successful blood test result in that order. He was blood tested the 14th of jan 2000 at an approved laboratory and under the regulations is eligible for re entry to the UK. His microchip is also working fine.
He is still stuck in Belgium.
Zak qualifies for re entry to the UK earlier than the six month wait as he was blood tested prior to the28th of Feb this year . However in order to re enter the UK he needs a PETS certificate. A certificate that can be issued in the UK before travel. To return Zaks owner tried to get a PETS certificate abroad BUT the exemption does not exist for foreign pets and so PETS certificates abroad make no provision for this and are ONLY valid six months after the date of blood testing.
MAFF suggestions include putting Zak into quarantine and applying for early release. Zaks owner will not do this and Petsafe Holidays have put her in contact with a Belgian vet whose is trying to sort something out with the Belgian autorities. Should this fail then Petsafe have another couple of options available to them to ensure that Zak gets home as soon as possible.
Bliss, an 11-year-old Highland terrier, is thought to have become the first animal travelling under the Pet Travel Scheme to die from a disease picked up abroad. The dog died from Babesia canis, a disease carried by ticks, less than three weeks after returning from France.
She had been treated with an anti tick porduct before returning to Britain. Vets are now urging pet owners to take greater precautions and to have animals treated against ticks before travelling abroad. Please see our section on health for pervention against this and other diseases your pet can pick up abroad. HEALTH
Bliss's owners live in Lancashire and own a holiday home in Brittany. Their vet, Ian McConnel, of Oldham, said: "The owners had complied with all the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme. "This may be the first case of Babesia canis in a dog returning under the scheme, but I am certain it will not be the last. I will be warning my clients of the dangers and advising them to have pets treated against ticks before they take them abroad."
The British Veterinary Association is understood to have taken up the matter with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Our sincerest condolences go to Bliss's owners they must be devastated.
If you have concerns or a query over the new PETS scheme then don't hesitate to contact Petsafe email Advice line or if you are abroad and need help you can call France (0033) 02 96 84 42 87
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