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Every year Defence families relocate across Australia for new postings. With an extensive network of bases Australia-wide, the total defence workforce has a significant footprint and has an integral part within regional communities.

Infographic: Defence force footprint across Australia, 2019 statistics by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development

Important considerations for defence pet relocations

As such, defence relocations can occur frequently for members and their family, including furbabies. One of the most important considerations is how to transport your family pet to ensure its comfort, safety and welfare during the move?

There are many important factors to research when moving defence pets interstate.  How long will it take? How much does it cost to transport my pet interstate? Do I put them on a plane and catch the same flight? Where do I arrange any pet accommodation if required? These and many other questions are often asked when transporting defence pets across Australia.

Another important consideration are the heat extremities we face across Australia during the summer months. When looking to relocate your loved ones, it is important to consider the time of day for departure and the arrival time. It is imperative that pets are well hydrated prior to departure and have access to water during their journey.

We’ve prepared the top 10 planning tips to keep in mind for your defence pet’s interstate relocation

The team at Jetpets are dedicated to ensuring your pet’s care, comfort and welfare for their interstate transport.

• Our purpose-built transit lounges in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane ensure your pets remain comfortable prior and post their journey.
• They can be left in our care with our professional pet handlers well before their designated flight who will then transport your furbaby in our air-conditioned vehicles to the airport for their flight. This not only ensures your pet has time to rest and hydrate but also saves you time!
• Our pet handlers also will keep you updated via our pet travel updates for complete peace of mind.

For more information and advice, please call one our dedicated pet travel consultants on 1300 668 309 to discuss your interstate pet relocation needs.

Logan (named after Wolverine of course), our Siberian Husky cross German Spitz is the heart and soul of our family. We simply wouldn’t have dreamt of leaving him behind when we received the unfortunate news that our sponsorship in Australia had been declined and we had just 35 days to leave the country.

Logan has flown not once but twice halfway around the world. In fact in his 18 months of life so far he has technically been on 6 flights!

Domestic Pet Travel in Australia

We bought Logan from a breeder near Sydney, Australia. After deliberating driving versus flying to collect him we decided the 2 short domestic flights to Sydney and from Sydney to us in Brisbane were far kinder to him (and us) than the 8-hour drive.

We chose Jetpets to handle our domestic pet transport needs and it was a breeze. They coordinated with the breeder and collected him from their address, popped him in his airline-approved PP30 hire crate and after just a few hours we collected him from the freight terminal at Brisbane Airport. It was love at first sight, after just a couple of minutes teeny Logan came bounding out of his crate and covered us in kisses.

International Pet Travel from Australia to the UK

The news that our sponsor company had been declined was devastating, we’d been living in Brisbane for almost 4 years, 18 months of that had been spent waiting for our residency to come through. We were given 35 days to leave the country, a very short amount of time when you have a fully furnished apartment and a puppy!

We chose Jetpets to handle our pet transport to the UK  since we had had such a good experience with them domestically when we first got Logan.

What was a very stressful time for us was made 10 times easier by the staff at Jetpets. Everything was done over email and all of Logan’s vet appointments were done by Jetpets resident vet, Simon, at our home in Brisbane – this was invaluable. Logan gets very excited by a trip to the vets but by having his rabies vaccine and blood test done at our home it made the process much more relaxing for him.

Choosing the right crate size for your pet is super important, we measured Logan up and had his PP90 crate delivered as early as possible so we could familiarise Logan with his crate and make it his ‘happy place’ before flying.

Jetpets sent us regular pet travel updates of Logan and a photo of him at check in, helping us feel at ease throughout the process.

The flight itself was with Emirates, stopping over for 15 hours in Dubai. Dubai is one of the best airports for pets to stopover, they have air-conditioned facilities at the Dubai Cargo Village where they are provided with food, water, a health check, exercise and fresh bedding and water in their crate.

Our flight landed around the same time as Logan’s, so we opted to collect him ourselves. He was ready about 2 hours after he landed from Jetpets partner, Pets on Jets at Manchester Airport Freight Terminal.

International Travel from the UK to New Zealand

We always knew that we wouldn’t want to stay in the UK so after 12 months back home we jetted to Auckland, New Zealand.

Logan had already had a rabies vaccine and blood test from his previous flight, so we needed about 6 weeks for all the vet treatments. He needed to have:

• Secondary rabies vaccine
• Blood test for Babesia Gibsoni
• Blood test for Heartworm
• Blood test for Brucella Canis
• Antibiotics for Leptospirosis since the vaccine shows a false positive
• 2 lots of external and internal parasite treatments.

All these treatments needed doing at very specific times before flying so our agent came up with a schedule for these and coordinated with our vet for us.

Logan had a wooden crate for this journey made to his measurements and provided by the pet agent.

You’ll need to apply for an import permit or you can ask your pet agent to do this for you. You’ll also need to choose and book a recognised quarantine facility.

Logan was collected from our home a few days before his flight by the export agent for the final health certificate and parasite treatments to be done in the 2 days prior to the flight.

Logan spent 10 days, which is the minimum requirement when travelling from the UK, at Auckland Quarantine who looked after him so well. They post regular pictures on their Facebook page so you can see how your pet is getting on.

Photo credit: Auckland Quarantine

Logan was beyond excited to see us when we picked him up – just watch the video!

Top 10 Tips for Getting Your Dog Ready To Fly

I would recommend you do many of these things from day dot with your puppa but if like us you have to fly them on short notice make an effort to follow these 10 top tips:

1. Start Planning Early

Preparation is key in making the journey low stress for you and your doggo. Most international flights require key things to happen on certain dates before flying so planning ahead is essential.

2. Crate Train Your Dog

I would recommend crate training from day 1 for a puppy for their own safety and comfort but it’s essential that your pup is comfortable in and familiar with the travel crate before they fly. There are lots of excellent guides online on how to crate train your dog or you can seek help from a professional trainer. To put it simply the crate needs to be their ‘happy place’, a place where all good things happen and never ever a punishment.

We use the command ‘bedtime’ to tell Logan it’s time to get into his crate. The processes we found most effective in crate training him were:

• Feeding him his meals in his crate
• Giving him treats for going into his crate when asked
• Giving him his toys in his crate and when he brought them out, taking them off him and putting them back in the crate

It took us a couple of weeks before he would sleep in there all night with the door locked but we got there in the end and now it’s his favourite place.

3. Get Your Vet Affairs in Order

Choose a reliable official vet who has dealt with your destination before so that they understand the requirements. There are often specific blood tests, vaccines and other treatments that have to be done at certain times before flying so having someone who knows what they’re doing is invaluable. Also keep your pet’s annual vaccines and flea/worm/tick treatments up to date to ensure they are as healthy as can be.

4. Do Your Homework

Visit the relevant pet import website for your destination and home country and familiarise yourself with any restrictions and requirements on imports. For example, Logan needed Rabies vaccines and blood tests for multiple illnesses before he was allowed to fly. In knowing the requirements myself I felt much more comfortable that the paperwork was being done correctly by the agent and vets.

5. Toilet Training

Hopefully your pet is already toilet trained but think about the length of their flight… can they hold it for that long? Lucky for us Logan can go as long as 16 hours without needing a pee but we made sure he could at least make it through the night without needing to go out for his own comfort. Don’t worry about them soiling themselves, the crates do have materials in to help absorb anything.

6. Be Prepared for Extra Fees

We had a few nasty surprises along the way like import tax – £35 VAT in the UK and $621.60 GST in New Zealand! Make sure you have some savings put to one side in case you need to pay tax, extra days in quarantine or extra vet bills that you hadn’t anticipated.

7. Take Your Dog for a Long Walk

Before their flight make sure they are well exercised and tired, it will help them be calmer and hopefully sleep for their flight.

8. Don’t Overfeed Your Pet

Don’t feed your pet right before they fly.

9. Don’t Send Their Favourite Things

Don’t send their favourite toys, collar and leash with them. It can’t be guaranteed that customs and quarantine won’t have to destroy them. We send a simple slip lead with Logan and keep any sentimental things with us.

10. Enjoy Exploring a New Place

Last but certainly not least! Enjoy your new territory with your furry loved one – we took a 6 week road trip in a campervan with Logan when we arrived in New Zealand, it was magical!

 

Unconditional love changing lives – over 1,000 entries received.

The Jetpets Companion Animal Rescue Awards is thrilled to announce the FINALISTS of the 2019 Awards, which celebrate and recognise achievements in the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of companion animals Australia-wide.

186,000 pets remain unclaimed in Australia’s pounds and shelters every year, and thousands of volunteers dedicate their time to finding homes for surrendered and abandoned animals.

The Rescue Awards is the platform to showcase excellence and innovation in rescue. In its second year, the program attracted more than 1,000 entries – more than double that of last year’s!

Image: Jo Lyons Photography

“We received many excellent industry submissions from around the country. The finalists have not only demonstrated best practice in animal care, but also ensure the sustainability of their organisation for the future” said Cathy Beer, Rescue Awards founder and rescue advocate from Pets4Life, an independent education resource for cat and dog guardians.

This year, Jetpets is again the Platinum Rescue Hero and naming Partner. Sandy Matheson, Jetpets Managing Director, said: “Jetpets is proud to support The Companion Animal Rescue Awards in its second year. It has been fantastic to watch the program gain momentum as we all continue to celebrate the inspiring work rescue groups and volunteers achieve day in and out for animals around Australia. The awards are a very humbling initiative to be involved in and I congratulate all of the finalists.”

JUDGES:

The Finalists were determined by a panel of highly respected judges who have donated their time and expertise to assess the Rescue Awards entries.

1. Nell Thompson, Coordinator for Getting 2 Zero (G2Z) and Secretary of the Australian Institute of Animal Management (AIAM).
2. Tim Vasudeva, Director of Corporate Affairs at Animals Australia.
3. Vickie Davy, Co-Founder & joint CEO of PetRescue, not for profit organisation that brings thousands of rescue pets face-to-face with thousands of potential adopters every day.
4. Dr Anthony Bennett, Veterinarian & Co-star of Lifestyle Channel’s TV series Village Vets.
5. Sandy Matheson, Founder & Managing Director of Jetpets, a pet travel company focused on the safety, comfort and welfare of pets.
6. Dr Anne Fawcett, Animal Welfare Veterinarian. Dr Anne’s blog is smallanimaltalk.com.
7. Dr Michael O’Donoghue, Small animal veterinarian and Co-Founder of ‘People and Pets’, a nationwide grief and pet loss counselling service.
8. Dr Alex Hynes, Emergency Veterinarian & co-star in the new series of Bondi Vet TV show.
9. Anne Boxhall, Companion animal welfare advocate with 28 years’ experience in sheltering and rescue.
10. Dr Liisa Ahlström, Veterinarian, Companion Animal Products, Bayer Animal Health
11. Dan White, Senior Brand Manager, Bayer Animal Health
12. Cathy Beer, Founder of Pets4Life

2019 FINALISTS

Outstanding Rescue Group: Forever Friends Animal Rescue (VIC), Greyhound Rescue NSW, Maneki Neko Cat Rescue (VIC), Perth Rescue Angels (W.A)

Outstanding New Rescue Group: Precious Paws Animal Rescue (QLD), Dandy Cat Rescue (VIC), Small Paws Animal Rescue QLD, Purrfect Paws Rescue (S.A)

Outstanding Animal Shelter: Just Cats Tasmania, Second Chance Animal Rescue (VIC), Cat Haven (WA), Central Coast Animal Care Facility (NSW)

Outstanding Council Animal Shelter: Sutherland Shire Animal Shelter (NSW)

Innovation in Rescue: AMRRIC’s One Health Program (NT), Lort Smith and Pets of the Homeless (VIC), Project Meow Geelong Cat Kindness Initiative & Desexing (VIC)

Community Education and Outreach Program: Second Chance Animal Rescue Outreach Program (VIC), PAWS: Pet Awareness & Safety Program (Camden Council, NSW), MADI Mobile Cat Desexing (Lost Dogs Home, VIC), Spring Valley Program (Claws and Paws, NSW)

Volunteer of the Year: Sue Quartermain of RSPCA Victoria, Jill Pottter of Forever Friends Animal Rescue (VIC), Margaret Panetta of RSPCA Victoria, Robert Morgan of RSPCA Victoria, Angela Hards of Pakenham Pony Rescue (VIC)

Advocate^® People’s Rescue Story: Read the amazing and inspiring stories from our 10 finalists.

To find out more, click here.

WINNERS REVEALED

The winners will be celebrated at the Jetpets Companion Animal Rescue Awards ceremony on 12 September 2019 during the 8^th National G2Z Summit & Workshops at the Mantra-On-View, Sunshine Coast, Queensland. More information to come via the Rescue Awards website.

The Rescue Awards ceremony will be streamed live on Facebook at @rescueawards at 6.15pm AEST on 12 September 2019.

 

Reflecting back on international ‘Take Your Dog to Work Day’ on the 21^st of June just gone, we thought it’d be the purr-fect opportunity to discuss the six perks of having a pet-friendly workplace.

1. Lower Stress Levels

Whether you’re rushing to meet a deadline or preparing for an important meeting, high-pressure situations at work are inevitable and can leave you feeling strung out. And if you’re a parent to a furbaby, you’ll know there’s no better feeling than coming home after a long day and being welcomed by their adorable, happy faces.  But anecdotal evidence aside, scientific studies have also proven the stress-relieving advantages of having a furry sidekick at the workplace, fur real.

According to a 2012 study conducted by the Virginia Commonwealth University, employees who brought their dogs to work showed lower stress hormone levels when compared to those who didn’t. To further substantiate this finding, the group with dogs also showed significantly higher stress levels on days when the dogs weren’t around.

Having pets at work can help employees take a breather when they need to, whether it’s taking a few minutes to stroke the office cat or taking the dog for a quick walk around the block to let off steam and clear headspace.

2. More Happiness, Improved Morale

Who let the dogs in? We did! Furbaby Fridays are always a weekly highlight at Jetpets. Ned the attention-loving daschund, Billy the handsome groodle, Bambi the cheeky spoodle and Blume the adorable exotic long-haired kitten, are just a few of the many beloved furbabies that make Fridays at Jetpets that much better. From laughing at their silly antics to stealing a few cuddles, the office atmosphere is always more light-hearted and relaxed.

Images: @billyandbambioodles and @exoticblume

Maria-Jose Enders, an expert in human and animal relationships at Open University, told the Business Insider “it’s definitely good for the work atmosphere to have a dog in the office, not only does your cortisol level drop when you stroke a dog; you also produce more of the hormone oxytocin, which makes you feel more relaxed and happy.”

Having wagging tails around the office has proven to boost morale and increase happiness levels amongst employees.

3. Boosts Productivity

While you might think that having an office full of goofy fluffballs can get distracting, a pet-friendly workplace can also help to improve productivity levels. The presence of our four-legged best friends can help diffuse tension and provide support when stress levels are high.

On long workdays where the temptation to zone out is lingering or you’re struggling to keep focused with so many tasks at bay, a few quick pats or a little cuddle for extra comfort is a quick and easy way to rejuvenate before jumping back into it.

4. Encourages Employee Interaction and Collaboration

Pets can also be an excellent icebreaker in the workplace, providing employees with an easy conversation starter. Whether it’s chatting about your pup’s favourite treats or training tips, employees may find more common ground to bond over when pets are present.

In turn, this can help employees to improve on their communication skills and facilitate deeper conversations, fostering a stronger team-work mentality. Encouraging collaboration and cooperation amongst employees across departments can significantly harmonise workplaces and create a more welcoming space.

5. Improved Mental and Physical Health

Going hand-in-hand with stress-relieving benefits, having pets in the workplace has also shown to reduce blood pressure and decrease anxiety.  This not only brings about a plethora of mental and physical health benefits for staff but can also help employers maintain a healthy staff retention rate and operational efficiency with less risk of “burn-outs” and sick days.

Plus, not only are office dogs or cats fun to play or cuddle with, they also provide the perfect motivator to get out of the office for a game of fetch in the park or a brisk walk to enjoy the fresh air.

6. Attracts Future Talent

Finally, the benefits to having a pet-friendly workplace isn’t just limited to employees themselves but also to the company’s recruitment efforts. With millennials choosing to wait longer before getting married, buying a house or having kids, it’s no surprise that many are opting to become parents to furbabies rather than “settling down”.

Numerous studies have shown that a dog-friendly office can work in favour of prospective employers, attracting talent pools that place significant value on being able to bring their favourite paw pal to work.

The Banfield Pet Hospital conducted their first ever Pet-Friendly Workplace PAWrometer study, surveying 1,006 employees and 200 Human Resources decision makers (HR DMs) from U.S. companies to explore the impact of pets in the workplace. 65% of job candidates asked about pet-friendly policies while 79% of HR DMs discuss their pet-friendly workplace policies when recruiting employees.

So, there’s your six benefits of having a pet-friendly workplace and we hope if it isn’t already, that your workplace will also open their doors to four-legged friends and discover the bountiful advantages that come with them.