Bringing along a 4legged child

Hi there, we went through the process of transporting four of our dogs from South Africa to Wellington.

We have a Jack russel, a labrador and two yorkies. They are not young dogs but they are like children to my family and me so there was no option to leave them behind.

We did the six month process of rabies injections and defleaing them and making sure all the paper work was up to date and then the hardest part, leaving them in Keringa Kennels for a month.
We unfortunately had to leave for Wellington while they were staying in the Kennels in JHB but we had enough friends visiting them while we were gone.

Well the month actually went really quickly without problems and our dogs arrived safely.The quarantine station in Wellington picked them up from the airport and took them back, we visited them the very next day. The quarantine station e-mailed us to tell us that our kids had arrived safely and that they encourage visits. The dogs looked at little bit shaken up but they were their normal selves when we walked in.

Its been about a month now and all our kids are doing really well.

I have not regretted this whole process and would do the same thing again, although it is hugely expensive it is well worth it.
I would definitely recomend this process.

Thanks so much Caseyd!

Caseyd,

How long did they have to stay in Quarantine in NZ? 

The only reason we have not packed up and been on a plane yet is our 4 legged child. 

She is a big breed 8 year old female with lots of medical arthritis problems.

Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks Sulet

Hi why do the animals have to be boarded in SA first?

I got info from a Pet Transporter here in SA and according to them they don't need to be boarded in SA, but there is a very detailed procedure that needs to be followed involving your VET. 

This particular company who is quite reputable and does a lot of exports successfully, makes it an requirement for your pet to stay with them for 30 days before departure.   

They said that they made this a requirement to use their services because they had previous issues where animals needed to be returned because the owner did not do follow the proper procedure in SA before departure.

So to answer your question from what they said, there is no quarantine period in SA and 10 days in NZ, but a lot of red tape and procedural documentation to follow. 

In Cape Town in the last 3 months there has been 4 dogs lost from the container area (I am involved in animal welfare) and needed to be tracked and found (we are talking running around airport area and some outside in the surrounding areas).  BEcause of that alone I would suggest using a reputable company and not taking any risks.  If you are going to pay to take your pet over, then pay the extra to do right :-)

Hey Sulet BP
Thanks for coming back to me.
Could you possibly give me the name of the Pet Transporter you contacted.
Kind regards
Melissa