Nicosia - Post Report Question and Answers
Are qualified veterinarians and/or good kennel services available? Do animals need to be quarantined upon entry to the country? Are there other considerations regarding pets that are particular to this country?
Yes, there are plenty of good vets. We adopted our dogs from a volunteer-run animal shelter, Argos, near Larnaca. It is not unusual for dogs to be bred, particularly for hunting, here with excess litter mates abandoned, so I would recommend adopting a dog rather than importing one, if you don't already have a dog. I don't know anything about importing a dog, but I can say that exporting our dogs was extremely expensive and nerve-wracking. Only one company flies dogs out at present: Lufthansa, and they suspended operations for most of 2022, only resuming them in September. The only other way to get a dog off the island is by ferry, and that is booked months in advance. We could only find one IATA-certified pet shipper in Cyprus, and they got the job done, but were not very communicative and required a lot of legwork on our part. Total cost of shipping two dogs from Cyprus to France was 3400 Euro, which included a one day stopover for the dogs (not us) in Germany. There are some nice doggie hotels in Cyprus, we used one in the mountains (Dogs Hotel Cyprus, proprietor Louiza). They sent us pictures each day of the dogs having a good time and the dogs were always excited to hop into their van to head to "summer camp". As for cats, Cyprus is overrun with them. Feral cats in varying states of health are everywhere. Most "pet" cats here have a home base, but roam freely and return for meals. For god sakes, don't bring another cat to Cyprus. If you are looking for a hobby, learning how to spay the ones already there will keep you busy for your entire stay. - Aug 2022
Vets here are great although a little pricey. Still cheaper than the States, though. Kennel services are available although I've never left my dog in one because I've heard mixed reviews. No quarantine for dogs upon entry. Pretty easy to import your animals and possible to do without a pet shipper, especially if you fly in on Lufthansa. There's not a lot of green space so it's harder to walk your dog unless you live in a house with a yard. LOTS of stray cats. - Aug 2022
The airline would not accept my daughter's 4-H show rabbit. - Jun 2011
