Returning to Europe with pets

[Old Daffodil]

We have driven back to Europe with our two dogs,no problems.

First we drove across from England with a British car after selling our Turkish vehicle.We first had to have the plastic fitted on the headlights to correct the beam.Good journey out through beautiful France then some sightseeing in Pisa;Florence and Rome.Hotel near Rome was interesting,Villa Vecchia,developed a taste for Frascati wine there.Caught ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsq in Greece and drove across Greece with one night stop at Kavala,very nice hotels there and a history of Ottoman residents.Cross into Turkey next day and drive to Fethiye.

Our vet in Ovacik has organised our export papers for the dogs,this has meant the necessary rabies injections and blood tests: Load the dogs in the car and leave early in morning while it is cool.Drive to the other side of Koycegiz and we all have a break.Drive up to Cannakkle past Izmir.We are catching the ferry from Cannakle and whilst on the harbour a school of dolphins is playing and fishing in the water,lovely sight.The dogs come and sit with us on the car ferry.It is sunset and the tribute to the soldiers which is on the hill is very moving.We drive to Gelibolu along the coast road and stay the night at the Marti hotel which allows pets.They cook us a lovely meal even though it is late:Our big dog is on the balcony sleeping:The hotel is ten kilometres past Gelibolu on the way to the border so it will be a good situation for the next day.
We start off for the border at seven the next day and go out through three check points from Turkey,lots of soldiers about.We cross over to the Greek check point and then stop at another check point where a few officials in the office ask about the dogs and look at the papers,then we are told we can drive through.We are driving along the roads of Greece at eight o!clock.
:D:D

We catch the Superfast ferry from Igoumenitsa to Ancona and the kennels are on the tenth deck,they trvel up in the lift as our big dog does not like stairs.Relax that night in cabin and have a meal in the restaurant.No other Brits mostly Germans,Greeks and Italians.The next morning we collect our dogs and are waiting for access to car decks by the lift.We reach the seventh floor and cannot go any further,this is the restaurant floor.Our big dog will not take the stairs and slips his lead.He then proceeds to dash into the rest and restaurant area,leaping from sofa to sofa whilst the Greeks,Italians and Germans,and collapse with laughter watching our efforts to catch him.He eventually calms down and puts his head on my knee completely bemused by the situation.We at last are allowed to the car deck and he skids across the metal floor which his paws cannot get a grip on.He leaps into the back of the car relieved to be safe.We are soon off and away to Italy,probably now never to be allowed on a Superfast ferry again.

[lissa]

And into Uk? No quarantine?

[Scunner]

Where does it say the dogs came into the UK?

[Old Daffodil]

I am typing this in France where I think we may have to stay for six months.We went to the local vet who speaks fair English and has issued us with dog passports after checking the chips with a scanner.She is going to check how long we need to stay in France for us.I will let you know what she says.
We are renting a cottage at the moment and I am enjoying exploring the local area which is very rural with plenty of places to take the dogs out.The owner of a local hotel which has a very good restaurant has kept a pack of wolves some years ago and loves our dogs thankfully.The cottage has outhouses so our big dog is very comfortable.There are good golf courses here and I hope to visit Paris if we do have to stay six months.

[Scunner]

I had a very interesting conversation with a Turkish vet (identity withheld) who told me a very interesting way to return to the UK with dogs/pets.

Basically drive from Turkey to France, find somewhere to stay, take your dogs to the local vet and say you found them (in France) by the motorway or something, and that you intend to keep them but you live in the UK. He can give them jabs as required for EU dogs entering the UK and off you go to Calais.

I have no idea if that is workable.

[farmer]

It sounds like this may work.
Just in case the U.K authorities became suspicious, anyone doing this would have to be certain they also have destroyed any evidence they may have that the dogs had previously been in Turkey, without spending the appropriate quarantine time in an E.C  country before being "imported" to the U.K.
Photos, any email photo attachments and so on.  Dog passport issued in Turkey etc. You would also have to persuade your Ovacik Vet to destroy their records.
And be prepared to take the consequences if the U.K authorities found out you had lied to them.
The immediate and unavoidable first consequence of being "found out" would be that the dogs would be destroyed.
Then you would be prosecuted for a Criminal offence ( not a Civil offence ).
I am glad nobody actually suggested this method could be  a viable  method of circumventing U.K. law.
I am also sorry that the reported "interesting conversation" post  followed by "I have no idea if that is workable" sentence did not include a comment on the possible consequences.

farmer

[Scunner]

I'm not a vet, lawyer or customs expert. I speak to a lot of people and sometimes see where sharing information might be of interest to others. The idea that someone unfortunate enough to have their dogs destroyed is somehow my fault is quite ludicrous. If I post that some people rob banks it isn't my fault if someone gets caught doing so.

The responsibility for knowing all the facts before doing something risky isn't mine...

[MarkPatterson]

Hi Daffodil,

Was your dog chipped in England or Turkey? If it was in Turkey you definitely wouldn't get the dog into England without quarantine or a 6 months stay in France. If the dog was chipped in England then customs would wonder where the dog had stayed when you travelled to Turkey.  Customs will check your passport too besides the dog's passport. It sounds like you've had a lovely tip anyway and France sounds brill.

Mark

[peecee]

That was the problem when we tried to send Bonnie (a labrador my friend found, or should I say she found him)  To leave Turkey it had to be chipped so there was a record of origin.  The vet said it was illegal for him to 'delete' the records which are worldwide so the chip would have to have been removed and another put in.   Again, illegal.
Anyway, Bonnie eventually ended up in Germany with a family and a couple of playmates so is very happy!
A couple who lived here in Didim have moved to Bulgaria and set up a 'transit home' home for people wanting to take their pets back.  You can stay with the dogs/cat etc for 6 months or nip backwards and forwards to visit.  Hope it is successful.

[Old Daffodil]

Hallo again. We have just had the internet and telephone put in for our use at the cottage. In France you have to have a new number put in when you take over a telephone.
We are enjoying exploring the area which is part of the Loire Valley and there are endless walks in the countryside for dogs, horses and humans to enjoy. The cottage is actually two cottages knocked into one  and has large woodburning stoves at either end of the building which is good as apparently it will be cold in the winter here. There is a front door which is the old stable door style where the bottom can be shut and the top left open.One of the cottages was the local bakery and the oven is still there.  In the evening the sunset is beautiful.
The lady vet here speaks good English and has informed us that we will have to be here for some time ( I can handle that)!We did have all the rabies injections and tests done at a European approved lab in Turkey but that is not enough. We have had another rabies jab done on each dog and will have to have the blood test done a month after that by which time I would think they will be ultra rabies resistant!The results on the last test were very good but not recognised as they are not in Europe. We have had a passport issued to us and it looks fine for travelling to Britain. I think once it is all sorted out we will be able to cross backwards and forwards from Britain to Europe quite easily. I can understand why people try other ways of dealing with the situation if they want to go straight back but would be worried about any knock at the door if we did try anything not bona fide.
We are making the most of the situation by enjoying everything France has to offer which is a lot thankfully and I am gradually working my way through the Frascati we bought in Italy! I am trying not to speak Turkish to French people now and say Bonjour instead of Merhaba!There is a Turkish kebab shop here if we do feel nostalgic for a little Turkish food and conversation. :DBy the way the first thing the vet did was to use a machine which detected the chips in the dogs and verified them with the paperwork.
We have had a very enjoyable time travelling across Europe with the dogs thanks to staying in some lovely places on our trip.The Cascina Bella Vista in Italy was very good to us and our big dog slept happily in the garden there,it was a good dog walking area too.We stopped in a Chambre de Hautes in Vesovres France which is farm accommodation and that too catered for the dogs. Chambre de hautes are often a good option for pet owners.