Civilians wanting to transport our dog from Kauai to support site. We will need to use a commercial pet travel service. Does anyone have advice or info to share on what service is safe/unssafe? Also any info we would need of pets living here on base would be most appreciated. Thanks!

I use Animailers at animailers.com. They are really good and got my dogs here safely. Of course using a company is going to be a little more expensive but i found this company reasonably priced with supereb service.

As for pets living on base, make sure your pet is not over the weight limit or a breed that is banned. Once here, make sure to register the pet with the base vet, which is easy to do if all your records are up to date, and you should be fine.

Good Luck!

Are you flying with your pets? It's cheaper if you are. We used a pet transport company out of WA State. While he may not be able to help you personally, he may know of someone he can recommend out of your area. Lee Atwood is his name and he's been in the biz' for 30 years. Google his name for his website.

As for dogs on base, be prepared to walk them a lot and scoop their poop. I think it's a sad dog life on base with no yards or leash-free areas.

We are civilians, and we did have the option of bringing our dogs on the MAC flight, which was a heck of a lot cheaper. However, we opted to leave them in the States until we were settled, and then had them sent to Rome.

Picking up your pets in Rome is a big hassle. First you go to the security office and get permission to enter the shipping area. Then you find your shipping office and do paperwork once the pets have landed. If the pets were not inspected at another airport, then you go to the vet (who claim not to speak English) for the inspection. (Fortunately ours were inspected at a layover in London). Then you find the Customs office and do more paperwork. Finally, hours later, you have to stand in line for imported goods and do more paperwork, then you get your pets! Oh, and you may have to go to an Italian post office ahead of time to pay certain fees and get a receipt. We didn't need to. Ask your local shipping agent in Rome to clarify all fees with you.

Good luck!

We left our dog in the States expecting that our family would ship him to us when we got settled. The cost was too great so I flew back to pick him up. Only paid an extra $400 on United to get him here from Texas. I was told that if I don't fly with him they could not guarentee his safe arrival. The unfortunate part was that his crate was too large to fly into Naples so I had to change my arrival to Rome. Looks like Jeannie and I have different experiences from Rome. Maybe if you fly in with your pet it is easier to get through. I was able to pick up my dog in the oversized luggage area. I had all the paperwork from the vet in the US ready and when I went through customs they asked what country I was flying in from When I said US they just said OK and let me go. We live off post and have a yard. I know the houses on post don't have any yards just balconys. But you might find the same thing off post too.

To Helen and Jeannie

Thanks for replies ladies. We are finally getting our dog in Kauai. My husband will be there for training and will be returning with our dog.

I spoke to the vet office on base and asked what we would need in order to bring him into Italy. She said a record of up to date rabies and K9 combo, microchipped, and a health certificate approved by USDA.

She didnt mention anything like other fees from a post office? Also, my husband's return flight is Naples. Our dog is 75 lbs and will be in a XL crate. Will we need to change to Rome??

Thanks in advance for any info

If you fly into Rome directly from the USA it is best to disembark, collect your pet and drive to Naples from Rome. Within Europe you need a pet passport to fly your animal, I believe you are fine flying from the USA without a passport and your pets health certificate should be fine. i had no problem collecting my pet in Rome, I did have to pick him up at the cargo section, hand over my passport and go inside the area to collect him but it wasnt a big deal for me at all. I did not fly with him, I bought him in Hungary and flew him into Rome so I am not sure if you would collect your pet elsewhere but from the comments it sounds like the same place as me. Best of luck!

I flew with our dog (75lbs) and had to fly into Rome as the planes that fly into Naples are too small for that size dog. We picked him up in the luggage area. It was all very easy. I took him through customs where they just checked the paperwork to make sure all the shots were up to date. It took maybe 5 minutes to do that.

We will be moving to Naples with three german shepherds...any advice?  We will be living off base of course.  We may arrive first to get set up and then have them shipped over but I know it is cheaper to fly with them.