[Pip]

Just wanted to post an update for those who kindly responded to my earlier post about Golden Arrow and were they really so good, that it was worth driving all the way to Shropshire when I'm based near Heathrow.

After everyone's feedback, I got quotes from both Golden Arrow and Air Pets Oceanic (nr Heathrow). For those of you who are interested, a medium sized cat from the UK to Christchurch was £842 with GA and £950 with Air Pets.

Price aside, I got responses from GA within 48 hrs and Air pets took about ten days to get back to me. Now I've read all the information/brochures from both of them and thought it through and its likely we'll stop over in Singapore (my husband owes me a night in Raffles - its a long story!) and ideally have a few days settling in Christchurch/finding somewhere to stay/rent before the cat arrives, so actually its not just going to be the flight, but also some additional boarding time beforehand.

I think that both organisations would do a great job, but I have to say, GA really impressed me, with their speed, their brochures and most of all the testimonials from customers, - particularly on how they've handled problems when things have gone wrong - which is always the true test of any service provider.

So I've gone 180 degrees and we'll be driving to Shropshire (GA) when the time comes. Anyway - just wanted to post, in case that was useful to anyone who's got the same dilemma. (and the cat is off to the vet on Sat to be microchipped which is the very first stage in the process!)

[Debbie]

Thanks for the update.
Well I went 180degrees in the other direction.
GA were cheeper than Airpets for the shipping and kennel for my dog but were so expencive in their collection fee that Airpets ended up with a better bottom line. I was realy happy with GA and their recommendations. They shipped a friends dog and they made a mistake with the tests but as good as their garentee put it right at their expence. Price wasn't the issue in the end. I thought about it and decided that even if we could drop our hound off putting him through such a long car journey and then 'abandoning' him there was the problem. He is fine once in the car, (not travel sick) but he get aggitated about change and has been re-homed once before. Also I wanted the journey over to NZ to be a short as possible for him so Airpets being right on top of Heathrow helped. No long car journey to contend with prior to the flight. In the end I dithered about so much that GA were saying they were unsure if they could accomidate him for all the time I needed in their kennel. Hound will have to be kenneled for 12 days as he would get very distressed about the removal men.
I found this the hardest choice to make, and I know if there is any problem at all with the shipping of him I will be distraught and gutted that I made that choice but .....
So hound has had the first lot of tests done, is booked in for a final wash and brush up on the 29th, kennels on the 30th Aug and flys out to us on the 9th sept. OH has to be at Auckland airport 5am to get him on the 11th. Im so worried about this but it's only 12 days away.
(Heavens know what I'll be like the first time my kids want to do a sleep over!!)
Debbie

[Pip]

Hi Debbie,

I just wanted to say, try not to worry (I know its easier said than done), I'm starting to worry about our cat already and we're planning on January. The one thing that I'm consoling myself with, is however horrible the flight/separation is, its going to be a few days out of her life and then she's going to have a much better quality of life for hopefully many years to come. We're planning to buy somewhere with a garden which we don't have now, - hopefully won't be doing 2 hr commutes each way every day, so she'll see a bit more of us. Our cat is also a rescue cat (it sounds like your dog has been rehomed) and is very nervous, but I truly believes that when she settles in, it will all be worth it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and I'm sure your dog is going to be absolutely fine. Keep us posted on how it goes for him..

[olivia]

Hi,

I've got a six-year-old border terrier and also have the same dilemna between GA and Airpets. Airpets are quite near us as we're in hampshire but GA get such glowing reports from everyone. So will be very interested to see your comments after your dog & cat arrives to see what you think. I do agree that it's worth taking your pet if they are up to it. We have a postage stamp sized garden here and we know that Buzby will love it in NZ once we're settled.

Good Luck with the move Debbie,

Olivia

[Debbie]

Well all the papers came from Airpets,
It wasn't the spoon feeding step by step list that I was lead to believe GA would have provided. There was no poo bottle and the result would go to the vets who would fax them to Airpets. My vet was to take the blood tests and send it all of to the lab. I got two forms with all the tests marked on them and all a competant vet had to do was put blood in the right test tubes, poo (that I had collected from hound earlier) in an appropiate bottle and send it all off to the right lab.
For me the biggest problem has been the ego of the vets, (who don't seem to like being told what to do by shipping company or nurotic owners). My vet insisted on getting his own copy of MAF forms and refilling it all in. Airpets split the tests over two forms, (the second form was for those tests that had to be repeated). The vet felt obliged to put it all on one form, ( and take £184. off me).
The results all came back and Airpets were on the phone to me quicker than the vet. The hound failed his Lepto test dispite not having it as a booster in May when it was due. They explained the options for getting around this to me and advised on what they thought would be the best option, in our case a 14 day dose of antibiotics. Airpets were great, told me which antibiotic had to be used, all the details and faxed instructions to the vet. I went back to our vet and again the biggest problem was convincing the vet that it is as easy as I tell them.
Airpets are going to do all the second stage tests and flea and worm treatments. They have been very receptive to me giving instructions to them on how to handle the hound (he is a strong, fit, 11 stone boy so can't easily be manhandled).
So far I've been very worried about how my boy will cope with kennels and being away from me. He has to go into kennels on the 30th as he wouldn't like the removal men. I am now less worried about how Airpets will cope with him. It remaind to be seen how he manages with the trip over. I will post an update after we get him back (5.15am on the 11th Sept.)

2 points to note:-
neither GA or airpets asked about Kennel cough until it came to booking him in. If your dog hasn't had his jab speak to your vet sooner rather than latter. My dog was off colour for a few days which caused concern this close to shipping him.
:- don't give your dog the lepto booster even if you have several months between boosters and shipping, (unless your vet advises that your dog is at particularly high risk).

Debbie

[Keith]

tried to find Golden Arrow on the internet no hits, anyone got a contact phone no please

[jubjub]

Here you go... 01588 680240, they have no website, and are in the back of beyond... but very good at what they do.

[Pip]

Thanks for the update Debbie. Thankfully, as I'm shipping a cat, don't need to worry about some of that, but I'm sure lots of people shipping dogs will find it really useful. Really interesting about the attitude of the vets. When I took Olive to be microchipped, they asked about what was required in terms of tests (thankfully not much for cats) and when I said I was using a specialist company, they were really relieved, as they said the forms were so complicated and requirements varied so much between different countries, they were keen to not really be involved.

Anyway not long to go now, and really glad to hear that you're feeling more comfortable about leaving him. No doubt the next few days will fly by and before you know it , you'll be collecting him from the airport. Be sure to let us know how he (and you!) get on..

[Debbie]

A final report on Airpets.
Sisco (the hound) arrived Monday in good form, fit and dry in this box. He smelt lovley and clean and had obviously been groomed daily. Airpets realy took him under their wing and fussed him. I have to admit because of his size he is easy to fuss but they were realy good to him, taking him up to the office so he had company. They phoned to let me know his test results and didnt mind me phoning them regularly for an update.
They were a bit lacking in their directions for picking him up from the airport but that went smoothly once OH found where he had to go and in which order.
For those worried about using Airpets I can say that our experience was possitive and I think we were right not to put him through the added stress of a long road journey.
Debbie

[olivia]

I'm so glad that Sisco has arrived safely. I know when it's our turn that I will be very worried about how Buzby (my dog) will be affected by the move.
Are you renting at the mo and if so did you have any trouble finding somewhere that would accept a dog?

Olivia

[Debbie]

Olivia, We are in a batch which we booked from the UK at the mo and are about to have to look for a rented. All the agents have been abole to point us in dirrection of rentals that will take dogs but you need to get in front of the agent and talk to them. Looking through listing is realy difficult as there is no obviouse search engine to separate them out.
I will let you know how we get on and if I forget PM me.
debbie

[olivia]

What's a batch?

[Pip]

Debbie,

Sorry - been away on holiday in Greece and nearly missed this. So glad to hear the hound arrived safely and everything went smoothly. I was thinking about you the other day and wondering how it had all gone. Let us know how he's settling in, - and of course how you're doing ?! Any words of wisdom to share with us so far ?. (we had our NZIS interview yesterday, so hopefully are very close now...)

[jubjub]

What's a batch?

A bach is a kiwi holiday home, usually next to a beach. Some are little more than static caravan type affairs, some are dead posh villas.

Generally you hear a lot of it around Xmas when everyone goes to the Bach for the break with their families.

thats my take on it anyway!

[Debbie]

What's a batch?
Yep with my poor spelling and a NZ pronounciation to english. A bach is what I ment Im informed its pronounced batch.
Debbie

[olivia]

Debbie - how did you get on finding somewhere to rent that would take Sisco?

Olivia

[olivia]

After all that we have ended up in a bach! we have rented for 2 months so we can find our feet and we had no trouble finding somewhere that would accept Buzby.

Golden Arrow were brill with Buzby, everything was clearly marked and they did the second lot of tests as they looked after him for 2 weeks before we flew which was great. What really impressed me was on the day they picked him up they rang me early evening to say he had arrived safely, eaten his dinner, been for a walk and was settled happily in his kennel. I wasn't expecting the call so it was really reassuring.

We did have a slight panic this end as i rang the airport to check he had arrived only to be told he wasn't on the flight he was meant to be on. Of course i thought the worst but it turned out that Air Nz at Auckland were overloaded with cargo and they had put him on a flight an hour later - boy was i pleased when i got to see him! So if this happens to you, don't panic.
Also, i was expecting a dirty, smelly dog after 24+ hours in a wooden crate but he was spotless, probably the cleanest he has been for ages.

So to anyone sending their dogs/cats i hope this puts your mind at rest. If you think your pet is up to the journey then do it.

Olivia

[alexjascott]

Can I be rude and ask how much transporting a dog to NZ costs?

I have heard costs of ~£800-£1600, which does seem a little expsensive - especially when you have 2 dogs.

- Do you get a reduction for 2?
- Does it depend on the time of year?

[keeweescot]

Can I be rude and ask how much transporting a dog to NZ costs?

I have heard costs of ~£800-£1600, which does seem a little expsensive - especially when you have 2 dogs.

- Do you get a reduction for 2?
- Does it depend on the time of year?

I've just finished getting quotes for my 2 westies. From what I've seen, it is all down to the size of the dogs. I asked if mine could go in the same crate - some shippers said adamantly NO, others said yeah, shouldn't be a problem (that didn't instil me with a lot of confidence!) :uhoh. I've been quoted between £1850 & just over £2500 from Glasgow to Auckland.

Sal

[veronica]

It cost us about $5k for two dogs one labrador size and the other alsation size. For us it was worth it. They generally won't put the two dogs in the same cage as if they were to fight and someone had to open the crate then the dogs would have to be quarentened, the seal the vet puts on the crate in the UK has to be intact when they arrive. No, no discount for two.

[kiwidollie]

It cost us £2250 for our lab/retriever - but it was well worth it.

Unfortunately, things having not worked out for us over there, he's got to to the return journey in April poor lad x

[alexjascott]

It does seem a little expensive though, why does it cost so much?

Sure they need to fill in paper-work, have a qualified Vet, etc. But even then it seems like highway robbery considering you can fly for about 1/4-1/2 the price.....

[Sarah & Alex]

Here you go... 01588 680240, they have no website, and are in the back of beyond... but very good at what they do.

We used Golden Arrow and they were really good. The Phone number if you need it is: 01 588 680 240 or fax 01 588 680 414