1

Importing a dog can be done but I don't know anyone who has done it and it is bound to be expensive. Bear in mind dogs are not especially liked in the Gulf region and dealing with officialdom is always a challenge. But plenty of expats do keep dogs as pets and I've known a few who have taken the dog with them when they have left.

There is some information here which is fairly current:

http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/expatinfo/animals.htm

http://www.ehow.com/about_6515718_pet-travel-dubai.html

Note that if you live in an apartment, there are often bans on keeping dogs although they are not always enforced. If you get a villa with a garden, you should be fine. Just bear in mind that exercising dogs from Jun-Sep when it's 45 degrees most days (and not much cooler at night) can be quite unpleasant.

You could also post this question on a proper expat forum such as expatforum.com where you might find someone who has actually imported a dog.

Edited by: dxb1969

2

Another point to add - when you eventually leave Abu Dhabi and wish to take the dog back to your home country, the dog may be required to spend several weeks or months in quarantine back in your home country. It's worth checking this out to avoid a nasty surprise later.

3

I've noticed that people who don't have pets think it's more difficult owning a dog or cat in the UAE than it really is.

I live in an upscale apartment complex in Dubai and there are plenty of pet dogs and cats. Every morning and night I see dozens of dog owners walking their dogs around the parks in the community. The master developer, Emaar, allows pets in all their communities. Some complexes do prohibit pets so one does have to be careful where they live.

As regards the heat effect, there's only about two months of the year when it is both brutally hot and humid - July and August, but even then the pet owners are out in force early in the morning and late at night taking their dogs out for short walks. Pets do remain indoors for the rest of the day in a fully air conditioned environment - along with us humans. The rest of the year it's perfectly doable and no different from, say, Florida or California or southern Spain where many people have pets.

Dubai has a number of established vet clinics and pet food is available at all large supermarkets. I imagine Abu Dhabi is the same.

The one caveat is that it's fairly expensive to ship an animal to the UAE and even more expensive to ship the animal out of the UAE. The cheapest way to do it is to organise the shipping directly with the airline and have the vet paperwork ready to go, but for a sizeable fee there are several animal clinics in the UAE who will help with the shipping.

4

Thanks for your replies.

The UAE is part of the UK pet scheme so there won't be a problem taking the dog back. I found the dog on a street in the southern states of America so she is used to the heat and is only a small dog, so exercising her won't be as bad as a big dog.

I am encouraged that there are dog walkers out there. I've had the dog for 7 years and I can't come and work there if she can't come.

The cost of transportation is not as bad as I expected.

So, I have an inteview next week which decides if we come out there or stay here...

5

Anymore info on all this will be very much appreciated by my two cats!

Thanks

Kira