Returning to the UK with your Pet

With the financial crisis many of our favourite pets are returning to the UK with their owners. 
I always advice English clients to prepare the paperwork, just in case they ever want to go back, as we have now had many cases of devastated owners that need to go back, but are unable to take their beloved pets with them. If the paperwork is not a hundred percent correct, the pets will be rejected at the border. Let me try to explain what exactly should be done, so you can move freely with your pets at any time.

First of all, to travel within Europe (except the UK and some Scandinavian countries), all the pet needs is a European passport, a microchip and a rabies vaccine. This vaccination must be more than 30 days old if it is the animal’s first rabies vaccine. This will be valid for a time span
according to the manufacturer’s guidelines, and can vary from one to three years. If your animal has the revaccination done within the time span, you don’t need to wait the initial 30 days 
before travelling.

For the UK, however, rules are a bit more complicated. As stated above, your animal will need a European passport, a microchip and a rabies vaccination. However, after the animal’s rabies vaccination, blood should be taken and sent off to evaluate if your pet has sufficient rabies antibodies. You have to wait 30 days from the day of the vaccination until the sample can be taken, however, if your animals is up to date with its boosters, you can simply have the sample taken straight away. Counting from the day the blood is withdrawn, you have to wait six months before you can travel, there is no way whatsoever this time span can be shorter, no matter how quickly you get the result back (which can vary from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the laboratory). Rarely, the laboratory comes back with the result that your pet has insufficient antibodies. In that case, the animal needs to be revaccinated, wait 30 days, retest and start all over again.

Once the result comes back, the vet will stamp in the passport that the test has been successfully completed, and, if you keep your boosters updated, you do not need to repeat this lengthy process and your pet is free to travel whenever you want. Once you have decided when you are going to travel, you need to make an appointment with the vet. should be treated against Echinococcus multilocularis and ticks, date and time of such administration has to been signed and stamped in the passport. Ready to go!!

Click here to find out more; visit the British Embassy website

General Rules for Pet Owners in Spain

All domestic pets in Spain must be identified by microchip or by a clearly readable tattoo. The tattoo will only be accepted as a means of identification until 3 July 2011.

Vaccination against rabies is compulsory. It is also advisable to have dogs vaccinated against other diseases such as distemper and hardpad. Cats should be immunised against feline gastro enteritis and typhus.

There is no law against dogs fouling public places, except in Granada, however people are becoming increasingly sensitive about it and there are specific rules within certain places, such as urban parks.

Dogs should be kept on a lead in public places.

By law, dogs travelling in a car must be kept away from the driver or restrained.

Generally, dogs are permitted on trains. Sometimes they may need to be contained in a pet carrier, or they may have to be muzzled. Dogs normally travel at half the fare of a 2nd class ticket; this charge is payable directly to the conductor.

Find out more about pet laws in Andalucia

Vacinations

New regulations for your pet vaccine program have been introduced in Spain. Dogs and cats should be vaccinated at 10-12 weeks. Pets should be vaccinated for Rabies at this time. Also at three months, microchip and registration with RAIA, the veterinery governing body for Andalucia. Finally you are required to complete an EU pet passport. All vaccines are done annually.

Processionary Caterpillars or Procesionarias del pino

The processionary pine caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is usually three to four centimetres long, brown and hairy. At the start of spring the caterpillars come out of round, white, fuzzy nests built in pine trees (normally property owners will burn these nests if they see them) and travel down the tree and across the ground in single file, sometimes stopping in writhing circles. This phenomenon will continue well into the summer. These caterpillars are extremely dangerous as they "burn" the flesh of any animal, child or person that touches them. A small animal can die from the burn on contact. If a pet comes in to contact with these caterpillars it is advisable to seek veterinary assistance immediately.

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a disease that mainly affects domestic dogs. In humans it is called Kala-Azar which is the Indian for black fever. It is carried by a small, yellow sand fly that resembles a mosquito and is around two to three millimetres long. Mediterranean countries are severely affected by this disease. It is said that the fly carrying the disease does not bite at sea level, only at altitude - but the altitude at which they bite is not high. Any question about the area can be addressed to the local ayuntamiento (town hall) or vet.

Typically the fly bites the exposed skin of the dog (nose and ears). Dogs can incubate Leishmaniasis for over a year before displaying symptoms, which vary from dog to dog. One clue is when the hair around a dog's eyes drops out and claws grow abnormally. Infected animals will lose weight, become anaemic and often display symptoms of renal failure. If medical help is not sought, the dog will die after several months.

There are products (available from vets) that can protect against the bite if applied regularly and should be used to protect against this disease from spring to autumn, when the risk is highest. Also cattle pest control badges are said to protect against the bites, but the best protection is to keep a dog inside from before dusk until after dawn, the time when the flies are most active.

Find out more about Leishmaniasis

Heartworm

Heartworm disease (Dirofilaria immitis) is a caused by a parasite carried and transmitted in its larvae stage by mosquitoes. Once the larvae matures the adult worms reside in the pulmonary arteries (blood vessels in the lungs), and cause blockages, inflammation and damage to blood vessels. While most commonly found in cats and dogs, other species can be infected.

The infection can not be detected during the six first months with no signs of infection usually apparent until the worms mature.

Symptoms include coughing, exhaustion, severe weight loss and fainting. Cats may also get pneumonia-like symptoms, diarrhoea and may vomit.

The disease is not easy to treat and can be fatal; however early diagnosis may result in full recovery. Prevention is preferable and a pet can be protected from infection with the use of anti-mosquito drops and collar treatments.

Ehrlchiosis or Tick Disease

Ticks hide in well watered gardens and in the bushes and shrubbery of the fields, especially in areas frequented by passing sheep and goats. This is where dogs collect ticks. The female tick of the Rhipicephalus can be a "carrier" of tick disease, she can carry bacteria of the species "Rickettsia", known as Ehrlichia canis in her saliva. Whilst sucking blood from the dog, the tick can infect the dog with Ehrlichia. After a variable incubation period, Ehrlichia reach certain white blood cells (moncytes) which flow in the blood stream and can infect the whole body.

Prevention of Tick Disease

After every walk, examine your dog for ticks. If you find ticks, remove them immediately, the longer the tick sucks blood, the more likely is a following infection with tick disease. Ask your vet how to remove a tick correctly.

In regions where there is a big tick problem, the dog should be protected with special repellent, anti-tick collars or liquids, ask your veterinarian for advice.

If you find a tick fixed in your own skin, remove it immediately with alcohol (of the pharmaceutical variety, NOT gin!) and a clockwise turning movement. NEVER PULL. Then consult your doctor.

Symptoms of Tick Disease

A. High fever and complete weakness after tick infestation.
B. Eye and nose discharge.
C. Loss of appetite, loss of weight.
D. Serious anemia, sudden hemorrhages (bleeding from the nose, the mouth, the intestine, subcutaneous bleeding).

Diagnosis of Tick Disease

A general check in conjunction with a blood test is the best way to determine Ehrlichia.

Treatment of Tick Disease

In the early stages, the application of a special antibiotic for 10-14 days. In some dogs who have a weak defense system, symptoms can appear so violently that the animal needs intensive care with blood transfusions. If the disease is not detected in time, the dog can die.

Potentially Dangerous Animals

In Spain, the following breeds are classified as potentially dangerous under national legislation:
Pit Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Terrier
Amercian Staffordshire Terrier
Rottweiler
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro
Tosa Inu
AkitaInu
The owners of such animals should contact the Town Halls and Regional Governments where they intend to take up residence in order to register them and meet legal requirements.

parasite is common in the south of France, in Spain and Portugal, and Italy.

Andalusian Podenco dog

The Andalusian Podenco dog, also often known as the Andalusian hound or the Podenco Andaluz Andalusian, is a Spanish dog breed that, as the name suggest, originates from Andalusia. This Iberian dog has many similarities with other Iberian dogs such as the Ibizan hound, the Moneto, and the Portuguese Podengo. Since these are the typical races of dogs from the Spanish mainland, they have been depicted in a lot of paintings as well as literature. Since the ancient times, there have been many similar races of dogs in other parts of the Mediterranean as well.

Though there are many accounts that point to the origin of the Andalusian Podenco dog in Spain, there are other accounts that indicate the introduction of the Podencos in Spain by Phoenicians. There is a widespread belief that there is a genetic relationship of the Andalusian Podenco dog with other European dogs from hunting races. There are many different varieties of the Andalusian Podenco dog. There are three typical sizes of this dog, and three different kinds of fur. The Andalusian Podenco dog breed can be found in the large size, the medium size, and the little size. These dogs have different types of hair and belong to different varieties as well. The hair too is of various different varieties. There is the hard hair variety, the long and silky hair variety, and finally, the short and straight hair variety.

Like all other hounds, the Andalusian Podenco also has a highly developed sense of sight and smell. They can hear very low sounds and are extremely fast runners. They are very useful in hunting rabbits and squirrels. In Central and Southern parts of Spain, these dogs are used for a variety of hunting expeditions. They are largely used to hunt small game, and may be used either individually or in pars with other, larger hounds. They may often be used in packs for hunting expeditions. More often than not, while hunting, the Andalusian Podencos are used along with sighthounds. The larger Andalusian Podenco dogs have also been used as scavengers for rodents and as watch dogs.

In the recent times, the number of these dogs has dwindled considerably. There are an increasing number of Andalusian Podenco rescue missions that try to rescue these dogs and rehabilitate them. Since these dogs are believed to be the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptian dogs, they are regarded with a lot of interest, especially by animal societies.

read more about Podencos