pets..

[Stephie098]

I am being told by various different people that it will cost "several thousand" dollars to get my dog (english mastiff) to Kadena. Is there any fact in this? Roughly how much do you think it would cost?

[NotSoAverageWife]

now I know your dog is bigger than my doberman. however we flew my mom out here on american airlines with our doberman. From Atl to tokyo...it cost less than 200$....then another 200$ from Tokyo to Oki. However, my dog was flying with her. Hope this can give you some kind of idea.
Also my mom took another doberman home with her....it cost her about 600$ from here in Oki....back to Atl. GA

[Takako]

There is a maximum weight limit for the dog and crate (150lbs?). If you have a big dog that extra cost might be the weight. Contact your TMO, they should be able to give you that info.

[DoctorP]

There is a maximum weight limit for the dog and crate (150lbs?). If you have a big dog that extra cost might be the weight. Contact your TMO, they should be able to give you that info.

Good advice...also contact the airlines in your area and ask them directly what the charge would be.

[wenjam]

Also, if it is over a certain limit, they will make you ship them as cargo...very expensive....talking about $1000. I know someone who had to pay that because his dog was so big....We had to pay $700 on the way to the USA...each time you chang an airline, you have to pay again.....try to keep the same airline with as little stops as possible.

[xXNothingnessXx]

What ever you do bring them with you when you PCS. Myself and my neighbor had our dogs shipped here. He did it with a pet service and cost him $7,000 to get his 2 dogs here. I had a family member bring my dog and it was such a hassle with all of the paperwork and language barrier.

[OKI4EVR]

i guess i have a bad memory :old: as i do not recall spending big bucks to fly my two (two large containers) babies over here from VA and i brought them back over while i was on a TDY trip. :D biggest issue was timing for meeting forcasted heat condition requirements at each airport. :eek: i believe if you use AMC this is not something you have to worry about. :)

[wenjam]

AMC was more expensive @ $180 from WA to Oki...then from ATL to WA was only $150 with DELTA. Not bad...I had a large kennel...my dog weighed 70 lbs. It is better to just check with the airlines and make sure there is room for your pet on the plane. When you get your reservations made, call the airlines and reserve a spot for your dog...they can give you the price it will be for your pet. If you are traveling with several different airlines, you will have to call each one, and do the same thing.

Also, make sure you have all the appropriate paperwork taken care of.

[Stephie098]

Rabies and chipping are all taken care of. I go up Friday to get the FAVN done. Starting early in case we have to repeat. If all goes well we can get the pooch there and only have a 12 hour quarantine instead of up to 180 days.

[xXNothingnessXx]

If you live on base you can do in house quarantine if you need to. Make sure you keep all of the records on you in the flight...like with SRB, medical records, and passports. The first stop you make in Japan..mainland or Okinawa will be your point of entry and you will go through customs with the dog.

[wenjam]

the USDA is the MOST IMPORTANT!! That is one thing they will not let you get through without. That is the only thing they really checked for on mine...and one looked at the FAVN test too....just make sure you have the USDA...only good for 30 days, and you will need a 10 day health certificate as well.

[OKI4EVR]

the USDA is the MOST IMPORTANT!! That is one thing they will not let you get through without. That is the only thing they really checked for on mine...and one looked at the FAVN test too....just make sure you have the USDA...only good for 30 days, and you will need a 10 day health certificate as well.

USDA is important, but it is much easier if you have access to Vet Clinic on Military Base. They recoginized all my paper-work for my boys from the Vet Clinic on Travis AFB, so it is a safe bet that any Vet Clinic on a Military Installation can take care of your requirements. However, I would call and verify just in case. :)

[wenjam]

TRUE!! Some military bases even have a USDA vet, so it does not have to get sent off.

[Stephie098]

My vet is off base but they have the number here to the USDA guy so it should be no problem getting that done. Plus my off base vet sends off all the bloodwork and such. The onbase vet would have had me take the bloodwork up to the fedex center at the airport and ship it overnight myself.

[wenjam]

that is lazy on their part...after all, you are paying them...not vice versa. Some people.

[okisteve]

A friend in CA asked me if there would be any interest in her 9-week old mastiff puppies here in Okinawa. She has 3 for sale. I said I would post but there are problems of getting them here, etc.

Anyone interested?

[DoctorP]

A friend in CA asked me if there would be any interest in her 9-week old mastiff puppies here in Okinawa. She has 3 for sale. I said I would post but there are problems of getting them here, etc.

Anyone interested?

put them in the classifieds, not here.

[okisteve]

put them in the classifieds, not here.

I will do that but I was hoping someone might tell me if it is just too much of a hassle to even consider getting them shipped over here. I don't know myself and would not want to get anyone's hopes up if it's too difficult.

[Trail]

Okisteve-
The pups have to be a certain age and also have certain shots even before you consider shipping them.

Here are Japan's import procedures:
http://www.usarj.army.mil/organization/vet/import.aspx

[Stephie098]

They would need microchipped, rabies shots, and an FAVN titer. Or that is what is needed for me to ship my dog.....if we are able to.

[Trail]

They would need microchipped, rabies shots, and an FAVN titer. Or that is what is needed for me to ship my dog.....if we are able to.

You need all that Steph if you are able to plus a USDA exam of your dog that takes place 10 days before your depart. Rabies and titer must be done within 6 months of depart I believe.

Japan just makes importing pups difficult. I didn't see a specific age range but it would imagine it would be after ALL shots are done and up to date plus the time it take for the titer and exam.

[Stephie098]

Yep we have everything done, just waiting for time to do the USDA bit.

Now if we could just get some ANSWERS on getting her there, id be happy. The vet on Kadena says "You will have problems due to her size".

[wenjam]

You need all that Steph if you are able to plus a USDA exam of your dog that takes place 10 days before your depart. Rabies and titer must be done within 6 months of depart I believe.

Japan just makes importing pups difficult. I didn't see a specific age range but it would imagine it would be after ALL shots are done and up to date plus the time it take for the titer and exam.

USDA is good for 30 days. You need a 10 day health certificate...not the same thing. Puppies have to be a certain age...not to mention it is Summer..makes it more difficult to bring pups and evewn any pets here due to the heat.

[zenzelle]

Yep we have everything done, just waiting for time to do the USDA bit.

Now if we could just get some ANSWERS on getting her there, id be happy. The vet on Kadena says "You will have problems due to her size".

I would talk directly to the airlines - That is what I did. I found calling the Kadena Vet to be useless when trying to get specific questions answered. The people that the phones are not well paid (as I discovered after arriving) and very busy so it is hard to find someone that has time to talk to you or who is really knowledgeable.

Mind you I just brought a cat from Germany here to Okinawa so I didnt have size issues. But we were only given 2 months warning. Not nearly enough time to get the FAVIN test done 6 months out. I was really concerned because of this and it took multiple phone calls to the kadena vet before I finally was able to talk to someone who seemed to know enough to ease my fears. But if anything is off with paperwork they just give you 6 mo quarantine. You are miles ahead of the game with the paperwork.

Anyway - talk to TMO and the specific airlines you will be using to get the real answers about size, costs, and weather restrictions.

[P_chan]

Good news, I got my dog on my flight:thumbup:

[Trail]

Good news, I got my dog on my flight:thumbup:

Hurray! :first:
Did you have much difficulty?

[P_chan]

Well the bimbo at the MPF tried to tell me that he wasn't getting on the flight because I waited until now to get my portcall. I figured two months was plenty of time, and I was right. I know you should start out processing early, but six months is WAY too early.