Cat & Dog Move Abroad: Expats Rate Pet Care In Portugal

What a difference a vet abroad makes! Traveling with four-legged family may be hard, but at least getting veterinary help in Portugal is not; hear from Indiana and Khaleesi as they recount their expats experience with pet care in Porto so far.

Moving to Portugal or anywhere outside of the US with pets

I will also provide some resources to the services, in case you are researching moving to Portugal or anywhere outside of the United States with pets.

Indiana Jones (Indy for short) is a black and white spotted dog in her prime, better known as a dalmatian, and in Portugal: a Dálmata.

Khaleesi Dragonborn is a white and gray calico cat getting on in years; she thinks she is a dog.

I sat down with the two of them to discuss their experience as new expats abroad, from the pet passport process, to the bumpy flights as pet cargo, and their experience finding a new doctor once they arrived in Porto.

Interviewer: First, I want to thank both of you for being here today, especially in light of your busy schedules.

Indy: Yes, I am named after a fictional character who chose to name himself after his dog, which is really quite touching, but can we move past it, please?

Khaleesi: Who are you calling, ‘busy’?

Interviewer: I am going to ignore that. Okay, for anyone who has pets and is thinking of moving to Portugal, can you please tell me what it was like preparing to leave the United States for Porto?

Khaleesi: You say ‘pets’ but I think you mean ‘family’.

Interviewer: Sure. Um-?

Indy: Well, it all started with us being poked and prodded by a new vet in New York.

We had a vet we liked – and they were always courteous enough to see myself and this cat who thinks she’s a dog separately – and then a new one was thrust at us, last minute, because they had to be certified and registered internationally. [ Pet Travel From the United States to Portugal]

We got health certificates and rabies certificates and eventually our pet passports, so we could fly. [Using the Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS)]

But they stuck both of us in the same room!

Khaleesi: I had to get a chip! It really hurt. And now, I’m on the grid! And all I hear from you is that we need a pet passport to board a plane for Portugal and how the tests, certificates, and even the internationally recognized chip add up to so many hundreds and hundreds of dollars, blah, blah, blah.

I think you don’t care that my dog rights are being violated.

Interviewer: First of all, you are a cat.

Khaleesi: Meow-no.

Interviewer: You are a cat and for our fellow travelers, if you like to fly with your furry companions, then you may already be familiar with the pet passport that acts as a visa as you hop country borders around the globe.

The tricky part comes in when you need to have the animals tested, chipped, and certified within a ten day period of when they are flying to their international destination. [Traveling with pets on TAP Air]

And bear in mind the CDC has made recent changes that make it difficult for airlines to fly animals and even dogs as big as a dalmatian – that weighs forty pounds – are too big to fly.

So finding who can do it is vital, time is a factor, and the process is very expensive in the US – figure $400 - $800 per animal to have them ready to legally go (and I can only speak to cats and dogs).

Each airline has their own rules for the size and placement of your pet, so anything larger than a small cat or a tiny dog needs to go in a pet cargo hold area below deck, which requires rigid, strong, and approved pet crates that cost another two or three hundred dollars.

Indy: You act as if all you care about is the money.

Khaleesi: Yeah, aren’t we worth it?

Interviewer: I’m ignoring that. Then you have the cost to fly them on the airline, which may or may not be included with your airfare (ours was on TAP), but either way you will pay a cargo fee – sorry guys, I know you are not luggage – and then you will pay a fee to the airport’s veterinarian.

That was about a thousand dollars for the beloved family members to be checked out medically, confirm their paperwork, and officially declare them as temporary residents of Portugal, which holds for 90 days, until you complete a more permanent pet passport visa that works for all of Europe.

The puppy and kitty made it safely to-

Khaleesi: Safely?! You here that, Indy! We were stuck on a ‘direct flight’ that could not land, for some kind of ‘inclement weather’ thingee, and were diverted for hours to be stuck in Lisbon! [Cats and dogs in the hold]

Interviewer: I know, I know. I am so sorry you were stuck in Lisbon, of all places.

Khaleesi: I love Porto! Not Lisbon! Who wants to-

Interviewer: Let’s not be rude.

Khaleesi: But we had to wait hours and board another plane – and if you think that’s comfortable, you try having your crate moved by forklift – before we could finally see you again.

Interviewer: Yes, it was terribly stressful. I am sorry. Truly. I was so worried. I now see why some people pay ten thousand dollars to have their animals on a chartered plane with a handler (Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere can help you get an excellent private courier for your pets; reach out to her here).

Indy: There he goes about the money again. Boo-hoo!

Interviewer: Are you both happy you came to Porto, despite the convoluted process?

Indy: Of course! We love Portugal, and we really love our new doctor.

Interviewer: Yes, the new vet here is incredible. She identified your skin allergy that we had wondered and worried about for years and years, and now you’re not itching constantly, like so many dalmatians do.

Indy: She gave me TREATS! I wanna treat, wanna treat, wanna treat!

Interviewer: After the interview, you both can have treats.

Aside from the great knowledge, the vet here took over an hour assessing a problem and that visit with a few medications cost upwards of 80 Euros, not $800.

We even had a quick followup a few days later to make an adjustment that only cost us 20 Euros for the visit. I will say that again: twenty bucks.

Indy: Here he goes again with the money.

Interviewer: Are you happy that you are now able to stop licking your butt, Indiana?

Khaleesi: We’re all happy about that! Meow!

“Cat & Dog Move Abroad: Expats Rate Pet Care In Portugal” was written by R.J. Huneke.

Thinking of moving to Portugal?

Kalie is available for one-on-one consultations, or you can bundle a course and a consult.

Animals and humans have their own process to move to Portugal; see some of the things on the ExpatsEverwhere checklist in their video: