
Photo by Katie May Boyle
Government websites usually maintain a page dedicated to rules about traveling with animals.
Feb 13, 2017
Photo by Katie May Boyle
Chloe, an 11-year-old labradoodle, has been traveling with her owners Ryan and Katie Boyle for most of her life.
A couple embarked on a two-year European adventure, moving to a new country each month with their dog, Chloe. Here’s how they did it.
“Chloe’s been traveling with us for most of her life, starting with a two-year RV trip crisscrossing the United States when she was five. (She’s over 11 now.) Her breed makes for an easygoing travel companion, but experience counts too—at this point, she’s up for anything. She gets a little nervous when the suitcases come out, but we’ve taught her the phrase ‘Chloe will come’ to put her at ease. Tell her that, and she gallops off to guard the suitcases until it’s time to go, making absolutely sure we don’t leave her behind. She won’t budge, even if means waiting there for days.
The expat life was something we had always dreamed of when we were teaching at a private school in Walnut Creek, California—who doesn’t want to travel full-time? We’d already spent two years traveling in an RV, working on music and photography, but this would be bigger. We spent a few years lining up location-independent work before the right opportunities dropped into our laps, and six months later we left the country for Thailand. That was nearly three years ago. Of course, Chloe came with us then, too.
Most countries require some sort of entry permit for pets. The application process varies substantially from place to place, and you want to give yourself plenty of time to tick all the boxes. Plenty of time. We learned most of what we needed to know to get it done from bloggers who’d already moved with pets, including Tieland to Thailand and 8 Miles From Home. Also, pettravelstore.com offers country-specific information for traveling with a pet from the U.S., and usually a country’s government website will maintain a page dedicated to importing animals—“[country] pet import” is a good place to start a Google search.Sign up for the Daily Wander newsletter for expert travel inspiration and tips
Please enter a valid email address.
Read our privacy policy