Holidays with Pets: What to know before you go

Sept. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- You need to ensure that your animal is healthy and has been given the various routine immunizations. HolidayCheck shows you how to organise a holiday with your pet.

Preparing for travel: passports and vaccinations
Before departure, take your pet to the vet to make sure that it’s healthy and remember to put the medical record in your suitcase. If you travel with cats and dogs it needs to be verified that they have had rabies vaccinations. Also, if you go to Ireland, Malta, Finland, or Sweden, you must provide evidence that your pet has been vaccinated against tapeworm. Pets even need a passport to travel abroad. The passport can be obtained from your vet and contains information on the animal and its health.

Travelling to the destination
Dogs, cats and other pets can travel safely in the car, if kept in cages or in the rear compartment separate to the driver's seat. Train travel is also possible in most EU countries. In Italy, for example, small pets can travel free on the condition that they are kept in separate cages. Medium to large dogs must be muzzled and on a lead and can only travel in second class. Be careful, in Switzerland taking a dog of any size is not free because the owner must purchase a ticket for the animal. With regard to flying, generally dogs and other small pets can travel without problems. It is the airline's responsibility to determine the specific regulations for the transport of animals.

On the beach
Before going to the coast, choose your destination carefully, as not all beaches permit dogs. Of about 8000 km of Italian beaches, only 27 beaches accept pets. These beaches are located in eight Italian regions: Abruzzo, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Sardinia, Tuscany and Veneto. Of these, Emilia Romagna had the best equipped beaches, with umbrellas, showers and pools dedicated to dogs, along with bags and shovels and a vet always on hand. Just to be sure head to the island of Corfu (Greece) or Corsica (France), where the faithful friend is accepted almost everywhere.

Accommodation
Not all hotels accept pets, and not all hotels accept all breeds of dog. If you want to travel with your four-legged friend, it’s best to clarify at the time of booking which dogs are allowed. In fact, some hotels only allow small dogs and almost all require them to be fully housetrained. Finding a hotel that permits pets is not difficult, but there are some hotels which offer personalized services for ‘man’s best friend’, such as dog-sitting services, enclosures, comfortable beds and pillows. Hotel Principe in Rimini, for example, is specialised to accommodate pets. The hotel provides beach facilities for the pets, and a veterinary service 24 hours a day plus much more. Within walking distance of the hotel there is also a pet shop where you can by a little holiday souvenir for your pet.

Contact person for the press
Frances Davis
HolidayCheck AG
press@holidaycheck.com

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