My exciting journey - as mum and dad saw it!

On 9 April 2008, after 12 months planning, Woody finally arrived at his new home in Scotland. He came from New Hampshire, USA, via the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Susan has asked us to write about what is involved in importing a husky into the UK so here goes....
Woody is the nephew of Turner, (Blackwater’s Turnagain Mist at Ceannabeinne IMP USA) who came over from Alaska in 2003. Turner was an amazing husky, touching the hearts of everyone who knew him. Sadly he died very suddenly of cancer in 2006, leaving a huge gap in our lives. So when we met his breeder, Donna Johnson, at Crufts 2007 and she told us that his half sister, Rainy, was due to be mated that weekend, we immediately asked about a possible puppy. Donna put us in touch with Rainy’s owner, Whatleigh Torsey, who lives in New Hampshire and we began to talk via email.
Woody was born on 18 May 2007, one of 5 boys and 3 girls. It was strange not being able to go and see them but Whatleigh emailed us almost every day with photos so we could ‘watch’ the pups growing. At 8 weeks we had to make our choice, which was really difficult but Whatleigh and Donna and Pete Johnson gave us a lot of help. We had several very late night/early morning phone calls with them all and in the end did what we always tell people not to do.... chose Woody for his colour! Whatleigh, Donna and Pete all said there was nothing to choose between the puppies, so as we have always wanted a black and white husky, we decided on Woody.
Next thing was to choose his name. Again this was difficult without meeting him and seeing what suited his character. But Matt and Helen’s lovely old black Labrador called Woody had just passed away so we asked if our new puppy could take his name.
So at 8 weeks old, we had our puppy and he had a name, Woody but then the waiting began! Woody would come to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme and that takes a minimum 10 months from when the puppy was born. The PETS process is:
· The puppy has to be microchipped · The first rabies injection can be given at 3 months old · A blood test is done roughly one month after the rabies injection and sent to an EU approved laboratory in the US
· A satisfactory test result is needed that shows that the rabies neutralising antibody titre was equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml.
· There is then 6 months wait after the date of the blood test before the dog can travel · 24-48 hours before he travels the dog has to be treated for ticks and worms.
Woody had his blood test on 25 September so the earliest he could travel was 25 March, when he was just over 10 months old. It was a long 10 months but Whatleigh kept in touch via email and phone and Woody started his own BLOG called ‘Woody goes to Scotland’ (http://barking-brooks-woody.blogspot.com).
In October we went over to New Hampshire to meet Woody and his family. While we were there we stayed with Donna and Pete Johnson and heard all about their racing background, including Pete’s Iditarod run in 1992. We were lucky enough to meet Turner’s mum, Ruby, who passed away 2 weeks after we got home just shortly before her 16th birthday. We met several other relatives of Turner and also got the opportunity to run Woody’s mum leading a 10 dog team and Woody’s dad, Kip, at lead in a 12 dog team pulling a VW Beatle chassis. It was sad leaving Woody when we went home but we knew the time would pass quickly before he came over here and we had a lot to plan.
When Turner came over we used a professional dog importer to arrange everything for us from the paperwork to the flights. This time we decided to do it all ourselves. So the first thing was to apply for Woody’s paperwork. We used the DEFRA website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/index.htm) to guide us. Woody needed a Veterinary Certificate endorsed by the US Department of Agriculture official veterinarian. This shows the dates of the microchip, rabies injection, blood test and result and rabies and tick treatment. Whatleigh applied for this for us and as soon as she got it back, we began looking at flights, as the certificate is only valid for 4 months.
We had two options for flights: Woody could fly alone from Boston to London and we could go down and pick him up or he could fly accompanied to Manchester. We decided to go and get him as we just didn’t like the thought of putting a puppy through the journey on his own. In addition, we were worried about making mistakes in the paperwork as neither Whatleigh nor we had done this before, so we thought it better to be with him just in case something went wrong. It was also a good excuse for another holiday with our friends in New Hampshire!
Continental Airlines and BA both fly to Manchester and after talking to them both and looking at their websites we chose Continental (http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/uk.aspx). They use a company called Pets on Jets who are the only UK airport facility outside the London area licensed to operate the Government's 'PETS' scheme (http://www.petsonjets.com/index.html ). Once we booked our own flights were able to book Woody on his.
You have to pay customs duty on the cost of the dog and the flight so we had to contact Continental's official agent for clearing and processing live animals, PBS International Freight Forwarders Ltd, and give them details about Woody and the flight.
We had received Woody’s American Kennel Club papers from Whatleigh which we had to sign and return to the AKC to get him transferred into our names before we could register him with the UK Kennel Club. Unfortunately the AKC made an error in the registration which thankfully the UK KC were able to put right but not in time for us to enter WPBW Champ Show. He is now registered ‘Barking Brooks Woodland Mist at Ceannabeinne IMP USA’.
On 31 March the day finally came to go and collect Woody. When we arrived in Boston we went to pick up the hire car and had great fun trying to find the car with the biggest load space to take Woody and his crate. The first thing we did when we got to Whatleigh’s was get a cuddle from Woody! The next thing was to check his paperwork. In addition to his Veterinary Certificate he needed:
· An International Health Certificate to allow him to travel. This had to be signed within 10 days of his travel.
· His tick and worm treatment. · The original copy of the blood test result from the laboratory · A signed copy of the rabies certificate.
We had a few hiccups and frantic phone calls to the vets, USDA and the airline but eventually everything was fine and we faxed all the documents to Continental who double checked them for us.
We then had to make sure we had the right size crate. Each airline has different requirements so we had contacted Continental before leaving the UK. Their advice was confusing as one person said there needed to be 2 inches above Woody’s head, another said 2 inches above his ears and another said you measure 2 inches above his ears then take the next size up crate. Their website was even more confusing as it just said ‘large enough for the animal to freely sit and stand’. So we bought the biggest crate we could get but Woody’s ears were certainly within 2 inches of the top.
So on 8 April, after a very emotional goodbye for Whatleigh and Woody, we left for Boston Airport. The next 24 hours were extremely stressful for all of us. We had to deliver Woody to the Air Cargo office 3 hours before the flight from Boston to New York. When we took him into the office the poor boy was shaking all over and obviously terrified. Hugh just cuddled him tightly while all the paperwork was checked. We had to pay for Woody’s flight which is based on the combined weight of Woody and his crate being under or over 70lbs. Unfortunately Woody and his crate were 77lbs which cost us an extra $300! We were then told we had been sold the wrong size crate. Just as panic began to set it, the airline told us they would still accept it. However, panic started again when they said that once we put Woody in the crate he would not get out until he arrived in Manchester 17 hours later. Leaving Woody in his crate, all alone in the huge cargo hanger and walking away to get our flights was one of the hardest things we have ever done with our dogs. We felt so guilty taking him away from his mum, brothers, sisters and Whatleigh and putting him through that ordeal; there were a lot of tears that day.
We were able to watch Woody being loaded onto our plane from our seat and then taken off at Newark Airport. He was left beside the plane for about 20 minutes on his own before he was transferred to the terminal. Fortunately we were allowed to go and see him, take him for a walk and sit with him for 2 hours. He was still shaking but was happy to see us. Worryingly he hadn’t been to the toilet since we left Whatleigh’s but the time soon came for us to leave him. We had to walk away, leaving him alone again in his crate surrounded by strangers. By the time we boarded the plane we were both very tired and tense, had shed many tears and just wanted to get home. We had to ask 3 different members of the cabin crew before we got confirmation that Woody had been loaded onto the plane. As soon as we knew that he had we both relaxed, as we knew Woody was finally coming home.
After we had landed and collected our bags we drove to the Air Cargo office where it took 2 hours for the paperwork to be checked and UK Customs clearance obtained. We then had to call PBS and pay the customs duty! Finally we got the call to go and collect Woody. More tears, but this time they were tears of joy. Woody came bounding out to meet us, wagging his tail and jumping up for cuddles. After a 4 hour journey and a quick stop to meet his new ‘grandparents’ Woody came home to Scotland!
7 weeks on and Woody has settled into the pack perfectly and appears to have completely forgotten his 24 hour ordeal. He has been training and to his first show and it is just like we have had him since he was a baby. Would we do it again? If you had asked while we were trying to finalise the paperwork the day before his flight or while we were trying to persuade Woody to do the toilet on a tiny patch of grass at Newark Airport the answer would definitely have been no! Ask us again now and the answer would probably be yes, if the right opportunity came along sometime in the future. For now, however, we are just enjoying really getting to know Woody and introducing him to his new life in Scotland.