[ThomasOHare]

Well, since you all asked... The trip to Germany from Florida ;-)

This is all JUST MY OPINION and not a legal document. Just my experience and outlook. Your situation could/will vary from mine. So you have been warned!

In Europe the EU (European Union) now has a blanket policy that covers all EU states (Germany, Austria, etc). So you must conform to EU laws which is cool because they now cover so many different countries.

NO QUARANTINE!

Yes! No quarantine time for the "kids".

You do need an EU ID Chip much like the ones here -- but obviously they are not compatible. A chip is a must and is of course embedded in the USA first.

USDA

All you really need to get a dog to EU is a USDA certificate. Any Vet office with any real experience can fill out the papers and give all required shots (just the usual ones mainly). But BE CAREFUL, Rabies MUST be done > 30 days before travel and others must be done < 30 days before travel. Check with your Vet or USDA.

The USDA was very cooperative in my case. A stamp MUST be placed on EACH page of the documentation. They messed up but fixed it quickly.

Then you have ~10 days to get the dog in the air! I "believe" there is a 10 day limit on papers for traveling dogs. So be sure of your plans.

Most carriers have weather restrictions. Usually 85F is the top temp a dog can fly. Any higher and your dog is grounded until such time as the temp drops and they can be loaded. Check with your carrier as to Temp restrictions.

You can fly 3 ways, by a animal shipper (easiest), as extra baggage (a little more headache and stress) or as freight. An air animal mover is not cheap but the one I used ended up doing their job very well. They took care of all the details (I had flown out 3 weeks ahead to get ready).

As baggage is cheapest and United charges 2x the over size baggage rate ($220 USD for each Rott).

Make sure your kennel is the proper size. If you take them as baggage the animal is taken out and inspected along side the crate to insure proper fit.

Also, especially back to the USA, you will most likely have to take your pet out of the crate and let customs inspect at your port of entry if flown as baggage.

You have to pay a number of fees when you arrive in Europe (they have a fee for everything). So be prepared to spend up to a few hundred Euros.

In my case the papers were taken off the crate by Lufthansa and did not make it to the Vet station for an extra 4 hours. Papers must be attached to the crate. If they are not attached, you need to start causing an uproar with your carrier to get your pets out of the Vet station ASAP.

The Vets in Germany were very helpful but they had to obey EU laws. Lufthansa messed up and caused quite a problem for us. But eventually that same day all was finally resolved after Lufthansa decided the dogs USDA papers needed to be at the Vet station and not at Lufthansa cargo station. A lot of stress (on all) and time wasted because of a simple mix up. I know better now...

Both kids were worn out but safe. I was a very happy camper.

I will post the return trip another day.

If you have questions, please post here.
Thomas O'Hare