Cyprus-Forum.com

[junemichael]

No one knows what their future holds no matter what their plans are, so if you have a pet please get it a passport so you don't have to abandon the poor soul if you suddenly have to leave the country.

If you pay for each part of the passport one month at a time it will be affordable and not as expensive as you think. Also do not use an Association to do this, do it yourself through a vet - it is easy and cheaper!! Get quotes from different vets first though as some charge a lot more than others and if you have more than one pet tell them you want a deal on the price.

For most countries in the EU you will not need a blood test but you will need a microchip and rabies vaccine (check with your vet). For taking an animal to the UK you need to do the following:

First month: Get animal microchipped and rabies vaccinated (unless you are short on money then just get the microchip and get the rabies vaccine done a month later)

2nd month (30 days after the rabies vaccine): Take animal back to vets and get a blood sample taken. The vet will send the sample off to Greece to be tested. One animal blood test in Greece cost around 60 euros but if you send more than 3 blood samples it cost only 21 euros each - bascially 3 for the price of one!! So it is cheaper to test 3 animals.

Now you wait for the blood test results which sometimes take up to 2 months to get the paperwork back from Greece, but keep on at your vet to let you know when he receives it.

From the date of the blood test the animal will be allowed to leave the country 6 months later. Ie., blood tested on 1/1/09 means the animal can leave cyprus to go to the UK after the 1/7/09. It is only the UK that requires this wait period of 6 months, so check for other countries. EU countries I think it is 21 days.

During the 6 months you have plenty of time to save for the flight. The smaller and lighter the animal the cheaper the flight will cost. The more animals you send on one flight the cheaper it will be as the biggest charge is the UK side of things.

If you need any advice please do not hesitate to ask. So many people abandon or leave their pets behind when leaving a country because they think it is too expensive to take them with them but if you get the passport done in advance WITH A VET it is not as expensive as you think.

Take care of your pet, he/she depends on you.

[Snad]

Good post JuneM

So many expats decide to just leave their animals as they(The expats) are most important thing when times get rough.

I have 3 dogs and could not bear to leave any of them. If I decieded to leave,(which I'm not thank God) they would have to come with me or I wouldn't be going.