Follow Bella’s adventures on Instagram @unleashedodyssey

Note: When we decided we were going to make this move, leaving Bella behind was not going to be an option. Do a quick search on, “How to bring a dog to Germany from the US” and you’ll be bombarded with contradicting information, deadlines, and requirements. This is only our experience with getting the paperwork done for bringing Bella to Germany from the United States. This is full of my own opinions/conclusions, and our success story might just be full of luck and chance! We will not be responsible for any mishaps you may run into by following our lead.

So far, Bella has been to the following countries:

1. USA
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Germany
5. Denmark
6. Sweden
7. Norway
8. Switzerland
9. France – Stopped by police at random freeway stop, asked to see dog passport
10. Austria
11. Italy
12. Liechtenstein
13. Slovenia
14. Croatia
15. Bosnia Herzegovina
16. Montenegro
17. Albania
18. Greece – Border asked to see dog passport
19. Bulgaria
20. Serbia

Paperwork in the United States

We knew we were going to fly into Germany because we heard it was easier (and possibly cheaper) to buy a vehicle there, and because we had some connections there. Germany requires dogs to have a microchip, a rabies vaccination given within 21 days of leaving the US (as per one vet and some online information told me), an International Health Certificate, and a declaration saying I’m not going to sell her. Bella already had a microchip, so my plan was to bring her to a vet in Florida while visiting my parents (we were flying out of Fort Myers), get her rabies shot, have the vet fill out the International Health Certificate and we’d be set.

I made an appointment at a small local vet in Rotonda West, Florida (which will remain unnamed for now) to get her rabies shot and to get her health certificate. I was so prepared with the EU health certificate printed in German and English! When we arrived they were quick to bring Bella in, give her a rabies shot, then proceed to tell me they wouldn’t fill out an International Health Certificate because they didn’t know my dog and didn’t know if she was healthy! They also told me whatever health certificate I had wasn’t anything they had ever seen before and they wouldn’t touch it. The veterinarian and the vet-tech proceeded to tell me I planned this poorly, Bella needs shots A, B, C, and D, these things take months to handle, and I couldn’t have an official health certificate anyways because it needs to be stamped by the USDA approving her for a live animal export (a $350 stamp). The appointment ended with them telling me, “If you bring her with as is, your dog is going to get con-fin-scayy-tud (thick Florida accent) and you’re going to have to pay thousands of dollars to get her back.” This all happened in less than 10 minutes, then they kindly charged me $80 for the appointment and a shot.

When I returned to my parent’s house with Dustin I started bawling my eyes out thinking I completely messed up and missed all these major steps in bringing my dog. I started reading the requirements in on the USDA – APHIS website. This put me in a full panic because here we were, the afternoon of Friday, July 1, and I need to get my dog a stamp by the USDA office in Miami which will be closed for the weekend and the 4th of July holiday. Our flight is for the 5th of July. I frantically searched more about this special live animal export stamp and could only find it stated on US websites. When I read through German requirements on German websites such as this German Customs page, I was able to calm down and start being sure of myself again. Yes, there is a space for a special stamp on the United States’ version of the International Health Certificate, but in the fine print on one German website it said to have the paperwork and appropriate vaccines done by a USDA Approved Veterinarian.

I came to my own conclusion that it’s a way for the USDA to make an extra $350 for people wanting to travel with their pets. I was going to take this risk and not get the stamp — actually I couldn’t get the stamp regardless because they were closed! Ha!

I decided to call Banfield Pet Hospital to see if they are USDA approved and if I could get a short notice afternoon appointment for the health certificate. I used Banfield for the last 8 years for Bella, so they at least had all her past history. I let them know the situation and they said they are USDA Approved vets and could fill out the certificate for me. Super bonus, they could squeeze me in at 4:30. I brought the EU Health Certificate printed in German and English. It took a long time. The veterinarian checked Bella’s health, then proceeded to take the next hour and forty-five minutes to fill out the forms. She was meticulous and fairly confident we were going to be alright. When she was finished she stamped her official stamps on various pages, but also in specific spots where it asked for a USDA stamp! 🙂 One of her stamps even says, “USDA Approved Veterinarian” so I was feeling pretty good at that point!

---

Flying With Bella

I have a bright green folder with all of Bella’s important paperwork. Checking in at the Delta desk, we were feeling kind of silly. We were checking 6 bags, and carrying on one bag each along with a personal item, and a dog. We have never traveled with this many bags! Yes, Bella rode right in the plane with us. She is my emotional support animal and I have an official letter to back it up! The kind Delta agent asked to see her paperwork, and she also asked if we had her paperwork for international travel. Here it was, the first moment of truth. I gave her the letter stating she is my ESA, then I gave her the International Health Certificate the vet from Banfield Pet Hospital filled out, as well as the one in German, as well as her “Pet Passport” I bought for $20 online. It’s cute because it has her photo and her main information in the front page, but it doesn’t carry any weight internationally. Our Delta agent was SO IMPRESSED!  She passed around Bella’s passport to the other agent to show them how cute it was, and raved about how thorough our paperwork looked! I had been thinking, if we really needed that $350 USDA stamp for approving the live animal export, wouldn’t we be stopped in the US before leaving? Well, Bella was approved for export, as long as we could get through security. Again, this was just our experience. I brought her outside for one last potty time and she knew exactly what to do!

Bella was such a rock star. I honestly thought she would be kind of a freak with all the new airport smells – the Beagle in her just wants to pull away and sniff – but she just didn’t seem to care about anything other than being with us. During check in, she laid down on the cool floor. Walking though security, they asked me to take her collar and leash off so there wouldn’t be any metal. She hung out right next to me. While TSA took a long time digging through Dustin’s purse (yes, he has a purse), she assumed the sleeping position on the floor. We arrived at the airport a little over 3 hours early because we had never traveled with so many bags or a dog before, and we were checked in and through security within 40 minutes! Thank you Fort Myer’s International Airport!

We had 2 flights, one from Fort Myers to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Stuttgart. We were going to have a 3 hour layover in Atlanta so the plan was going to be for me to take Bella outside and come back through security before our 9 hour flight to Europe. We boarded our plane, and while we waited for the doors to close, Bella was obviously more comfortable sitting on my seat, so she she waited there while everyone finished boarding. I didn’t give her any Benadryl because I knew was going to be a shorter flight, and honestly, she didn’t need it. She chilled out on the floor. At one point, she became a little nervous and decided to be an awkward 35 pound lap dog, but after 20 minutes of snuggles she made her way back to the floor.

Our hour and a half flight to Atlanta ended up being an extra hour of flying around waiting for a storm to pass. Our plane was diverted to North Carolina where we landed and waited for an hour. This was where our perfect plan was foiled. Our 3 hour layover we were going to have in Atlanta, was now under an hour by the time we were taking off in North Carolina. We not only were worried about Bella not getting to get outside to pee before our long flight, but we were worried we wouldn’t even make our connection. We landed in Atlanta while our next flight was scheduled to be boarding. We ran through the airport, jumped on a train to our terminal, ran through that terminal to our gate to find we were just in time. But, poor Bella. There was no time for her to pee. The gate agent called someone to see if I could be escorted out for her, but no-one ever showed. I didn’t want Bella to be stressed for the next 9 hours, so for the long flight I did give her some Benadryl. Lucky for us, the weather caused many other planes to be delayed so our plane was only about half full. We had 3 seats to ourselves and Bella helped herself to one, curled up, fell asleep and didn’t wake up until we landed in Stuttgart!

We were shocked and amazed when all 6 of our bags showed up at baggage claim quickly, considering we ran through Atlanta to get to our gate in time! Once we had all our things, we walked to customs. I had Bella’s leash in one had, and all her paperwork and my passport in the other. The German customs officer asked what I was in Germany for, I replied, “For fun!” She stamped my passport and said, “Have fun! You have 90 days!” I tugged Bella forward and we were in! She didn’t ask to see ANY of Bella’s stuff! Ahhhh all that stress in Florida for nothing! I’m so thankful I didn’t (or rather, didn’t have the time to) pay for the USDA stamp approving her for a live animal export because not a single official asked to see it!

---

Vet in Germany

We were going to be driving from Germany to Norway, through Denmark and Sweden. We decided not to take any ferries because our van is larger and would be considered freight which was a significantly greater charge. Once again, searching the internet to check for “driving with a dog from Germany to Norway” comes up with tons of irrelevant information. Norwegian customs sites are helpful, however, so the one thing we needed to have in order was an anti-parasite treatment.

We were driving north through Germany towards Hamburg when I started researching vets in Hamburg. I decided to reach out to a girl we had just met in Berlin a couple days earlier. We were walking through the park with our friend, Brandon, when he spotted a girl slack lining. He LOVES slack lining (and pretty girls) so he led us over there. We chatted with them for about 45 minutes in the park. Brandon and her exchanged information because she wanted to go skydiving.

I messaged Brandon to ask for her information because she had mentioned she was from Hamburg. I asked her if she knew of any vets in Hamburg who might speak English and let her know what we needed. She sent me a screen shot of one she’s

been to with her pet, then she messed me a couple of minutes later letting me know she called them, made me an appointment, let them know what I was going to be needing, and she let me know they all spoke English! It was so incredibly helpful! All we had to do was show up!

We arrived and this veterinarian was so kind and helpful. I let her know where we were going to be traveling to and she asked if Bella had a passport. I showed her the one I bought for her, and she said it wouldn’t do. She told me she didn’t want us to run into any trouble at any borders so she filled out a European Pet Passport for Bella! I can’t begin to say how thankful I am for our friend Leonie for setting up this appointment and for how friendly and helpful this vet was. Now Bella is set for all our European border crossings!

If you’re in Hamburg and need a kind and helpful vet I suggest:
Tierarztpraxis am Millerntor – Karen Voelkel
Budapester Str. 31, 20359 Hamburg

https://www.tierarztpraxis-am-millerntor.de/de/kontakt

---

Crossing Borders

Simple. Painless.

We weren’t stopped a single time.

Borders crossed: Germany to Denmark to Sweden to Norway, then back to Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.

We’ve got the pet passport and haven’t had to use it yet as of Sunday, July 31. Later tonight we will be driving into Switzerland. I’ll update this part after we make it in!

More Borders – Saturday, September 10th

We made it into Switzerland (country #8) without being stopped, then to France (country #9), then back to Germany, then through Austria (country #10), then Italy (country #11), back to Switzerland, then Liechtenstein (country #12), back to Germany, Back to Switzerland, back through Austria, and we are back into Italy today! Bella is having the time of her life!

---