One of the most difficult decisions we faced when moving to France was what to do with our beloved pets. We have Charlie, our laid-back tuxedo cat who’s been with our family since Todd found him abandoned on a construction site more than 16 years ago. And there’s River, our anxious and super-affectionate mutt (we think he may be a Corgi-shepherd mix); I have often referred to him as Oli’s furry brother. And then there’s Speedy, Oli’s beta fish that … well, even though we don’t have big feelings for Speedy, we didn’t want to just flush him down the toilet, either.
So what would we do with our pets when we moved to France for a year? Would we bring them along, or leave them behind?
Moving with pets overseas: The logistics
We wanted our pets to move with us, but what would that really look like? I spent hours researching the logistics of moving pets from the United States to France, trying to figure out if there was a way to do it that would work for our family — and not traumatize our pets.
Unlike some countries, it’s fairly simple to move most pets from the U.S. to France. They’ll need to be microchipped, and they will need a health certificate signed by an accredited veterinarian — you can find all of those details here. There’s no quarantine period needed, which makes things significantly easier and less stressful than moving pets to some other countries.
So then it’s a question of how to transport the pets from one side of the ocean to the other. There are a few options:
- Depending on the airline, if your pet is small enough, they may be approved to travel in the cabin with you. Most cats will be able to fit in a carrier to go in the cabin.
- If your pet is larger, they will most likely be required to travel in the cargo hold. Most airlines have a climate-controlled and pressurized section for pets in cargo. Some breeds are not allowed to go in the hold.
- You can also try to get your pet certified as a service animal so they can travel with you in the cabin. We met someone who did this with their two very well-behaved, very large dogs, and she said the process was surprisingly easy.
- There are concierge services that you can pay to transport your pet for you.
- There are private charter planes that will allow you to bring larger pets in the cabin (very expensive, obvi).
- The Queen Mary 2 is a cruise liner with an on-board kennel that you might choose if you’re flight-averse. But it’ll add about a week to your journey. And it’s not cheap, either!
Why we decided to leave our pets behind when moving abroad
After considering all of these options, we decided not to bring our pets to France. With a very old cat and a very anxious dog, we felt like the moving process would be too traumatic for both of them. River would have been too big to ride in the cabin, and he also has some behavioral issues that would have made it impossible for him to pass as a service dog. The more expensive options simply were not in our budget.
We also considered what their lifestyle would be like once we had arrived in France. We went from living in a house with a yard to a third-floor apartment with no outdoor space in a very urban area. We knew that neither one of our pets would be happy living the apartment life after enjoying the freedoms of our American life. We also thought River would struggle with the fact that many French people don't leash their dogs, while he has problems with leash aggression.
And lastly, we weren’t sure whether we would be returning after a year or staying longer, and we didn’t want to put them through all of that stress for what would potentially be a relatively short-term stay. We agreed that if we decided to stay in France for longer than a year, we would try to find a way to bring our pets over to be with us.
None of this would have worked without the incredibly generous family members who offered to care for our pets while we were gone. My sister, who lives on a farm, welcomed River into her family, and he has been enjoying the country life so much that we’re not sure if he’ll ever want to return to the city! And Todd’s brother and his wife took in Charlie, who’s been spending his days snoozing in the sun in their big backyard and teaching our niece proper cat-human etiquette. And Speedy the fish? He was taken care of by our renters for a while, and now he’s with a family member. We think? We’re just hopeful that he’s still swimming, somewhere.
What it was like living abroad without our pets
Now that we’re approaching the end of our year and looking back on this experience, I still think we made the right decision to leave the pets behind — especially because we now know we will be returning home soon. I think they’re much happier and more comfortable in their current living situations than they ever could be here in Bordeaux. That said, we missed them desperately at times, and they were a big part of the persistent homesickness that Oli and I especially struggled with.
Our pets have been such a huge part of our daily lives for so long — for Oli, they’ve been with him his entire life! And so it was bizarre to go from caring for them every day — feeding them, snuggling them, playing with them, walking River — to nothing. I really missed the simple feeling of having a sweet, loving creature waiting at home for me. Sometimes I even missed vacuuming up their pet hair. Their absence left a big void in our lives that resulted in some very American behavior (read: enthusiastic, fawning, etc.) every time we saw a cute pup on the street.
Ultimately, the question of whether to bring your pets with you or not when moving abroad is a deeply personal one. We've met people who did the work to bring them along, and we've met people who were also missing the furry friends they left behind. It’s not an easy decision, either way, but hopefully you can figure out what works best for your family if you're working toward your own dream of moving abroad.