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Bathing a Landseer 

As promised, here is the information about my experience of shipping my Landseer Meisi from Finland (Oulu) to Canada (Toronto).

I started researching the possibility of sending my big paws overseas 8 months before the planned move to Canada. Because of her size and weight she had to be shipped via cargo. Also because of her size and weight she needed a custom made kennel. Some airlines also said that the kennel for a cargo shipment had to be a strong wooden box. Finnair for example said that if the dog weighs more than 50 kg (110 lb.) including the box, it has to be shipped as cargo and the box must be wooden. Unfortunately, there are no commercially available plastic boxes big enough for giant dogs. The biggest box I could find in a pet store was 90 H x 82 W x 123 L (cm) which is 35.5x32x48.5 (in.). Note that these dimensions are the outside dimensions. The airlines are only interested in the inside dimensions, which are smaller. Therefore information written on the boxes in pet stores is misleading.
This was too small for Meisi according to IATA regulations. Meisi's height is exactly 90 cm and the box must be larger so that she can stand up straight without touching the top with her head. The box must also be wide enough for her to freely turn around, and long enough for her to comfortably lay down.
I also had to check all the rules and regulations about shipping a dog from the IATA.

http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/live_animals/pets.htm

And all the rules and regulations for importing a dog to the specific country. In this case it was Canada and luckily, there is no quarantine for domestic dogs with current rabies vaccination. Which of course needs to be supported with official paperwork. Since Finland is in the EU the official  EU pet passport was enough. I confirmed that by contacting the Canadian embassy in Helsinki. It was also important to check the rules and regulations for pet imports from the countries of transit (if the shipped dog will have intermediate landing in countries other than the final destination). In this case it was Germany which also only required current vaccination record.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/import/petse.shtml

I shipped Meisi myself with a bit of help from the person who build her IATA approved kennel.

The link below is all in Finnish
http://www.lemmikkipalvelu.com/

Here is a list of the things I had to do and their cost.
Of course she already had the microchip. She got that when she was 3 months old. It is a requirement for shipping/sending animals.

Details of the dog:
Breed: Landseer
Sex: Female
Color: White and black
Weight: 50 kg (110 lb)
Height: 90 cm (35.5 in)
Length: 125 cm (49.2 in)
Width: 35 cm (13.8 in)

Details of the trip:
From: Oulu, Finland to Helsinki, Finland (by Car, 500 km one way)
I drove her there myself.
In Helsinki she stayed in a shelter for 5 days and then was brought to the airport by the person who build the box.

From Helsinki (Finland) to Frankfurt (Germany)
From Frankfurt (Germany) to Toronto (Canada)
Flights were arranged with Lufthansa Cargo.

1. Custom made wooden kennel 40kg (100 H x 75 W x 135 L) (cm)
(39.4x29.5x53.1 in) the cost €445 ($640 CAD)


2. Visit to the vet for vaccination and to get the pet passport one month before departure (cost €60 ($82 CAD))
This takes care of all the official paperwork.











3. Another trip to the vet 6 days before departure for clinical examination to determine whether the dog is able to withstand the carriage to its destination. This cannot be done more than 10 day before departure. (Cost €40 ($57.50 CAD))
Without this the airline will not accept the dog for shipment!



4. Booking of the cargo flight.
This is the big one.
Airline: Lufthansa Cargo
Weight of dog and box: 90kg (198 lb)
Chargeable weight as determined by airlines based on volume of the box: 188 kg (414.4 lb)
The total air freight cost with all airline and airport charges: €3504.84 ($5038.32 CAD)

5. Driving from Oulu to Helsinki to the shelter and the person who was taking her and the box to the airport. Cost of gas: €100 ($144 CAD)

6. A Power of Attorney letter for the shipper, the person taking the dog and the box to the airport. The person who did this for me didn't want any money for this letter. This is a VERY IMPORTANT paper if someone other than the owner is delivering the dog to the airport. Without this letter the airline will NOT accept the shipment.

7. 5 days in the shelter and delivery to airport: €210 ($302 CAD)

8. At Toronto airport the person picking her up had to pay $31.08 CAD to the Canada Border Services Agency for customs inspection. And $53.16 to Lufthansa Cargo Canada an airport fee.

The grand total in CAD: $6348.06

One may ask why...
The answer is very simple...

For the love of my pet Landseer Meisi!

She's unique, special and I couldn't and wouldn't ever leave her behind!

If I had to do it again I would without any hesitation.

That's about all I have to say about that.
If anyone has any questions please feel free to respond.

Meisi is a great swimmer. She started swimming when she was 5 months old and loved the water ever since. In fact she was showing great interest in water already when she was 3 months old.

Here she is 3 months old playing with the water bowl.


Playing in the water with her best friend Lilli


Swimming in the river (5 months old)
Meisi is the one actually swimming


Swimming in the river #2


Swimming with friends
(every time she saw people in the water
she had to go and rescue them  )


Always in the water
(the little border terrier never went swimming)


Another unrequested rescue attempt
(Meisi is the swimming one)


Always looking for an opportunity to swim

I'm Tom and I'm not so new to BPO. I've registered in late March, but have been reading posts here for several months. I'm totally owned by a 2.5 years old Landseer Meisi, pronounced as the name 'Macy'. She is registered as a Landseer with FCI. We are currently in Finland but are moving to Ontario, Canada at the end of May.