Red, White and Tulips

One of the first things we discussed when we considered moving to The Netherlands was could our precious rescue poodle Maggie join us. Thankfully the answer was yes and the government laid out a pretty clear plan on how to do it. Because we are moving from the U.S., we have to comply with the requirements for low risk non-EU countries.

• ID, a microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination.
• Vaccinated against rabies 21 days prior to entry in the EU. If the previous vaccination is still valid, there is no need to wait 21 days.
• Veterinary certificate issued by an official veterinarian of the authority, or by an authorized veterinarian and subsequently endorsed by the competent authority from the country the animal is travelling from.
• Owners declaration 
• Dogs, cats and ferrets must be at least 15 weeks of age (3 months + 21 days) before they may travel to the Netherlands.

So now you have all the paperwork, how do you actually get the animal there. Between Houston and Amsterdam, the easiest choices are United or KLM. But unfortunately neither was going to allow us to take our Maggie in the cabin with us.

United cabin pets – $125 service charge each way, additional $125 for each stopover of more than four hours within the U.S. or more than 24 hours outside of the U.S. Must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel, fit completely under the seat in front of you and remain there at all times. The maximum dimensions for hard-sided kennels are 17.5 x 12 x 7.5 inches (44 cm x 30 cm x 19 cm). The recommended maximum dimensions for soft-sided kennels are 18 x 11 x 11 inches (46 cm x 28 cm x 28 cm).

KLM cabin pets – can only travel in Economy Class, you cannot bring a pet in Premium Comfort Class or Business Class on intercontinental routes. Pets must fit in a closed pet travel bag or kennel with a maximum of 18 x 11 x 9 inches (46 x 28 x 24 cm) and travel underneath the seat in front of you. Together with your pet, the travel bag or kennel can weigh no more than 8 kg.

But then…while waiting for a flight, our resident traveler encountered a couple with a dog similar in size, who were getting ready to board with it on his same Lufthansa flight. Could it be that we could actually take Maggie with us in the cabin? It turns out that Lufthansa has a much more generous cabin pet policy. They allow a soft-sided carrier do not exceed 118 cm (55 x 40 x 23 cm) or 47 inches (22 x 16 x 9 inches).

Lufthansa tickets purchased. So cross your fingers for us.