Traveling With Pets

Will you be traveling this holiday season and plan on taking Fido and Whiskers with you? Here are a few websites that can ease the stress of making sure both you and your pets have a happy holiday!

Care for Pets
By the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the site covers information related to keeping pets healthy and contains advice on vet selection, pet selection, pet loss, and traveling with your pet. The site is well organized, easy to navigate, and has links to thousands of veterinary medical and animal-related online resources. Their excellent search engine includes a database of full-text articles from the AVMA Network, as well as the NetVet and Electronic Zoo resources.

DogFriendly.com
This site "lists and describes thousands of dog-friendly places throughout the U.S. and Canada, from lodging to outdoor restaurants, parks, beaches, attractions and more." It focuses "on listing only places that allow dogs of all sizes and breeds." Also includes tips for traveling with dogs, newsletters, a photo gallery, and lists of dog-friendly events and employers. Browsable by location or type of place, or searchable. (Highlights sponsor listings.)

Importation of Pets, Other Animals, and Animal Products Into the United States
This page describes regulations governing "the importation [to the U.S.] of dogs, cats, turtles, monkeys, other animals, and animal products capable of causing human disease." The FAQ on animal importation also addresses questions about horses, small terrestrial mammals and rodents, snakes, fish, birds, and animal trophies. From the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Movement of Pets (Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) - Questions & Answers
Information about the European Union pet passports for dogs, cats, and ferrets. The site provides rules for pet passports.

Taking Your Pet on the Plane
Discussion of "what the law, the airlines and veterinarians recommend" when traveling with a pet on an airline. Covers animals that will not be accepted for air travel (such as pug-nosed dog breeds), planning for a flight with an animal (such as communication with airlines, feeding, and exercise), pet travel in the airplane cabin versus the cargo hold, and related topics. From Nolo, a California publisher of legal self-help books.


And remember: please always check with your local veternarian before traveling with your furry friends!