Health & Travel Certificates

Traveling With Your Pet

Our veterinarians at Fairview Heights and O’Fallon Animal Hospital are prepared to provide you with all the documentation and resources that you need for your next trip. Different states and countries have different requirements when it comes to travel, so we can help guide you through the process to make sure your trip is seamless.

When you bring your pet in for a travel health certificate, there are a few things that we will look out for:

• Your pet is strong and healthy enough to travel or fly
• Your pet does not currently have disease
• Your pet is fully up to date or required vaccinations

Make sure to contact your airline directly to find out of there are any airline specific requirements we need to satisfy before you can travel. You can also find country specific information on the USDA website. Most countries require pet health certificates to be filled out no earlier than 10 days prior to your trip, so plan accordingly.

After we complete the pet travel certificate and examination, it must be sent to the USDA to be certified. Some countries require physical paper certification while others accept digital certification. The certificate will then be mailed to you if on paper or can be printed at our offices if digital.

We strongly recommend having your pet with you in the cabin on a flight rather than in the cargo hold. The cargo hold can be scary and might not have proper temperatures to keep them comfortable. We are happy to go over these options with you and provide you with all the resources you need to make your trip a success.