As with everything, your circumstances depend on whether you'll bring any pets over with you. There are strict rules to be adhered to for the Importation Of Animals - as with most countries - so please ensure you fully understand what is required.

There are a few things to consider - if you are going into rented accommodation on your arrival having a pet will seriously restrict your choice of home. The local bylaws concerning pets are fairly strictly enforced leading to large fines if broken so make sure you understand them!

Make sure any inoculations are in date and you have the records. Also, it isn't cheap to transport animals so bear that in mind too. Its worth delaying the arrival of your pet if possible to give you time to settle in and complete all the arriving formalities with one less thing to worry about. After a long and stressful journey do you really need to stay at the airport for several hours while the vet inspects your pet and completes all the necessary paperwork? Then you have to organise the transport to your accommodation (if they take pets) with a stressed out animal!

At the end of the day, moving countries is enough of an upheaval without leaving the family pet behind. That was the case for us so we brought our 3 year old Golden Retriever "Boris" over about 2 weeks after us. Boris was in kennels for 2 weeks prior to his departure during which time he had a custom travel kennel made for him and time to get used to it. All the necessary paperwork and vets examinations were handled by the shipper and he was booked on a scheduled flight. On the day of the flight he wasn't put in the kennel until the last minute before loading which kept the time in the kennel restricted.

When we collected him all the paperwork was in order and all we had to do was go to the customs hall in the Calgary Terminal (pay a C$30.00 import duty) and then return to the cargo terminal with the release paperwork to collect one seriously excited dog! He was stressed though and took a few weeks to really settle in so be careful with them around children or strangers as even the most friendly pet may be on a short fuse and it will save any unwanted injuries or incidents.

Arrival Day

We were a sad sight on our arrival day at Calgary. It had been an emotional, 19 hour day when we struggled through the arrivals halls with arms full of hand luggage, car seats and 2 exhausted, distraught kids! The passport control officer was pleasant but efficient and we were soon through to the main customs point that handled new immigrants.