we have been quoted £3350 to ship dog over
thats as much as us moving our car and house contents over...

Not surprising though, they require heated compartments etc, special staff, etc etc. good luck in nz!

Just realised you are considering not taking him. Pls take him. We get 2-3 animals in the shelter a week that have been left because of emigration or moving in general. Many stay for months or longer before finding homes. We had to pts one this week who was with us a year, got more and more aggressive and was severely over weight (even after a year!) and terrified of people. Very sad. His family moved 100 miles away, they could of taken him but for some reason didn't bother.

I voted no, but its on condition you can leave him with someone you trust and the dog likes.

I couldn't leave my dog behind, end of.

I'd pay whatever it cost to take our cat with us! No question or hesitation.

I would pay as much as it took to take my pet with me if I moved abroad
I could never abandon my cat (or my dog when she was alive) Never Ever.

ESPECIALLY an older pet

a family in the village i live is emigrating to new zealand. and on the news agent advertising board they are giving away 2 cats.

My cats are part of the family, the day I took them on I took on a responsibility, I could never leave them , not only because I would miss them to much , it would just not be right to do so , my feeling is that you don't drop responsibility. Either they would go with me , and if I couldn't afford it then I wouldn't go.

Its unbelievably expensive but if you can afford it then you should, otherwise maybe a family member or friend could take him/her

When a work colleague was emigrating to New Zealand 7 years ago she fully planned to take her one year old cat with her. She told me the cost was £1000, which she was prepared to pay, but she also had to get him extra vaccinations and vet checks/paperwork prior to travel. She realised when she brought him on the short journey to the vet that he would never cope with the long journey to New Zealand - he had (and still has) massive panic attacks, he pants, wees and defaecates even on short car journeys. She made enquiries at work and I took him on instead. My lovely Bernard.

I personally would never leave my cats behind. I wouldn't emigrate for that reason, except back home to Ireland. I even delayed moving from my one bedroom flat to a larger property because my late Tabitha was so happy in her first home and I didn't want to unsettle her. Some of my former neighbours wanted me to leave Tabitha behind when I moved, they were so attached to her, but I was much more so!

That's a sad case, and it sounds like they did the best for the cat, not because of the costs. We were going to go back to nz a few years ago, but our old dog would never of made the flight and stress so we stayed here, maybe it's silly to stay for a dog, but he's part of our family and we'd of felt terrible leaving him behind.

I'm not sure what would have been a reasonable cost.

my mother took her 12yo dog to australia. i thought it was an odd decision as she was also arthritic and 'acting' old.

she died 6 years later after having a new lease of life.

Ahh thats lovely, but I do hope you are taliking about the dog and not your mum

My friend definitely put Bernard's interests first. Some of her old neighbours said they would look after him but she felt that would be very upsetting for Bernard because he would be so near his old home and he wouldn't understand where his beloved owners had disappeared to. He's really lovely, a dopey, chilled (except on car journeys), loving, lazy, loyal cat. He settled in with me so quickly at the time - but my friend knew he would, she knew his temperament and she also knew that I would give him a great life because she knew how much I loved animals and cats in particular.

I completely understand you adjusting your plans to take account of your dog's needs. I would do the same, definitely.

FYI
yes he is comming with us as he is family
he was from a rescue and we wouldn't let him go back to a rescue
thanks for all the comments

Out of interest have you checked on the price, it sounds mega high.

yes tried 4 company's and they all come in over £3000
he is a Weimaraner and hes not small @ 42kg

Who have you got quotes from? I've just shipped two cats from the UK to Saudi and used a great shipping company.

An ok! I was looking at the us in a few years and it works out cheaper (and better for the dogs) to go via queen Mary 2, they have an on board kennels and it works out less for all of us to go (2 kids) than for the shipping costs for the dogs alone!

I presume your using a company that does everything for you? They do end up around 40% more expensive sadly

If I couldn't afford to take my pet then I just wouldn't go. No arguments, just no.

Aww glad he's going with you!
Let us know how he gets on with the trip,
and good luck on your emigration

Years ago my job took me to the Netherlands for 18 months. The whole family, including the budgie, went too.

I asked to be allowed to check on him (in the car) a couple of times on the ferry - the captain got to hear of it and invited us all up onto the bridge, because he was intrigued. It was the first time he had ferried a budgie across the North Sea.

lol, that's lovely, did your budgie get to sit on captains table!