When I came to England, I had to leave behind my dogs with family members who volunteered to take them. But with some possible changes in family circumstances looming, I am trying to figure out some alternatives. Has anyone had any experience of shipping pets to the UK? It seems like it would be next to impossible to find housing that would permit pets--does anyone have any ideas on this!??! My pets ARE family!

Olivia - you must check the current quarretine laws - they used to be draconian but may have changed. I think some countries like the US have more favourable entry requirements. People certainly do do it. You might need to approach a letting agency and ask specifically for somehwere that allows pets - that is probably the hardest part!

Hi olivia, from my experience most letting agents don't allow pets at all :( However, you may be able to find a private landlord who you can sweet talk into allowing you to keep them, especially if you can argue that they're clean, potty trained, and are well behaved. After much searching, I found a landlord who was okay with it (probably because she was a dog lover herself).

Thanks for the suggestions. I will have to look and see what options there are... Perhaps there is an elderly lady on a small place in the countryside that needs a companion ( human) to assist in her home and in exchange she would tolerate some dogs...that would be idea. I wonder if the local council might be aware of people in need like that?

olivia, i/we recently moved into a new place. the letting agents all said "no pets" in their ads etc. but when we told them we would like to have a cat (sometime) they were ok with that - i think because we didn't have one yet. when we viewed the house the landlord said cats would be ok. but when we got the contract it stated, again, "no pets". we had to explain to the agent that the landlord had agreed to a cat, and after much back and forth the contract was changed to say that we can have ONE cat and that we must pay for de-fleeing the house when we move out.
the point of the story being: the agents don't like pets. the landlords, often, don't mind. take this question up with the landlord, not the agent!

Shani is right - but there is a big difference between cats and dogs. 1 cat most people will allow, maybe 2. But dogs are a different matter as they smell, especially if they are kept indoors.

Try the PETS helpline and have a look on the DEFRA webpage if you are in the EU then you have got to apply for a passport. Outside your pets would have to into quaranteen

PETS Helpline on 0870 241 1710, Monday to Friday, between 8.30am and 5pm

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/int-trde/cins/2004/0495.htm

Hope this helps

John

Thanks all for the suggestions, I will take a look and see what I can find out!

You can get guides to hotels where you can take dogs in the UK. Surely there must be some guide to rented accommodation where you can take dogs. There are some nursing homes for instance that allow pets. Have you done a thorough google search, talked to people who run rental organisations?

Hi Shani, whereabouts are you looking for accomodation?

I have just been through exactly this situation as I have a dog. It took me a few months to find the right place (although, had I been prepared to live in a 'not so nice' place, it would have been quicker). Finding accommodation with a dog/s is definitely more difficult but it is also not impossible in most places. I think it would be easier if you were able to work from home quite a bit as the dogs are less likely to be left alone or could take your dogs with you (mine sits in the car during the day and I am allowed her in the office out of hours).

Also, where are you shipping from? Some ferries have kennels on them and you can book those (although my info is quite old and I choose not to take mine in the end) or travel by car and leave them in the car for the journey. I don't know anything about flying with dogs but I think the DEFRA website might have some info.

Ps. As a general rule, to increase you chances of finding somewhere to rent with animals, offer to pay a double deposit & get the place professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy & look in not so popular areas/ex-council flats (cheap, but not much competition and many people who would like to rent them have problems getting sufficient housing benefit to cover the rent as the council knows what they rent them for and private letters rent for much higher!). Also, keep an eye on rightmove.co.uk for properties in the area you are interested, watch for ones that seem to 'sit there' for some time and approach them. Many will take pets even if they initially say no. Landlords have mortgages to pay!

Finally, there is a paper that was published in the last couple of years in Anthrozoos on pet-friendly accommodation. Apparently pet owners are more likely to stay in the same rented accommodation for much longer than non-pet owners (I might be able to find the paper if you have trouble getting hold of it) so you could point that out to them too as fewer changes of tenancy means fewer rental voids!!!

Ps. Finally finally are you veggie or vegan? Many veggie/vegans are more pet friendly. If you are you could try vegcom (google it) and search there/place an ad.

Oh and if you have used the same vet for years, kept up to date with vaccinations, undertaken prophylactic defleaing & deworming, etc then get your vet to supply a reference as this may sway the boat.
Also, try reading "The Lady" next time you are in WHSmith or similar (don't buy it as it is otherwise a pile of #@*& unless you want to learn to cross stich while listening to Beethoven and polishing your silver...) as they quite often carry ads for properties to rent in country areas or live-in jobs for companions, free flat in return for 10 hours house-keeping, etc and these might be pet friendly and cheap(er).