When you're all ready to go off on holiday abroad do you ever think that it would be great to take the dog with you too?   A walking holiday in the Dordogne?   Camping out in Portugal?  Trekking through the wild Spanish hills - dog at heel and enjoying every moment.

Only if you've made arrangements a long time in advance will this be possible.   Whilst you can take your dog or cat taken out of the country your pet can't come back without going into quarantine - unless he or she has a pet passport.  Alright, I'll go and get one.   Hold on a moment, this will take a long time to arrange - start organising it now for next year and you might be all right.

The Pets Travel Scheme (PETS) allows you to take your dog or cat with you on holiday abroad and bring them back into the U.K. without them having to go into quarantine.  That is, only if all the requirements have been met.

A vet would issue the necessary documentation - the 'pet passport' and then you would be able to come and go with your dog as much as you pleased.   But getting the 'passport' is a lengthy business - and will take at least six months.

First you will have to have your pet microchipped and then vaccinated against rabies.   This has to be done again, even if your dog or cat have already had this vaccination.   Only when a blood test has been taken and six months later shows that the level of protection against rabies is satisfactory, will the documentation be issued.     Once you have the 'pet passport' you will have to arrange suitable transport on an authorised route.  This may not be as difficult as it sounds.  

Remember that your pet cannot come back into this country until the 6 month blood test to check for rabies protection has been found to be alright.

One last thing to consider - when you are ready to come back home, your dog or cat will have to be treated for ticks and tapeworm - and you must provide documentation for this so having a vet do it is best.   This has to be done not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before your pet is checked in to come back to the U.K.

More details and to keep up to date with any possible change to the rules - visit the government website - Defra.

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