Prepping your pet for a UAE exit

Owners and experts say all furry family members deserve detailed exit plans.

The German Veterinary Clinic, located in Khalifa City A, offers assistance for owners who need to ship their animals overseas. Seen here is Freddy inside his travel kennel. Lee Hoagland / The Nationa

When Leah Oatway and her husband decided to move back to Wales after seven years spent living in the UAE, it wasn’t just their own travel arrangements they had to worry about. Their three dogs and three cats also needed to make the trip home. All six pets had been adopted during the couple’s time in the UAE, but leaving them behind was not a consideration.

“We were very anxious about doing it, not because of the cost but only because of concerns about the animals being put under stress. But the alternative – leaving them in the UAE – was never an option,” says Oatway.

“They’re our family. It’s important that people factor in their long-term commitment to their pets when they take them on. I feel very strongly about that – particularly in the UAE where animal abandonment is a huge problem.”

Sending pets abroad can be cheap and easy or it can be difficult and expensive, depending on the type and size of the pet, the airline they travel with, their final destination and how organised the owner is. The good news for UAE pet owners is that the country is classified as having a very low risk of rabies, and pets must be microchipped, vaccinated and tested – the basic requirements for relocating them.

Some pet owners opt to send their pets as manifest cargo, in a plastic crate with grilles, because they believe it is less stressful for the animal. The hold is temperature controlled, darker and quieter than the cabin. The container must be large enough for the animal to stand, turn around and lie down in and strong enough to hold its weight. Owners must not sedate their pets before departure, either. If owners meet these and other varying criteria, they can keep their pets in the hold.

However, it is also possible to take pets into the cabin if the pet and its cage weigh less than 8 kilograms and fit below the seat in front. “Most countries will have regulations that say they have to arrive as manifest cargo. But it also depends on the airline. KLM, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines will let you take them in the cabin for a set price, so it is a cheaper option,” says Ania Leszczynska, manager of non-clinical services and pet transport at Abu Dhabi’s German Veterinary Clinic.

“But again it all depends; a lot of airlines won’t take flat-nosed dogs like boxers or bulldogs during the summer, for example, because the dogs might come into breathing difficulties and they try to be more on the safe side. Others might have more flexibility if the owner signs an indemnity letter, and provide the crate themselves.

“If you have a large dog and it needs to go to a country that only accepts manifest cargo, like the UK, New Zealand, South Africa or Singapore, that price is going to be through the roof because it’s based on the dimensions of the crate.”

Either way, it is crucial for owners to prepare in advance; in the worst-case scenario, pets can be sent back to the UAE or even put down at the owner’s expense, Leszczynska says.

Aside from the transportation itself, owners also have to cover the cost of medical bills and potential quarantine, cattery or kennel fees. “In Europe, there’s generally no more quarantine as long as you comply with the medical requirements,” says Lesczczynska, adding that New Zealand and Australia are the most difficult countries to export to and require owners to make preparations well in advance.

Oatway’s six animals were placed in five containers – her two Chihuahuas were small enough to share one – and flew direct to Manchester in the UK with Emirates.

Dr Sara Elliot, veterinarian and owner of the British Veterinary Hospital in Dubai, says a lot of animals were abandoned after the 2008 financial downtown because people who lost their jobs were unable to make the necessary and sometimes lengthy preparations to take their animals back home.

“Historically, blood tests would have to be taken six months after rabies vaccinations because 90 per cent of rabies cases would show up within six months. Thousands of animals were abandoned because people lost their jobs and had to move immediately; they didn’t have enough notice,” says Elliot.

Coincidentally, the UK relaxed its rules in 2009, getting rid of quarantine requirements and the six-month wait rule for countries with a low risk of rabies.

“If you’re following the UAE requirements, your pet has to be microchipped and vaccinated, and have a blood test. So you’re set to travel to a lot of countries. For others, like Australia, it depends how organised you are. If you’re a very organised Australian, you can take your animal into the country with a minimal one-month quarantine. If you’re not, you’re looking at up to four months following the vaccine, which has to be done one month before travelling there.”

Elliot stresses that it is much easier and cheaper to organise everything in advance; otherwise owners will either have to pay to keep their pet in quarantine, or a cattery or kennel, or arrange for someone to take care of their pets when they leave.

“And I know a number of people who have done their friends a favour and looked after their animal for a few months. Then they turn around and say: ‘Well you’ve looked after our dog for a couple of months, you’ve got yourself a dog’. You spend money looking after an animal for two months, and then you’re taking it on for 10 years.

“It’s done with catteries and kennels too. Being willing to do that stems from an attitude that transcends country of origin, religion or race. Feline Friends have had cases of English and Aussie couples calling and saying, ‘We’re leaving this morning, this is our apartment number, we’ve left our cats’. And they leave them without AC, food or water. A few years ago, K9 Friends found a dog that was locked up in a garden with no food and no water. It was discovered after 10 days and had kidney failure. We ended up having to put it to sleep.”

She says a new breed of pet owner has emerged in the UAE, though, and more are starting to think ahead. If they are not planning to stay in the UAE for a long time, they ask more questions and make more responsible decisions.

“Last week I saw someone taking three terrapins home. She said if she bought them for her son to teach him about responsibility, how could she turn around and say they’re not taking them because it’s too expensive? But there are still the odd people who don’t quite understand the distinction that it’s not about the financial investment, it’s about the emotional connection.”

One example, Elliot says, was a lady with two almost identical pedigree cats – down to the same minor heart murmurs. While she was happy to pay for treatment for the expensive cat she had bought, she refused it for the one that had turned up on her doorstep.

“Whether it turns up in a bin bag or a Cartier handbag, it doesn’t matter. That’s one of the reasons they now have an adoption charge from the start – people will tend to spend more money on their animals if they have spent more on them from the start.”

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