[Sam'n'Kelv]

Has anyone any experience of bringing pets to NZ? We are planning to bring a labrador and cat. Any advice welcome.

[willsken]

We are flying our dog out as she is still young enough to make the journey. It's not cheap though. We are paying nearly £1400 to fly her out. This goes on size so a Lab would cost more than this. We are using Golden Arrow to ship her and they seem like a popular choice. Cheaper than the rest and the service they provide is excellent.

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Thanks for that Nicola.

£1400? Now we're really scared. Not only is it a labrador - it's a very fat labrador.

[willsken]

:laugh :laugh

[jubjub]

We bought our 9yr old collie, with Golden Arrow, cost us nearly £1600 last year, if my parents would have taken him, I would have left him, but they did not want him (despite enjoying him visit!) so he came with us, we had him as a rescue dog, and I could not do that to him again, everyone said we were soft in the head.

Against:-

Its harder to get a rental that accepts pets
There are strict dog restrictions in place, and lots of places they cant go (especially in summer there are further beach restrictions in place)
Its expensive, you would prob be looking at about £3000 for dog & cat, you could get a decent 2nd hand car for that over here.

For:-

The kids would never forgive you for leaving the dog/cat behind!
Helps you settle cos you still have your faithful friend
Makes you get out and about and you get chatting to all sorts of folks when out on dog walks

[willsken]

We decided to bring Pepper because our youngest boy really really loves her (as apposed to Matt and I being quite fond of her and OH telling her it would be fun to play on the main road for a while!! :roll ) What we were afraid of is the boy seeing NZ as the reason for him losing his beloved dog.

[Ana&Steve]

That's a toughie...I was so set on bringing all three cats, but one is 19, one (hubbys) has a serious attitude, and one suddenly decided the world is his litterbox (he's pooping everywhere) I thought I couldn't live without them, but now I'm seeing little dollar signs over heads. :o ($3000 US per cat :eek: )
I'll probably change my mind 20 more times before the move. I really do love the little knuckleheads!
Ana

[pint of guinness]

we brought our two labbies when we came over this august. we used golden arrow (can't recomment them enough - superb service) and i think the cost was about £4000 for the two. ours are only 2 and a half and there is no way we could have left them behind. however, i will second the post which said that it is MUCH more difficult to get a rental with dogs (we are paying over the asking price for the one we are in) . we were also surprised at the number of places where we are not allowed to take them. having said that, there are a lot of dog owners around here and they are a fab way of getting to know people - people always stop to talk to you so allow a lot of extra time when taking them for walks.....

[Jameelka]

We flew Bronnie our Golden Retriever over with Golden Arrow about 10 weeks ago.They were great with her and us, but not cheap, think it cost about 2,300 pounds, but she is worth every penny! If she did n't come I did n't!! and then the girls would n't have either!! so there was no ifs or buts she was coming!
Was shocked at how strict NZ is over where dogs can and can't go though, but just takes time in where u settle to work out the walks!
Bronnie is like a magnet to water and is just loving it here, especially the walks by the sea, which we were there again today! She's just like a child, won't come out of the water!
So to me even though some people thought we were mad bringing her over, we or I just love her to bits, and it would have just been like leaving one of the girls behind in the UK!
Melanie :exit

[Howie]

We moved our 10 year old lab - even with the 30 day quarantine from the US and gladly paid the $3000US. I simply would have not moved without him. That would be like asking most people if they are bringing their baby with them. Yes I know I'm weird. If the quarantine had been longer than 30 days, we simply wouldn't have moved to NZ.
Yes it's harder to find a rental, but we managed to find a place that has worked out really well. When we moved in we also asked if it would be OK if we got a puppy and they said no problem - so now we're up to 2 dogs.
As far as the dog restrictions go, I find it similar to North America and my dogs love going to the beach.
Susan

[gil]

We WERE going to ship Macy our beloved Staffordshire, aged 10-ish, but the against factors that weighed most with us were her desparate need for frequent human tactile contact (26 hours in a crate would have been horrendous for her) and the fact that it would have cost £1800. Staffs have an average lifespan of 10 years....probably sounds mercenary to some of you, but it's a real consideration for us. We have been in touch with some Staff breeders through the NZ Kennel Club, so we will have a new dog in our new life.
Macy was re-homed last Saturday, to a lovely family (the mum and dad of some of our good neighbours) and I have just spoken to them this morning and she is really settled and happy. Thye have a daughter with learning difficulties in her late thirties, and Macy is really attached to her already.

We had selected Golden Arrow and even though we haven't had the experience in the end, they were fantastic to deal with.
Good luck,

Gil

[olivia]

We are taking our 6 year old Border Terrier Buzby with us and we are also using Golden Arrow. I found their service (so far) to be exceptional and the price was roughly the same as the other quotes i got.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Olivia

[olivia]

Gil,

I bet that was such a hard decision to make. It must be comforting to know Macy is settling in well. I think age is a major factor in bringing your pet. If Buzby was a couple of years older i don't think we would have been able to bring him, it is after all a long stressful journey.

Olivia

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Thank you so much for all your really helpful advice. I didn't quite anticipate the full cost, but like everyone says, what choice do we have? I did consider 'losing' the animals in the woods and then trying to convince the kids that they were kidnapped, but deep down I knew it wouldn't work. It looks like I'll need to bite the bullet on this one and fork out the cash.

I did try searching for Golden Arrow on the web without any success. Does any one have a web address or contact details?

Many thanks again. This site is great :raebanana

[jubjub]

Here you go... 01588 680240, they have no website, and are in the back of beyond... in deepest darkest Shropshire (but they do collect)

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Many thanks.

[StevieD]

It is quite a contentious issue, we already have to leave the lads bunny behind (he is an absolute star too, cheeky as they come) and the old dog just won't make it. However, the "youngest" is 12 but fit as a fiddle. It would break our hearts to think that harm would come to her, but the cost is a serious issue. Guess we got some serious thinking in the months to come.

BTW Nicola, what type of dog is Pepper? We got to think about our Yorkie, so would be nice to have an idea ....

Steve

[willsken]

She is a Cocker Spaniel. Quite a bit bigger than your Yorkie!!! As the cost goes on the size of the dog is should be fair bit cheaper. If you measure her and ring GA they should be able to give you a rough cost. :)

[StevieD]

Thanks Nic, although she is not the tiny variety but a larger type yorkie. Will get the tape measure out lol

[jubjub]

Thanks Nic, although she is not the tiny variety but a larger type yorkie. Will get the tape measure out lol

Good luck, our fella hated getting measured, its as if he knew something was up!

You need to measure, nose to tail, width across shoulders and height inc ears, if I remember right!