Relocating an American Dog to France
How the worst part of our move became one of our best memories.
We fondly call Guapo, our shepherd mix from Mexico, the Best Worst Dog. It is a well-earned title based on his playful, eccentric personality and obnoxiously-protective behavior. Guapo delights and embarrasses us. Of all the worst dogs he is, for sure, the best. This title was truly earned when we moved him from America to France. It was the Best Worst Experience of our relocation.
Guapo, born in Mexico and raised in the United States, now has a French passport of his own. Photo by Regina Sinsky-Crosby
Here’s the TL;DR for anyone looking for quick advice on how to import an American dog to France and a longer link for details at the end of the list:
Find a USDA-approved vet near you. This is required. Your beloved vet probably isn’t certified. It’s a bummer.
Make sure your dog has a France-approved microchip with the correct number of digits. Most countries in the EU require longer numbers than American chips.
Obtain a rabies vaccine that corresponds to that chip. A previous vaccine, no matter how recent, will not count. DO NOT, under any circumstance, get the vaccine before the chip is implanted. Even the week before. It must be AFTER. There is a 21 day waiting period after the vaccine before a dog can enter France.
Look into hiring a professional pet relocation service. Not all are created equal. I sorta recommend the one we ended up using, but it wasn’t perfect. More on that later.
Buy a dog crate specified for international travel or, even better, buy the one your airline sells. The measurements can be tricky but according to airlines it’s better to error on the side of a crate that’s too big than too small. Too small and your dog will be rejected by the freight or luggage handlers at the airport. Buy the crate months in advance to get the dog used to it.
Call your airline to book your tickets along with your dog’s. You could book your tickets online and then quickly call the airline to confirm there’s room for your dog but that’s risky. Most airlines only have room for three dog crates per flight. Airfrance was really easy to work with. BUT the airline isn’t the French government. Only customs can approve your dog upon arrival so make sure you have all the documents you need before the dog gets on the plane.
Here is where to find the frequently updated and current list of French pet import requirements.
What follows is the very long story of the misery and eventual joy we experienced importing a dog to France. I hope some of these details will help others. Keep in mind we brought our dog over during the height of Covid restrictions in France. That added layer of stress made things très compliqué.
The French. Love. Dogs.
They love dogs and dogs are everywhere. Having our dog, Guapo, in France has made us feel at home and even helped us make friends on the street. One of my proudest movements was when a stranger said “Excuse me, I am shocked to hear American English coming from someone walking a dog in Bayonne! Are you not on vacation?”
No, we live here. With our Best Worst dog. Instant street credit.
That said, getting Guapo from San Diego, California to Bayonne, France was the hardest and most expensive part of our move.
We started work on getting Guapo to France the same day we began our visa process. I spent hours researching online. The first red flag was that most posts were about small dogs that fit in the plane cabin (under 20lbs). Few posts dealt with large dogs (Guapo is 65lbs) and the ones that did were mostly about “will my dog die on the plane?!” I wasn’t getting a lot of confidence. The second red flag was that most posts were sponsored by pet relocation companies. I was still determined to relocate our dog on my own.
I found Guapo a USDA approved vet an hour drive from our home to get a French-approved microchip. The vet was lovely but admitted from the start that she wasn’t familiar with French import laws. I took my chances because the next closest USDA vet was a three hour drive away. The vet has to physically mail all the paperwork to the USDA in Sacramento for a physical stamp of approval that is then physically mailed back to the owner within seven business days of the flight.
The vet didn’t know the rabies vaccine Guapo had received on schedule and only a few weeks previously from his normal vet was no longer valid with his new microchip. I was notified of the oversight by USDA (by email, thankfully) and went back for the French-approved vaccine the week before our flight. I submitted the new vaccine to the USDA and was told, two days before our flight, that Guapo was now ineligible to fly with us because there was a 21 day waiting period after the vaccine. Another detail the vet missed. I was in shock.
I looked at Guapo in his crate, practicing being calm, with his blanket that smelled like us, special spill-proof water tray and laminated Bonjour! Je m'appelle Guapo! printout with a picture of him happily surrounded by our kids. Our suitcases were piled next to the crate. Guapo had to stay behind. This was not part of the plan.
Guapo practices being in a crate, first without the top and in his usual bed. He works his way up to top-on and his new waterproof travel bed. Photo by Regina Sinsky-Crosby
I called the airline to tell them Guapo couldn’t fly, hoping maybe someone in my shoes would get to take the spot. I called The Beckmans, Guapo’s amazing, loving and very busy trainers, who accepted him last minute for as long as it would take for us to get him to France. It was a relief but at $75 a night (including food, training and baths) we felt sick (their prices have since increased ). This was an expense we hadn’t anticipated and would contribute to what would become the biggest expense of the entire relocation. We had no other options. Guapo loves his trainers so he was stoked when we dropped him off. I cried for an hour.
When we arrived in Paris the hotel had a dog bed and bowl set out for Guapo. It was heartbreaking to see.
When we got to Bayonne1 I immediately called a relocation service called Starwood. The sales guy was lovely. “Starwood has been in business over 15 years, and each year we work with hundreds and hundreds of clients to transport their pets all over the world,” he explained. “So, we certainly have the experience and expertise to get Guapo to Paris safely and soundly!” The price tag was not so lovely: Between $3,000 to $9,000 USD in total estimated costs.
Turns out a dog flying in a plane with you is luggage and a dog flying without you becomes freight. An entirely different situation. Freight dogs must be seen by a USDA-approved vet within 24 hours of the flight, must arrive three hours before the flight with a handler, and will be the last off the plane and must go through a different customs process. Guapo went from being a pet on a plane to a crate of “live animal.”
I signed up for the service because there were too many moving parts. Starwood needed four to six weeks to prepare for Guapo’s relocation. I considered flying back to get him myself but this was during Covid and I was afraid that a mandated quarantine could keep me away from my family for weeks. Plus the cost of airfare was similar to the low-end Starwood price.
As we got to the end of Guapo’s rabies quarantine the preparation for his flight to France began. Starwood searched for freight availability as we made plans to get Guapo from the trainers’ in Ramona, California to Los Angeles (not included in Starwood’s estimated price or services). The sales team at Starwood handed me off to a customer service agent who, mysteriously, disappeared after days of communication. I was given a new agent in a different timezone who needed to be re-introduced to me and our scenario. It was a massive frustration and not confidence boosting.
We were informed Guapo would arrive in Paris, just before my birthday, on December 20th. We live an eight hour drive or a four hour train from Paris. I was strategizing how I would spend my 40th birthday either driving or on a train to get my dog and his massive travel crate. I opted for train and a hotel in the CDG airport. I was excited for my birthday present: Guapo in France!
On the scheduled day of departure, we were told Guapo would see a vet and then spend the night at a new boarding facility to wait for his flight. Starwood is supposed to keep you updated in real time about your pet’s journey but on the day of travel they were radio silent. I was nervous, to put it mildly. Only an hour before my train was to depart for Paris I got the call: Guapo’s freight request was denied on not one but two flights. He had been sitting at LAX, in his crate, for more than four hours and was sent back to the boarding facility. They wouldn’t be able to get him to France before Christmas. He would have to redo the whole process. I lost the money I spent on the train and hotel. It felt like we were lighting money on fire.
We had no idea when we would get Guapo so we decided to visit friends in Cléder, Brittany.2 We rented a car and spent my birthday celebrating (and, unbeknownst at the time, getting Covid). That day Starwood called and said they could get Guapo on a flight to Paris December 23rd. Perhaps the Christmas spirit was upon them, because Starwood volunteered to get Guapo from Paris to Cléder for free. He would be delivered to our doorstep. I cried.
On December 23rd I awoke to the text that Guapo was on a plane. Hours later I got a text that he had arrived in Paris. We were still nervous: Would he be scarred for life? Was he traumatized? What if he escaped on the tarmac like in viral videos? What if he had peed on himself and no one bathed him? Where was he going to sleep? Was he hungry?
He was not hungry nor dirty. He was being fed goose liver pate by an elderly woman, A SAINT, who would drive him to Cléder on Christmas Eve. She sent a message: “Guapo is enjoying my cats and lady dog. He is eating goose liver. NOT kibble.” We are vegetarian and, to my knowledge, he has never had goose. Guapo had also never hung-out with cats. “Does he like the cats?” I asked. “Of course,” she replied, adding that all was well and she would see us the next day.
Our family delighted in the vivid image of Guapo in a cozy Paris apartment surrounded by antiques, cats and fuzzy blankets. Guapo’s first Christmas Eve in France was a proper one in Paris. No kibble.
Guapo arrived in Cléder in a small car with the elderly Saint and her ancient lady dog. We ran from the beach to greet him, a fuzzy cannonball of joy that almost pulled the elderly Saint over. “I guess he must be your dog,” she said with a laugh. She refused a tip, tossed me the still-full bag of kibble I had attached to Guapo’s crate, got in her car, and drove all the way back to Paris. I never caught her name so I call her Saint Frances.
Saint Frances and Lady Dog drive back to Paris. Photo by Regina Sinsky-Crosby
Guapo being reunited with his family after more than a month of waiting. Regina Cried. Photo by Regina Sinsky-Crosby
As Guapo ran around a beach in Brittany (and then passed out from jetlag, dogs DO get it!) all was forgiven with Starwood. The money was suddenly well spent. Guapo was home in France with his family. France felt like home with our dog. He wasn’t traumatized. I think he became a slightly better Best Worst dog because he had gone to so many vets and kennels and was handled by lots of different strangers. He had a big adventure and came out strong.
For the past nine months Guapo has gone pretty much everywhere with us. He explores parks and sniffs along ancient streets. He looks for lizards on hikes to 1800’s British graveyards. Guapo knows where the city goats are grazing and likes to touch noses with urban donkeys. He went to Spain on vacation where he ran around Roman ruins and rode a funicular. He has a wonderful vet and a handful of dog friends he meets daily. He still likes to go in his travel crate.
Rumor has it that it’s easier to relocate American dogs living in France back to America. I’m thinking of taking the Queen Mary II with Guapo. What could go wrong?
Make 100% sure your dog is allowed at your rental. Our landlord at the time, who happens to be an attorney, wouldn’t allow certain breeds. She was more restrictive than the French government.
Make sure your AirBNB or Vrbo is dog friendly. A surprisingly large number are. The French love dogs. But car rental companies do not love dogs. Another surprise fee was the dog hair vacuum charge. Lighting money on fire…