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Since a number of individuals enquired about what was needed to move with our dog overseas from the United States, I figured there were other curious people out there. There is a LOT online about people’s experiences of moving to Portugal, but very little about the steps needed to transport your furry friends, so this post is strictly about what we needed to get him over here, not us. And keep in mind that by no means am I an expert; individual experiences may differ.

Our dog, Samui, was already familiar with air travel but it had been almost 6 years since his last flight and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go since he was a little wild when we picked him up at SeaTac as a puppy. To backtrack, in 2018 he was discovered on a beach in Koh Samui, Thailand by our sweet yoga instructor, Ara, when he was around 2 months of age. When we arrived at the yoga retreat he was about 5 months old and living on the grounds and beach at Samahita. We didn’t plan on bringing a dog home but immediately fell in love with him and decided to adopt him (best holiday souvenir ever!). Since he needed a rabies vaccine and microchip (transponder) before he could fly to the US, we left him behind where he was cared for by the kind people at Samui Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation. We wired them the funds for the freight costs to Seattle and they in turn made sure he was delivered to a handler in Bangkok who in turn delivered him to his British Airways Flight to Seattle via London, arriving a couple of weeks after we returned home.

Samui, 6 months | First Night in Seattle, December 2018

Samui, 9 months | Seattle, WA 2019

Fast forward to 2024 and our decision to move overseas to Lisbon. Fortunately, we had stayed diligent through the years about ensuring his rabies and other vaccinations were fully up to date and he already had the approved microchip. We also knew that we wanted to minimize Samui’s air travel and since there weren’t any direct flights to Lisbon from Seattle, we decided to take the direct flight from San Francisco on TAP Air Portugal. Our car had been sold by that point, so we rented a car one-way from Seattle and spent a glorious week in Sonoma with friends beforehand. Note that TAP requirements are subject to change. Additionally, other airlines may differ.

With respects to TAP Air Portugal guidelines, it’s important to know that you need to additionally take the weight of your dog carrier into consideration when calculating the shipment weight of your pet. In other words, animal + container = allowable weight (and the airline will check). Small dogs up to 8kg (17lbs) may travel in a soft carrier bag in the cabin under the seat with a maximum bag measurement of 45x30x23cm (approx 18x12x9in). Our dog weighed 18kg (40lbs) and his crate weighed 11kg (24lbs with water dispenser and lightweight mat) for a total of 29kg (64lbs). Since the weight limit on TAP to Portugal is 32kg (70lbs), we were within that range (other destinations may differ so be sure to check on their website if you’re flying outside of Portugal). Dogs that exceed this weight restriction will need to fly cargo.

If flying your dog in the hold, you’ll need an IATA approved crate sized appropriately for your pet. At the very least, I recommend sourcing one on Amazon or at your favourite pet store and obtaining the weight and dimensions before booking your travel dates, even if you plan to purchase it later. I had planned to order one on Amazon but when viewing them initially, I didn’t realize that the arrival date was weeks out. Due to that, we took Samui to the pet store and had him sized in-person. In hindsight, I think this was the right move because the saleswoman who helped us was super helpful! In addition, we were able to get the crate with enough time for him to become accustomed to it. We parked it in a corner of our condo with the door open and because he is highly food motivated, would randomly place treats inside for him to discover which translated into the crate being a really happy place for him. There was a mention that the crate should not have wheels on it, but ours did have two (which made it easy to move around when needed). I was concerned that we might be asked to remove them but they made no mention of them. This may have gone differently if the crate had four wheels.

Once your travel has been *booked, you will need to call the airline to ensure that there is space on the aircraft for your dog since it’s subject to availability. I suggest calling immediately so that you’re well within the 24 hours to rebook your flight if necessary without incurring a change fee; the TAP US Toll Free number is 800-903-7914. I also advise that you have your computer handy prior to making the call in order to facilitate the payment. Customer Service will ask you for your ticket number, the weight of your dog plus crate, as well as the crate dimensions. Once this is in the system, they will send you a link to pay the fee online (US$282 at the time of our booking) and then they will send you an email once it’s all complete. I printed this email to have on hand just in case, but I didn’t need it. The reservation was attached to my ticket number in the system, but not my husband’s. You will not receive a separate ticket for your dog. *Pro tip: because of the USDA paperwork needed to clear your dog it is advisable to NOT fly on a Monday since the USDA likes to return it just under the wire. If it isn’t couriered out until Friday and you’re departing on a Monday, you may not receive it in time (see below).

Now come all the other requirements. As previously mentioned, your dog will need to have a rabies vaccine and a Standards ISO 11784 or 11785 microchip if he/she doesn’t already. If your pup doesn’t already have a rabies vaccine or if it has expired, you will need to allow at least 21 days before they’ll be permitted to fly.

You will need to fill out an Arrival Notice and contact the veterinarian at your Port of Entry as soon as possible (and no less than 48 hours prior to arrival), links to which you can find here. When you email the appropriate veterinarian’s office, you will need to include your date and time of arrival plus your flight number. Since we were flying into Lisbon, I contacted the vet at Lisbon Airport which is listed at the top of the Travelers’ Entry Points link. I also sent along a scan of Samui’s Rabies Vaccination Record in my initial contact with them. There is paperwork that you’ll need to forward just prior to travel, but I’ll get to that. It’s worth mentioning in your initial email that you will forward the Health Certificate as soon as you have it.

Next, you will need to schedule an examination with your vet within 30 days of your arrival date in Portugal. Not all veterinarian’s are licensed to do the necessary USDA (health certificate) paperwork for international travel but fortunately for us our vet in Seattle was so we didn’t have find a new one. I’m sure your own vet will be able to recommend someone in your hometown if they’re not qualified, but if not you can refer to this site. Within this 30 day window, your vet will check out your pet and confirm your travel dates. At our appointment, the vet weighed him and gave him a check up. I had been feeding Samui human grade food from Farmer’s Dog until about two months out from our flight at which point I had switched to Royal Canin kibble (which I already knew was available in Europe) for the ease of traveling. Well, turns out that I had been overfeeding him on the kibble and he had gained 2kg (FIVE pounds)!! I did some mental calculations and realized he was on the cusp of being over the TAP weight limit and immediately put him on a diet (sorry Bud). But I digress…. Once this is complete, he/she will fill out the paperwork for the USDA which in turn cannot be submitted until 10 days before your travel. This is where things can get exciting (and by exciting, I mean stressful). Typically the paperwork will be approved and stamped by the USDA and returned to your vet ready for pick up – most likely the day before your flight. In our case, we were staying at our friends home in Sonoma as part of our pre-flight road trip, so the vet arranged to have our paperwork sent via courier to their address. We were flying on a Thursday so – at their suggestion – I contacted my vet office on Monday as a reminder for him to follow up with USDA. I was notified on Tuesday that the paperwork would be delivered the next day, the day before our flight. Even though I anticipated this it didn’t make it any less nerve-racking and if I didn’t already have gray hair, I surely would have grown it overnight. Once I had the paperwork in-hand, I took photos of all the pages with my iPhone (I didn’t have access to a scanner) and emailed them to the vet at the Lisbon airport using the same email thread I had used previously. I then placed all of these, along with Samui’s Rabies Vaccine and a copy of the Arrival Notice Form I had already sent, into a plastic folder that went into my personal carryon item. You will need to show all of these upon check-in at the airport and again when you arrive at the vet in Lisbon.

You know who wasn’t stressed the day before our flight? Samui. (Clearly living his best life.) | Sonoma August 28, 2024

The TAP site was pretty insistent that we needed to be at the airport no less than 4 hours prior to our afternoon flight with a dog in tow and because we had a lot of bags to check-in, along with said dog and kennel, plus a car to return, we decided to leave a little early in order to facilitate all of that without feeling rushed. Plus, it was a bit of a long drive from Sonoma vs from where we lived in San Francisco back in 2015. So with time to spare, Mr. Sweethardt dropped Samui and I off curbside outside of the TAP counter while he went and returned the rental car.

Waiting curbside (and looking cute) at SFO for the other human to return | August 29, 2024

Once everyone was back together, we headed inside the airport to check in for our flight only to find the counter wasn’t open yet. I decided to call TAP to enquire but in the meantime Mr. Sweethardt was able to ask another ticket agent and learned that they only opened 3.5 hours before the flight and not to sweat it.

Waiting for the ticket agent to open | August 29, 2024

We went and sat down for awhile before heading back over to wait in line once we saw the agents preparing for the main event. We were really glad that we were first in line because the check-in process took quite awhile (belated apologies to all the people waiting in line behind us)! We were very careful to check the weight of our bags as we were packing so at least felt confident in knowing that we weren’t going to have to jockey items from one case to another. We were permitted two checked bags each on our Premium class tickets and because my husband had a TAP Amex, that allowed us to check in an additional two bags. Lastly, we had received a text the night before asking for volunteers to check in their cabin bags so we took advantage of that which resulted in us not having to pay for any excess baggage. Yay us! Once all our bags were weighed and tagged, it was time to process Samui. The agent asked for Samui’s crate to be placed on the scale at which point Samui just hopped right in and settled down. Uh, what? Is this the same dog that trembles and pants excessively during a car ride? Yup.

Cool as a cucumber at SFO | August 29, 2024

The agent then asked to see all of Samui’s paperwork: proof of his rabies vaccine, the USDA paperwork as well as the Arrival Notice printout I had prepared. This took quite a while since she photographed each page and typed information into her terminal. She then proceeded to cover Samui’s crate in baggage tag stickers. After we were all done, we were directed to the oversize luggage drop off around the corner so we took Samui back out of his crate, put his crate back on the cart, and walked him over there. In fairness, one of the check-in baggage handlers seemed to take a shine to us (okay, our dog) and escorted us there directly. Once there, his paperwork was checked over again briefly and his crate was inspected thoroughly to ensure that we weren’t trying to sneak any contraband on board. It was then time to say goodbye to Samui. I didn’t want him to think there was anything to be concerned about so I kept it all upbeat with as little fuss as possible (even though I wanted to hug him and cry into his fur that it was all going to be okay). We opened the door to the crate and he hopped on in without a second thought. I feel like the food training we did here really set him up for success. At this point, we were asked to place zip ties to secure the door. We didn’t think to bring any despite having gobs of them at home. Fortunately, they were able to locate some at excess baggage so we threaded four of them at each corner and through the holes of the crate to prevent the door from inadvertently opening mid-flight or somewhere on the tarmac. The excess baggage handler then took him away into the bowels of the airport and we checked in from time to time via his Apple AirTag.

After flying through the night, we reached Lisbon on Friday morning, bussed over to the main terminal after landing on the tarmac and cleared Passport Control. At this point, we were a little uncertain about which direction Samui would appear from. I stood at the excess baggage area briefly while Mr. Sweethardt grabbed our bags and loaded them onto carts. I then spotted a group of airport workers and asked one of them where to go. He was so kind and escorted us over to Lost and Found. There were a number of people waiting behind a red line waiting to be called about their lost luggage, but we were directed past this throng and told that he would come out of one of the doors at the end of this hallway. We stood there and waited and he was finally delivered to us about 1.5 hours after we disembarked from the plane. It did seem like he had been waiting on the other side of the door for a long period of time because he was brought out with dogs from another flight that had landed more recently than ours. We wondered if this was due to the pending airport walkout scheduled for the following day.

He was obviously super excited to see us – we could hear his tail wagging as it thumped against his crate before we could see it – but for a dog that gives us shit for going out to dinner for a few hours, he was surprisingly chill about our reunion. No big deal much to our relief. And unlike us, he seemed very well-rested. At this point, we headed over to the vet on the opposite wall from Lost and Found, near Carousel 9. It’s important to note the vet hours when booking your ticket as well since they’re not open 24/7, and you will be unable to leave the airport without your dog being seen. I’ve heard of people staying there all night with their pet(s) to wait for them to open up again.

Waiting outside the vet at Lisbon Airport | August 30, 2024

There were a couple of dog owners ahead of us but we only had to wait about 15 minutes before we were seen to. The vet asked to see all of the same paperwork: proof of rabies vaccination, Arrival Notice and the USDA paperwork. He then disappeared into the back room for about 5 minutes at which point he popped out to confirm our flight number (afterwards, I realized the flight number was on the paperwork that he already had, but perhaps he was just double-checking?) and then disappeared for another 5 – 10 minutes. He then scanned for Samui’s microchip, handed us back his paperwork and gave us a signed form to show Customs as we exited the airport. We then headed that way, showed the paperwork to the guard and headed out the door to find our driver. We were on our way!

Flaked out at our temporary AirBNB post-flight | August 30, 2024

So. Tired. | August 30, 2024

Questions? Please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer in a timely manner. Muito obrigada!