Having Dogs In Fuerteventura
A number of people have asked about our dogs – whether we bought them with us from the UK or got them here. So thought I would briefly talk about having a dog in Fuerteventura and give the legal requirements for having dogs in Fuerteventura. I did post about how we got the dogs here – http://www.jpinfuerteventura.com/categories/dogs/our-dogs/
Legally each dog must have a passport, be micro-chipped and have a Rabies jab. Unfortunately so many locals don’t do this and neither do they have their dogs neutered – but nothing seems to happen to them.
You have to have your dogs on a lead at all times, apart from in a dog park. This doesn’t seem to apply to locals. Dogs are not allowed on a beach, except for a designated dog beach. These are few and far between – if you can call them a beach anyway. Having said that, plenty of people do take their dogs on beaches. Particularly the locals – are you seeing a pattern here?
Travelling With Your Dog
To answer the questions “Can I take my dog to Fuerteventura?” or even “Can I take my dog to the Canary islands?” then yes you can, but at a cost. Flying to/from the UK, dogs have to travel on a scheduled flight (which means British Airways, Iberia or Monarch I think) and they can only fly into or out of an airport with an animal reception centre. I think this means Gatwick, Heathrow or Manchester. Because of this the dogs go airfreight which costs a fortune. Dogs flying to Germany, Holland, Belgium etc travel as baggage with a passenger. Generally the cost is about the same as the passenger pays which could be as little as 39€. Small dogs can even travel in the cabin, in a suitable carry bag. I have heard of people flying to Belgium or Holland and being met by someone who has travelled by road across the Channel, which works out much cheaper.
It is possible to travel by car and ferry here with your dog, driving through France and Spain and getting the ferry from Cadiz. There are also specialist animal transportation companies which can arrange this.
Rescue Dogs
There are so many dogs needing good homes here that finding a rescue dog is certainly not difficult. Fuerteventura Dog Rescue, run by volunteers, does s great job but it is an uphill battle.
Fuerteventura Dog Rescue: Facebook Page
Hi JP, I found your video very helpful. We are planning on moving to Fuerteventura after the summer with our two small dogs, can you recommend as to where we can rent? That would be greatly appreciated any names of places or links or good websites or estate agents. Thankyou in advance.
Finding long-term rental places is getting difficult. I will email you some links.
Hi JP.
I agree that a lot of locals appear to walk without the dog on a leash have you ever phoned the local police or guardia civil ?
presumably they would have to respond?
Incidentally we brought our dog over from Cadiz on the ferry.
It would be an interesting exercise to see if they did and what they would do. I intended including driving and ferries as an option to getting a dog top Fuerte but that was a portion where the wind noise on the microphone was too bad unfortunately. I will add it to the written version. How did you find the ferry crossing? Did your dog have to go in a kennel on deck or could he stay with you?
Hi JP.
Yes the dog had to go in a kennel on the open deck but no problem with rain or spray & the kennels were of a good size certainly enough for a large springer type dog.
Other larger size kennels were available on lower decks as well.
Cost of the dog on the ferry was €70 return but only because we paid for 2 adults & a 6m vehicle with a total cost of €1330 return.
Total crossing time approx 27hrs
We’ve got a few photos of the deck kennels etc so could email some if of use ?
Alternatively we do the return journey to Cadiz at the end of March so could take a few more.
Hi John, If you could email a couple to me I can include them in the blog, with a credit of course. [email protected] – Thanks.