Shipping your pet to Germany, pt. 2- The cost.

Phew-what a 2 weeks this has been! Before we got too far out and I forget everything that's happened, I wanted to update on the costs and realities of getting your pet to Germany.

So. We bought 2 crates (PetMate SkyKennel). We got the cat the small size, and JB the Giant Size. It cost us $240 for both crates. $200 of that was JB's. Yes...it's Expensive. Yes, I would've preferred it to be cheaper. But... we really lucked out later.

You have to get health certificates. It's only good for 10 days, so wait as much as you can! You can get it at your post vet. If you don't have an on-post vet, you'll have to get it from a USDA certified Vet, and hope they have room! We were able to be seen on post, where the screening for health certificates is free, so long as you have a copy of orders. SO- Vet Exam: $0


Since JB had such a large crate, we had to have it disassembled untill we got to the airport. Well, as luck would have it at BWI, pets have to be in crates to go in the terminal. So C and I got to assemble that giant thing in the vestibule between outside and inside. Luckily, at this rate we're like a NASCAR crew with that thing. Once assembled, we got her inside.

Ready for the next bonus? If you are a family with kids or pets, you get to cut the line! I was so thankful for that-we had 4 checked bags, 2 crates, and 4 carry-ons, so we needed the cut.

At check in, the agents gave the animals a quick once over, weighed them in crates (as well as our bags), and then we paid. It was about $350. WHAT?! so much cheaper than I was expecting. Then we had to wait... we checked in right around 7:30 PM, our flight left at Midnight. We couldn't drop the pets off till 10:00 PM. So, we had 2.5 hrs to kill without going through security. We ate, took the pets to the pet relief area a couple times, and talked with family and friends.

Finally, 10 rolled around and we dropped the girls off back at the check in desk. I won't lie-I cried a little. (Story of my life! ha...I'm a cryer). I told JB and Adi that nothing bad could happen to them because if it did I'd lose my sh!t and that's a bad first impression. ;)

It was a quick walk through security, then onto the plane! We got little slips once seated that let us know that our babies had been successfully loaded onto the plane.

That's not where the pet story ends- See, in Germany the pets are examined once more to make sure that they're healthy and not bringing in any crazy illnesses. That cost 55 EUR.That was the end of our costs! Our sponsor picked us up, thankfully in a minivan, so We were able to keep them in their crates till we got to the hotel.

So, when all is said and done, it cost $590 to get them to Germany. Once in Germany, it cost us about 55 EUR for the exams, then probably another $80 in supplies we had shipped ahead of time (Thanks Amazon!).

All totaled- $670. (about $750, once you convert the Euro!) It was extra time. It was money we didn't necessarily want to spend. But these are our babies, so there was no way that we weren't going to find a way to make this work!

Random notes- Our agents didn't care if there was food/water in the crates, or if all attaching hardware was metal. We didn't have to have anything crazy, just the normal paperwork for them and we paid for them as "excess bags".

Please, if you have any questions (or know someone who does) about bring pets over to Germany-especially giants-send them my way! We've met so many families missing their big babies and I'd love to help however I can.

Xo,
Jess

Wir kamen nach Deutschland!

(We came to Germany!)

Well, C and I are starting to settle in here! We got to Germany after a LOT of traveling and visiting with family. Probably not as much visiting as we would've liked, but that's our cookie crumbled this time.

We arrived around 1 PM Germany time on Tuesday, and hit the ground running. Our sponsor had some issues getting to us, thanks to a traffic accident on the autobahn, and so we had confusion on whether we were taking a bus or not. Thankfully, we were able to work it all out and get on our way...only to hit a hiccup trying to find the right person to sign a certain form in Wiesbaden. Thankfully, that all worked out the next day.

We had zero issues with the girls, and I'll do a follow up post of all the costs and steps about that. Spoiler alert: it was WAY cheaper and easier than we thought it would be.

C has been in-processing since we got here and it looks as though that will continue for at least another 2 weeks. We have no idea when we will be getting an apartment (We do have to live on post, fortunately/unfortunately),  but we are #2 on the waiting list so it shouldn't be too terribly long. I think we're now hoping for the part of housing we currently stay in with lodging right now.. so we'll see!

Hopefully in the next few days, after some schoolwork catch-up, I'll have more posts headed y'alls way! Unfortunately, it's 2330 here and I need to get on a normal sleep schedule.

Auf Wiedersehn!
Jess

Taking your pets to Germany, pt.1

Receiving orders to Germany was followed by a ton of "oh gosh,.. What now?" Moments for my husband and me. What do you do with the car, the stuff, everything. One thing was a non-negotiable for us, and that was taking our pets.

Now, we knew at the outset that this would be expensive and time consuming. See, we have a giant breed dog. Our JB is a Great Dane. She is small for a Dane, weighing in at right around 95 lbs. This limits any travel/pcs plans we ever have. She can't fly on most commercial aircraft- her plus a crate is easily over 100 lbs. Luckily, as a military family we can take (and are urged to take) the Patriot Express, which is a military operated flight. Their weight limit is 150 lbs, which we will be skirting awfully close to.  As I've done my research, I've found there aren't many options for those of us with big babies. :) there's not much out there, so I'm compilining all I know into this post, in hopes to help someone in the future!

First- you have options. Know that no matter what, it will be expensive. There is no such thing as shipping a pet OCONUS for cheap.

Option 1- using a service like pet flight. We got a quote from them. For both of our pets (we also have a cat), they wanted over $3,000. This took care of a lot of the things for us- they'd handle the crates, make sure we have the right paperwork, etc. They'd fly the pets into Frankfurt, and we could pick them up there.  You are definitely paying for convenience. If you have kids to wrangle or you just don't want to deal with the red tape, this is definitely a good way to go.

Option 2- travel with them. This is the option we chose. In the long run, it is cheaper, plus they'll be on the plane with us. We chose to fly them both in cargo. Our cat could technically fly in the cabin with us, but she is typically not a good traveler. (Read: she mews every 5 seconds in the car) I didn't want to find out in the midst of a 9 hr flight that she wasn't good in planes either. Our crate costs are probably right around $300. $260 of that is the dogs crate. We got them both petmate sky kennels. They come with all the stickers and bowls they need to fly.  It is costing us to rent a car, though we got a great deal from USAA on that! The post vet does the required checks and paperwork for free, so we save there. There will be "excess baggage" fees for both of them, and a mandatory veterinary examination upon landing in Germany. We don't know what that bottom line looks like yet, but I am keeping a running total. I will share that information once we have it!

There is a third option. You could rehome your pets for the duration of your overseas tour. Some send their pets to live with their grandparents or trusted friends. If they are up for that, it's a great option! I imagine it would be tough to be without your pet for so long, but you know that they are being taken care of and that they are very loved. Plus, you can get them when you go back to the states.The other option is to rehome them in other ways- Craigslist, rescues, local shelters, etc. if this is the route you take, you are giving up what I believe to be a family member. I recommend this only as an absolute last resort.

I'll keep you all apprised of what happens from here on out! Our next step is the girls' appointment for our pre-screen and health certificates for the flight!