First foreign holidays for 10 lucky canines

So far, only 10 Irish dogs have obtained re-entry certificates. One hundred are waiting for their documentation. Between February 28th, when the pilot scheme was introduced, and April 24th, 1,324 approved pets entered Britain from the Continent under the scheme: 193 of these were cats; 1,131 were dogs. There was a 15 per cent failure rate, mainly because the ticks and tapeworms vaccination had not been administered by a vet in the previous 48 hours. The animals' records are checked by authorities working on behalf of carriers before they leave the Continent.

There are currently six companies willing to bring animals across the Channel: the Euro Tunnel is the most popular way, carrying 70 per cent of cats and dogs into Britain; P&O Stena, crossing from Calais to Dover, accounts for 16 per cent of the animal traffic, and Hoverspeed and Sea France also operate the Calais-Dover route. Brittany Ferries and P&O European sail from St Malo to Portsmouth. Dogs and cats can fly into Heathrow on British Midland from Amsterdam, on Lufthansa from Frankfurt, and on Finnair from Helsinki.

Dogs and cats from the following countries have been approved to come into Britain: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Vatican.

Ireland, Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are the only rabies-free countries in Europe, and there hasn't been an outbreak here since 1903. Dogs and cats can move freely between these islands. Before February, animals travelling between Ireland and the Continent were put in six months' quarantine, and this still exists for animals travelling to and from countries outside Europe.

In continental Europe, where rabies exists, dogs are microchipped and vaccinated for travel between France and Germany, for example.