HELP Please!! Dog transport: Budapest to the UK/Ireland

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Hi everybody,

Just wondering if any of you very knowledgeable people could help us? I am in college in Budapest and have adopted a dog (my friend Ashlingm has also) and we were hoping to fly them home to Ireland this summer however the airline company have let us down and we are now finding it extremely hard to find other options? We could :
1. Inter-rail which would involve the 2 of us with 2 dogs, 2 kennels and all the clothes etc we'd need to haul with us.. I'm not a big fan of this option as I've carried her kennel from on a few small trips and to say its awkward is not thee word! :rolleyes:

2. Fly them home as cargo which involves getting a train to one of the approved routes into Ireland. However I would be open to flying to the UK too as I'm sure someone would come get us..


Its all working out EXTREMELY expensive and as students its not looking good.. im deferring for a year and REALLY want her home so anybody who has done anything like this please let me know your experiences ;)

Was even thinking of ringing some horse transport companies and seeing if they might take her in exchange for some help or just plain paying them to get her as far as the UK


Thanks for all your replies in advance and home-made scones and tea for anyone who got this far!

(heres a pic of the 2 dogs just cuz they're pretty!!)
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Do you know anybody in the show dog or greyhound racing fraternity? They're usually the experts when it comes to transporting dogs from Europe at the best price!
If you're stuck come back to me, all our imported dogs would come from Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic etc but I am sure it wouldn't be a huge price difference and I can ask who various people use.
 
Have you had their passports done? They cant enter the UK without either a pet passport (which takes about 8 months to get) or completing quarentine.

We imported a dog recently from america and used a company called Pet Air, they were brilliant. But importing a dog is a very complicated and expensive process and unfortunately theres not anyway of avoiding that.
 
Yep I've been planning it since I got her and all passports and rabies vaccinations are up to date and have been checked by the import vets in Ireland so as far as thats concerned we're ok!

Thank you so much CaveCanem any additional information at all is extremely helpful, its been like hitting our heads off a brick wall for the last few days having gone to the airlines offices and been sent from pillar to post only to find out they wouldn't take them after telling us they would, so would just like to get it sorted now! :)

Thanks UnaB will look them up now! Both dogs have been ready to fly since last year and have had all the neccessary vacs and all :) love the wee chihuahua puppy btw.. hope shes doing well!
 
Firstly, avoid using an agent if possible. They charge a fortune. We imported one from Alaska not that long ago. Agent wanted £4000 +, booking it ourselves cost about £1200. You don't need to use an approved route either. We didn't. It needs be completed via the Quarantine Kennel of choice and must be countersigned by the Veterinary Superintendent of the quarantine premises where the animal is held. So long as the animal complies with PETS it's fine. Ours was released after 2 hours. You do have to pay for it but it can be a lot cheaper than travelling miles. We actually brought ours in to Belfast as we were going there anyway (otherwise we would have used Edinburgh). We used Breeny boarding and quarantine kennels and they were excellent. Was a lot less hassle than going down to London.

The kennel in Ireland you would need to use is Lissenhall which is near Dublin airport. If it's Northern Ireland then it's Breeny as I mentioned. I'd suggest you call them and ask, they will advise you on what forms you need and send them to you. I'm quite sure they will also be able to advise you what airline to use. You can them simply fly them back with you. Remember you will need to buy approved crates of the right size (and these are about £80 - £100 each) and they will need to be treated for tick / tapeworm 24 -48 hrs before being checked in with the airline. The forms the kennel send you will include those that the vet doing the tick / tapeworm needs to sign and stamp. I used to work for BA and people checking in dogs and cats was pretty common.

Agents basically do all of that for you but charge a lot of money for it. The DEFRA website says early release takes max 3 days but like I mentioned, ours was out in 2 hours. You won't have an issue booking flights if you are on them as well. Some airlines also make it very easy to book as cargo. We used continental and they were excellent.

Good luck!!
 
Sounds like you are sorted paperwork-wise and I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs, but don't forget the tick & tapework treatment that is required 24-48 hours before they come in to the UK - so many dogs are failed on this seemingly minor detail and end up going into quarantine while the authorities decide whether or not to grant early relaese - not using an approved route also causes similar problems.

Sorry, I can't offer any suggestions for actually getting them here - good luck, hope you get it sorted.
 
Suzysparkle- Thank you soooo much thats exactly the kind of info I was hoping for!! I don't know why but it never even crossed my mind about flying into belfast..duh! Considering im equal distance from it and Dublin.. And i haven't been hearing great reports of the vets in lissenhall either so this could be a great alternative! Thanks for your reply and I'll let you know how we get on! :)

Ommadawn- thanks a million yep the whole approved route thing is a pain in the backside..however we have been onto the department of Agriculture and i think as long as you have correct forms and everything signed and filled in we should be ok provided we get to a country where and airline will fly us in! :rolleyes: Thanks again will do the tapeworm/tick treatment we have a great vet here who has all that sussed already!

Thanks so much to everyone any info at all is greatly appreciated!! Its hard to sift through soo much on tinternet!! :rolleyes:
 
Breeny are absolutely brilliant they will keep you right. I know nothing about Lissenhall.

I think the 2 -3 days quoted by DEFRA is in case the tick / tapeworm hasn't been done. They need to be quarantined instead for a couple of days.
 
Oh - good luck! Are they Budadogs? Are you at Szent Istvan? If you are not vet med I could try posting on our vet website - half the class is Irish and take their dogs home in summer
 
Zoisrus- I didn't even realise there was such a thing!! Thanks a million I'll look into that ASAP!

Hollycat- yep am an inactive vetmed and you'd be surprised how little of us Irish actually realised what we got ourselves in for when adopting!!haha however I wouldn't give bella back if they offered me a million! Haha so home to Ireland we go...hopefully! Malev used to fly them as far as I can gather but not anymore and no1 has flown them in recent yrs from here.. Hence us being on the hunt for any info we can get!


Thanks again to everyone who replied.. Belfast is looking like our number one option at the minute so fingers crossed it all works out! I shall keep you posted anyways! :)
 
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There seem to be a few that are taking dogs and cats home in my year (I catsit for the ones that haven't got the rabies done in time :p ) so I can ask around what the others are doing if you like :)
 
Not many responses. As below

Hey, I took my dog home with me a few weeks ago and unfortunately there was nothing easy about it! Malev will fly pets from Budapest to Dublin, but as far as I know thats the only one. You will also need to contact the Irish dept of agriculture, with all the details and they must approve the dog before you will be able to book it onto a flite. This is the email address of the woman I was in contact with in Malev Szijarto.Agnes@malev.hu

Hope that is of some help. Will let you know if anyone else gets back to me
 
Hollycatt said:
Not many responses. As below

Hey, I took my dog home with me a few weeks ago and unfortunately there was nothing easy about it! Malev will fly pets from Budapest to Dublin, but as far as I know thats the only one. You will also need to contact the Irish dept of agriculture, with all the details and they must approve the dog before you will be able to book it onto a flite. This is the email address of the woman I was in contact with in Malev Szijarto.Agnes@malev.hu

Hope that is of some help. Will let you know if anyone else gets back to me
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Aghh! Malev! We've been to their head offices, rang customer care and emailed and they point blank refuse to take them. They said they don't fly animals to Ireland anymore but will fly us as far as paris. Gonna give this woman an email though - fingers crossed she says yes :)
 
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