For those of you who know us, you know that there was no chance of us leaving Mithrandir (our adorable cat) behind. We definitely lucked out since William, as a military member, was able to bring Mithrandir with him on the plane. Otherwise we would have had to use a service which would have cost approximately $1,000 each way! The other way we lucked out was that we PCS-ed (moved) to Germany which is fairly lenient on bringing pets in.

The main things Germany requires are a rabies vaccine, a tracker, and for a vet to fill out paperwork. Compared to Japan which has almost thirty different steps or England which requires the pet be kept in isolation for a while, it was a walk in the park. The only tricky bit is the vet has to fill out the forms within the 10-days prior to your travel date. I recommend you check out the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s database of vets who are registered to fill out the paperwork. Just be sure to confirm verbally before you book an appointment, because sometimes Vets are certified but don’t offer the service. Don’t be like William and I. We were calling vets the week of in another state, trying to find someone (anyone!) who could help us.

Once we had all the paperwork filled out, all we had to do was get Mithrandir on the plane and over the pond. Despite providing him with some kitty medicine to de-stress and relax him, Mithrandir did not enjoy flying. But he is here now, and we can’t wait to turn him into our “pub cat.”