Traveling with a dog through Europe

*Nick in Vienna*

As you all know, Mason is lucky enough to be joining Jane and I during our time in Europe. I thought it might be interesting and helpful to anyone considering traveling with their pet to Europe to write just a bit about our experiences. Plus, I’ve been on this train from Paris to Vienna for 12 hours and I’ve still got a few to go, so this will be something to occupy a few minutes. Also, Mason is currently asleep on my leg, causing me to reflect.

Thus far the most complicated part about bringing Mason took place back in the States. We had to get a vet certificate to fly with him (well, we had to get it twice since the robbery delayed our trip three week). The certificate has to be from within ten days of the flight, or at least that is what United Airlines requires. Also, we had to get a certificate from the state that proves he is what he claim he is. This was a bit confusing for us, as the paperwork we saw said a form from an “official vet,” and we thought we could just use our vet. That is not the case. I think each county only has one office that can give this form – I think we got it in Reynoldsberg. For some reason they needed the date Mason was microchipped, which we didn’t have because Franklin County Animal Shelter chipped him before he had even met Mason. This took most of a very stressful day to take care of.

The flight itself wasn’t too bad. We set it up so that we had a six hour lay over in DC, during which time we picked up Mason and found a little grassy area with trees where we could run around. The cops came and asked us what we were doing, but when we said we were just waiting for a flight that said that was fine. Mason had been sleeping in his plane crate for a month before the flight and that seemed to help. He really didn’t like it in Columbus, but he seems to have bonded with it and now naps in there pretty often. He also seemed okay after the long flight. We found him right away in oversize baggage.

Traveling around Europe has actually been very easy with Mason. In Vienna he can ride on the buses, trams, and metros with a child’s ticket if he has a muzzle. We’ve actually only done this once, to the train station, and I will do it again tonight when I arrive, but it meant we didn’t have to get a taxi, which was great.

As far as the long-ride trains, it has overall been very smooth. Most people smile at Mason (except for one lady who was afraid of him), and some pet him and say cutesy things I can’t understand. Actually, in many ways it has made train travel better because no one ever wants to sit next to us. On the train today from Paris to Zurich the conductor even came up to me and told me to go to a different car that had more room. It was a great little cab with just a couple people and I ended up talking for three hours with two very nice guys who spoke English very well – one from Switzerland and one from India. During my current ride, from Zurich to Vienna, Mason has been curled up in the chair next to me the whole time, and everyone just moves on when looking for a seat. Obviously, if the train was full I would put him on the ground, but it’s a fairly empty train and Mason napping on me is better than a stranger.

So, if you are considering traveling with your pet in Europe, I would encourage you to do so if you can afford it. I will be honest and say that it is expensive (there is a fee to get him to Europe and then each train ride is 50% of a human ticket), but since we are here for a long time it has been worth it. Plus, he is a part of our family, so how could we leave him behind?