We are PCSing to Kadena next month and are bringing our dog.  We were told we could bring her on the plane with us.  Has anyone else brought their pet on the plane?  As far as I know everything is set up for us to bring her on the plane but then someone mentioned to me that there were strict size limits for bringing a pet in the cabin.  I just don't want to get to the airport and have problems.  Can anyone give me information about bringing a pet on board with them?

Your dog can't exceed 25lbs and you have to buy a special ticket for them. That's just what I have heard. Not sure if that helps.

TBH, you really need to check with the airline you're flying. They all have different rules... regarding size of pet, cage, type of cage, how many hours it can be on the plane, temp, etc etc.

Some airlines really want a specific type of kennel, and different types if they're flying with you or with the luggage. Be really careful because they won't bat an eyelash when they tell you your pet is not qualified to fly.

Please look through the reporting and departing forum. I have posts several topics about pets, and bringing them with you into Japan. There are several topics to look through, but everything you have questions about is posted there.. Please let us know if you have any other questions..

We got here in June and brought two dogs with us. There is a weight limit for the dogs to be in the cabin but is more an issue of animal comfort. The carrier used has to fit under the seat and the dog must be able to stand up in the kennel while it is under the seat (not really, it's really up to the people at the departing airport and how anal they want to be). If the dog will be in the cargo hold, there are restrictions regarding temps and the type of pet carriers. We bought a carrier from walmart and went to Lowes/home depot to buy screws to join the two halves together (this is one of the requirements for the hard plastic carriers). If you're speaking about bringing the dog in cabin, we bought two Sturdibags that you can collapse and conform to underside of the seat and are airline approved (spendy but worth it)

Have you done all the required paperwork, micro-chipping and such? The process took us 7 months from start to finish (we're not active duty so we couldn't use the base vet)

Feel free to ask any more questions........z

We have done the microchipping and had the rabies shots and just had the FAVN test done (haven't received results but shouldn't be a problem).  I have read on other posts where pets are not allowed in temporary lodging, is this true for Kadena?  We will not have the 6 months quarentine finished before we arrive, what is the waiting list like for housing?  What other paperwork will I need to do before we arrive?  Thank you for any help you can give me!!!

Hi Jennifer,

I won't be able to answer all your questions since I don't live on Kadena. It doesn't seem as though the Kadena forum has picked up yet. Hopefully more people in Kadena will register with Japanbases.com and will be able to answer all your housing questions before you get here.

As far as the paperwork for your pet, it looks like you are on the right track. This site has a lot of good information (even though it's for people in Okinawa, Japan):

http://www.mccsokinawa.com/welcomeaboard/pdf/petInformation.pdf

Print the whole thing up and read it word for word. It's a lot to read, but you don't want to miss an important step. If you're working with a military vet prior to moving here, then you're (probably) in good hands. But, even they make mistakes because they have to keep track of all the quarantine requirements for all bases overseas.

Here's a link to the rates for the kennels on Kadena:

http://kadenaservices.com/pets/Rates.html

I did not like putting my dogs in the base kennel on Yokosuka. I felt so bad for them.....we were finally able to find someone to watch them while we looked for a home. When you get here, try posting an ad for a pet sitter on the bulletin board in front of the commissary (if your base has one - Yokosuka has one, but I don't know about Kadena). You should be able to find someone on base that is willing to watch your dog at their home for less than what the base kennel charges.

Here is information on United Airlines pet policy:

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51255,00.html

This one is for American Airlines:

https://www.aacargo.com/shipping/animals.jhtml

This the Animal Quarantine Service site for Japan. This is the one you should follow as it is the official Japanese site for pet quarantine:

http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/dog/index.html

This site also has the necessary forms you will need prior to coming to Japan (Notification Form, Import Application Form, etc).

If you're moving here within 6 months, you're pet will have to go into quarantine because you just got the FAVN test done. The 180 day wait period begins from the point when the blood sample was taken.

I know it's a lot to sort through....bringing the dogs was the most stressful part of the whole move for us. Our dogs ended up getting quarantined even though "we" followed everything to a T. The USDA people did not stamp every page of our documents, so that meant "6 months quarantine." It was very irritated to say the least because I did e/thing on my end and the people who should know better screwed things up.

I wish you the best of luck. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Did anyone leave their pets at home and have them flown out later? If so, did you find it was more of a hassle? We're trying to decide if we're going to leave our dogs dogs with family for a couple of months to finish their quarantine, or if it would be better to bring them with us.

Thanks!

We shipped our cats out a couple months after we got to Japan. I found it so easy and unstressful. I couldn't imagine flying with the kids, luggage and pets and worrying about how to get from the airport to base, what to do with them while we were in the Lodge. By the time the cats arrived, we were in our house off-base.


Collection at the airport was a bit complicated because you have to run from here to there and back again a couple times, but the hardest part is just finding the building to get you started. Once you find your first stop they give you a detailed map, with photos of where you're supposed to go next, and instructions on what to do. I think the whole thing took about an hour. It was definitely the best choice for us. We'll probably even send them back to the US early.

Thanks!  Did you leave them with someone else in the military?  How did you have the Health Certificate completed?

My situation was a little different, we came from England, another Rabies free country so I didn't have to do half the things everyone else is doing. We left them in England with friends and used a pet shipping company on that side. They picked the cats up from my friends house, did all the paperwork, including the pet certificate. They also made all the flight arrangements. I suppose your friends would need to do all the certificates/pre-flight work for you.

How much was it to have them flown out later?  We're thinking about flying our two dogs out later, mostly due to the excessive costs of the kenneling while we wait for housing.   

DJTJRMCCARTY,
We decided to do the same with our 2 dogs. For different reasons than yours, but nonetheless, we flew our 2 out after we transferred out here to Yoko. Its been almost 2 years now, but if my memory serves me correctly, we paid about $200-250 a piece to fly our 2 dogs out here. The process was actually alot easier than I thought it was going to be. We would have to dig it up, but we had a checklist of where the dogs had to go once you picked them up. There were a handful of different buildings they had to go to within the airport grounds to have them checked out before they were free to come home with us...

Elise - I think there might be some pet rooms available but there were none when we moved here. I think you have to reserve them in advance. I posted an ad on Okinawa Yardsales for a pet sitter and found someone for $10/day. I did miss my dog but it was a lot less stressful not having to deal with taking her for walks, etc. while house hunting, getting a driver's license, finding a car and trying to get settled. I did fly the AMC flight direct to Kadena so I didn't have any trouble with the dog. I did fly her in the cabin and no one even checked her or the kennel. I was so stressed that I even bought a hard, airline approved kennel, just in case they told me she couldn't travel in the cabin. The people at the counter thought I was nuts shipping an empty kennel but I was not going to get to the airport and have something go wrong and them tell me I couldn't take her on board. If there isn't any room on the AMC flight for pets then you might want to check on commercial flights because I don't think they make any exceptions. When are you supposed to get here? Let me know if you need help with anything.

Jennifer,

Thank you for replying. I am supposed to be getting orders in a rush after Christmas and should be planning to travel to Okinawa , Kadena, around the 15th of January. So, amid all the whirlwind that will soon be starting when the orders come, I am seriously thinking of leaving my spaniel until my mother can bring her. Just brainstorming. I will have so much to do on arrival. If I could bring her with me and pay someone to keep her on base since she will need "quarantine" for 4 months, I certainly would do all I could. I am afraid to leave her so long without me here in the states.
I hear what you are saying about needing time to get settled. Hmmm.
Can you ( or anyone reading this) recommend anyone in particular who would be interested in pet sitting her at Kadena AB? She is a loveable, well mannered KC Cavalier (20 lbs) and is house trained.
Thank you for replies!

I could find someone for you if you let me know how much you would be willing to pay or you could post an ad on Okinawa Yardsales. There are always people advertising pet sitting on OYS. The going rate is usually at least $10/day up to $30/day and some people will give a discount for long term. I thought about leaving my pet behind too but just couldn't do it. I don't live on base or I would offer but I am sure it won't be hard to find someone. Here is the link to Okinawa Yardsales if you want to look around. It is the best place to look and post ads. Just let me know if you need help with anything.

http://okinawayardsales.com/

Jennifer,

You mentioned that you took an AMC flight and you travel with your dog in the cabin. I have some questions for you:

1.- How big/breed is your dog?
2.- Did you travel anywhere between May-Sept?
3.- How did you get an AMC flight?

We already stared the process to bring our dog with us to Yokosuka, but it worries me that no commercial airline will fly any pets between May-Sept and we will have to fly sometime in July! Our dog is a 32lbs Boston Terrier.

Thanks!

I did bring my dog in the cabin with us. She is a shihtzu and weighs under 10lbs. We travelled in early Feb on an AMC flight. I'm pretty sure 32lbs is too big to travel in the cabin. There is no way he/she will fit under the seat. I would think your best bet would be to fly the dog out later. You really don't want to ship short nose dogs in the summer anyway.

Hi-
What are the commercial airline possibilities of flying into Okinawa with pet? I can not get on the AMC flight Has anyone done this?--thanks!

Hey ! We actually brought both our cats with us on the plane. They're pretty large about 20 pounds each too !
It depends on the airline. We flew Northwest and Delta and as long as the carrier fits under the seat it was fine. We used  the medium dog carrier bags for them and it worked out great ! It cost us $100 for each cat. I called the airline in advance to make sure of all their restrictions. Hope I helped you out a little. It took me a while before we could take them here because of the quarantine. Good Luck  and if I can help you with anything else just ask.

I flew with my dog here in cargo and it was only stressful with walking him anytime we had a layover, so if you have children or any other things going on it may be more difficult. Although, a friend of mine flew her Chihuahua 4 months after she got here and ran into all kinds of problems with quarantine and paperwork and we had to walk all over Narita to get this paper and take it here and get it stamped then we had to go back to get his medical records from another office. All of this was done after got our luggage, so we didn't walk anywhere. I think it's all up to what you want to do.