GabrielStankov

Hello everyone! My name is Gabriel! I really hope that someone can help me...In 2016 I adopted my sweet puppy Lexie from Rapid city shelter when she was just 8 weeks old. She is my best friend and my angel. Unfortunately last year I had to go back to Europe (Bulgaria) and I couldn’t take her with me at the moment. My plans were to arrange transportation for her but with Covid's situation, things become worse. I cannot go back to the USA... I am trying to find a way to bring her to me and I am starting to lose hope. I emailed a couple of transport companies and I got quotes starting from $5000 and more and I cannot afford it. Some of my friends flew and tried to take Lexie with them to Europe but also because of flight restrictions etc. we couldn’t bring her... .At the moment Lexie is in really good hands, she is living in a house with a big yard in Hermosa SD. They can bring her to Denver or even Chicago if has to. I remember all the good times we had in the black hills, her running behind the ATV, going to the lake and camping, and many more kinds of stuff. My heart is broken because she is not with me... Please if someone has any ideas/advice, has someone who might help, to share...How to transport her from the USA to Sofia, Bulgaria. I thought to make a Gofund me account but because I am not in the USA don’t have access to the website. I cannot upload photos of Lexie, because I am a new user, but you can find some in IG account: sweetlexiepup

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!



Regards, Gabriel!

bhomburg

I wrote a lenghty reply just to have it disappear with an error message... so here we go again:
Nearest airports with flights to Europe are Denver and Minneapolis. Cargo rates are sky-high at the moment because flights are scarce, and this will likely remain until covid restrictions are eased and flights resume. Not going to happen until mid-2021 at the very earliest.
The only airline currently flying from Denver to Sofia with one stop and accepting pets as checked baggage is Lufthansa. You need to find someone flying from Denver to Sofia via Frankfurt on LH to take your dog with you as checked baggage. This will cost EUR 380 in fees for the dog crate. Roundtrip tickets start at around $650, so you're looking at $1,100 if you'll have to pay for the person's ticket bringing your dog.
Air Canada will also fly to Europe from either DEN or MSP and accept dogs as checked baggage - and has cheaper fees at $270 - but they don't fly to Sofia. Two-airline, two-stop flights are not really a good idea given covid travel restrictions as you will need to go landside and pass immigration/customs at the transit point (likely Frankfurt or Warsaw) to recheck the dog with the airline operating the intra-European segement.Also, there's ticketing policy issues (AC normally does not accept pets with parter/codeshare segments on the ticket, you may have to book separate tickets). Things like these are best reserved for experienced travelers in non-pandemic times.

You can also ask LH directly about flying her unaccompanied as cargo. This will likely be a good deal cheaper than using an agent/pet shipping company. The paperwork is not much more extensive that what you'd need for bringing her along as checked baggage. Call their Denver office at + 1 800 542 2746 and ask for a quote.

If any of the above will not work out or prove to be too expensive, you'll have no other option than to wait until United resumes their PetSafe program. PetSafe is the by far cheapest option to have a dog travel unaccompanied. Maybe get in touch with United and inquire...




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teddybear99

I have a suggestion for future lengthy posts. Use Microsoft Word or another similar program to write your post, then copy and paste onto the website. That way if you get an error posting it, you will have it still on your computer device and can try again.

Just my 2 cents

CDTraveler

Another option is to type your post, and then before you send it, copy it. That way if you get an error (which happens more frequently with longer posts) you can just paste it a new response. Sometimes the amount of time you're typing triggers the error in handling the post.

GabrielStankov

Lufthansa is redirecting me to pet shipping companies. I got 3 different estimates for Lexie transport from Chicago ORD to Sofia Bulgaria. My friends have to prepare the paperwork with the vet, bring her to the airport with her own kennel. Same service, three different prices- $2000, $28000, $3400. I tried to attach screenshots , but i con do it only after i have 5 posts

CDTraveler

I just checked random dates in January and found round trip airfare from Chicago to Sofia for $550 to $800. Combining a RT ticket + the pet fee looks a lot cheaper than the cargo numbers you are being quoted and would probably save a lot of paperwork. Is there any chance you know someone who would escort her for the chance to visit Bulgaria? I don't know the current travel restrictions for that area, so can't comment on that.

bhomburg

LH does not require an agent/pet shipping company to ship pets in cargo from North America to Europe. But the $2,000 quote seems to be the current rate - whoever quoted you that price didn't add much of a markup. For $28,000, you could have her fly on a seat in a private jet
In any case, you'd need this health certificate (endorsed by an USDA accredited veterinarian) if you choose to have her fly accompanying someone as checked baggage, .