Travel
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A Smoother Journey

International pet travel can be a complicated and time-consuming process. To help you prepare, the team at Caring Hands Animal Hospital has put together this guide.

Keep in mind that traveling with your pet internationally often requires months of preparation, especially for Rabies-free destinations like Hawaii, Australia, and the UK. Some locations may require planning up to 180 days in advance.

Starting Your Pet's International Travel Plans

Before traveling internationally with your pet, we recommend visiting the USDA-APHIS website for pet travel guidelines. Additionally, check with your airline for specific requirements, as most airlines require a health certificate issued within 10 days of travel.

It’s also wise to contact the U.S. Embassy in your destination country to confirm their pet travel regulations. Once you have all the necessary details, we recommend contacting a pet travel group like Pender Air to help finalize arrangements. While Caring Hands Animal Hospital is happy to help with medical care, we do not complete international travel forms.

Essential Documents to Bring

Please have the following items ready for your appointment with us:
  • A copy of all vaccination records (if administered elsewhere).
  • The original rabies certificate (if administered elsewhere).
  • Your pet’s flea/tick and heartworm medications, along with the dates of the last doses.
  • Your pet’s microchip number and implantation date. If your pet is not microchipped, we can implant an ISO-compliant microchip at Caring Hands Animal Hospital. Some countries require the rabies vaccine to be administered after microchip implantation.
  • The address of your destination. If unsure, you can use the U.S. Embassy’s address.
  • Your departure date from the U.S. and your arrival date at your final destination.
  • A list of the airlines you’ll be traveling with and any countries where you may have layovers.

Certification and Endorsement

For most countries, once a USDA-accredited veterinarian completes your International Health Certificate, it must be endorsed by the USDA State Veterinarian. Be sure to consider federal holidays when mailing, as they may affect the endorsement timeline.

There are two ways to obtain endorsement:

  • By appointment only in Richmond, VA (walk-ins not accepted).
or
  • Overnight mailing to the USDA office in Albany, NY (preferred method).
Wishing you the best on your upcoming travels! We look forward to seeing you soon!

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