We are going to have to ship our dog in June of next year. We're not sure where we're going yet but I was wanting to know how to do it either for ourselves or just getting a company to do it for us. Any help would be appreciated. 

Contact the vet clinic at 226-7376. Ask for Kaitie - she can help get you through that process. 

So that's all I have to do?

If anyone else has any other information to add, experiences, please feel free to add! 

depending on what airline you are taking you can check them as excess baggage. but it will depend on the temperature your next destination is at. I know American Airlines Flies year round. If you go to the websites and type in pet info it will give you pricing and info on taking them with you. All the things you need. ETC. i think American is the only airline that will fly them in June though. There are months where Airlines won't fly your animals due to heat reasons 

If you can swing it I heard continental has climate control in their baggage areas. 

Continental Airlines does have climate controlled baggage area and will fly pets year around. They are who we used to fly our dog and cat over here (UK) from the states. We will defiantely use them again this coming July. Doing everything yourself will defiantely be cheaper. There is an Outdoor Rec. service that takes pets to the airport, I haven't looked into it yet. A kennel I highly recommend is the Five Ways if you need to kennel the pet(s) before you leave. 

Husker73. How much was it to fly them as extra baggage on Continental? 

My dog was large, 110lbs. The total weight of him and the kennel was 143 lbs, the cats total weight was 19 lbs. The total cost for both of them to fly from Omaha, NE to Gatwick was $2,338.00. That did include a $75 fee for each of them to be kenneled for about 8 hours in Houston, TX waiting for their connecting flight to London. 

Thanks so much =) 

"So that's all I have to do?"

Yep, one phone call and you can just drop 'em off at the airport.

Seriously though, sending pets back to the States is a significantly different process than bringing them over here - in some ways easier. The vet clinic has to approve them to fly, first off, which is why I suggested you call. They can tell you everything you need to do to get them cleared for travel. It'll be difficult if you don't know where you're going, because obviously different places have different requirements. If you PCS to Hawaii or Japan, you're in for much more work than if you're going to Texas of Florida.

As for booking the flights, that's all on you. 

I agree with AFCartoonist. We left our dog (approx 80lbs) with a friend of ours until she finishes quarantine. But learning the entire process was such a pain in the @$$!! You should definitely call the relevant authorities and have them spell out for you the entire process otherwise, one step done out of sequence and you might have to start the entire 6 month process all over - no exceptions.

However, I can add my own experiences. Since I'm here, I looked in to a local agency that would complete the last steps of sending me my dog (I didn't want to have to put the hassle on my friend) and the cheapest I could find would cost me right around $3k. He emphasized not the weight of my dog, but that the price of the airline is mostly based on the size of the kennel (which cannot touch less than 2 inches from the top of my dog's perky ears).

We called a couple airlines and were told that she must fly cargo (British Airlines and Continental will fly your pet year round - there are some black out periods for other airlines) and that with her kennel size the ticket would cost approximately $2500 from LAX to Heathrow. If there are cheaper alternatives I don't know them. It seems that any way you spin it, it's more expensive to fly your beloved pet here than your entire family. 

The process for taking animals back to the states is completely different then that of bringing them over here. It is a ton easier and cheaper. There is no Quarantine period. You do need a health certificate and each airline has different requirements. They have numbers on the website you can call and ask them their requirements and they will be more than willing to answer questions although some people that work at the desk have no idea what they are talking about so you might want to call and talk to a few different people to make sure you are getting the same answers. 

You can contact Pine kennels the do the boarding plus they will book the flight and take dog to airport 

I think American had 7 dead dogs on arrival last week on 1 flight.. 

ELEAZAR, is Pine Kennels going to be a huge chunk of change? 

That's pretty creepy Matt! :( Definitely don't want a dead pup. 

Dang I have a good memory
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/04/7-dogs-dead-after-american-airlines-flight/?iref=allsearch 

I don't see what's so hard about caring for someone's pets. Obviously if there are 14 dogs aboard, it's a big enough business where something should be done differently to accommodate the pets. 

Its not like they get there own flight attendant. they are placed in a pressurized part of the airplane that is for cargo. There might of been an A/C problem which made that part of the aircraft hot. 

True but that's still my opinion.