Pet Transport in Vancouver, BC
We provide international pet transport to and from Vancouver, planned around the weather, the season and your destination’s entry rules.
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- Export and import paperwork
- Check-in at YVR
- Door-to-door relocation
- Meeting your pet at the arrival airport
Dogs over three months old living in Vancouver need a City licence, renewed every year.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 1-877-707-1739
Vancouver at a glance
How a move from Vancouver works- Flights from
- Vancouver International (YVR)
- Door-to-door pickup
- Roughly one to two hours’ drive of Vancouver
- Airline guides
- Air Canada and WestJet
- Export paperwork
- CFIA endorsement, by appointment
- Service area
- British Columbia
Pet Relocation from Vancouver
From Vancouver International (YVR), the route is chosen for each move on the weather, the season and airline availability.
How a Move from Vancouver Works
From Vancouver, our pet relocation services can be as small as one airline booking or as complete as a move from your home to the arrival airport.
Flights and check-in
We book your pet’s flights from Vancouver International (YVR), set the dates around the weather, the season and each airline’s rules for pets, and handle the check-in with the airline on travel day.
Door to door, when you book it
Door-to-door pet transport adds the road legs. A partner driver collects your pet from home, anywhere within roughly one to two hours’ drive of Vancouver, and handles the check-in personally, and we meet your pet at the arrival airport.
Paperwork for a move abroad
For a move abroad, CFIA endorses the export certificate before your pet leaves Canada. CFIA’s appointment page, read 22 September 2026, says the endorsement is booked by appointment through a local CFIA office, with no walk-ins, and that the fee is paid online at least 3 days before the appointment. We prepare the certificate with you and your veterinarian, including an import permit where the destination country asks for one, and check each document against the destination’s rules. Our destination guides set out each country’s requirements.
Arriving
Moving a Pet to Vancouver
Arriving from overseas? CFIA’s import requirements apply to any pet entering Canada, and our guide to bringing a pet to Canada walks through them. Once you live here, the City of Vancouver’s licensing page, read 23 September 2026, says any dog over 3 months of age needs a licence, renewed every year.
How the service works from start to finish is on our pet transport services page.
Flying a Pet Out of Vancouver
Most Vancouver air moves route through YVR. A small pet that fits under the seat flies in the cabin for a fee per direction on Air Canada or WestJet, lower on domestic and United States flights than on other international routes. Larger pets travel as cargo. Air Canada Cargo does not publish a route rate for dogs and cats and quotes each shipment through a sales representative, billed on chargeable weight, which the crate size drives more than your pet’s weight does. Our cost estimator shows how the pieces add up.
On the ground, we cover the Lower Mainland door to door, run the corridor to Calgary and Edmonton, and reach Victoria with the crossing handled on the ferry leg.
Airline Pet Policy Guides
Each airline named on this page publishes its own rules for animals. Our guides set out what each one says:
Air Canada: cabin, baggage and cargo rules.
WestJet: fees and cabin rules.
How Our Pet Transport Process Works
Consultation
We review your pet, destination, and timeline to determine the best travel options.
Travel Plan and Timeline
We build a route that aligns flights, ground segments, and documentation.
Pre-Travel Preparation
We confirm crate setup, airline acceptance, and paperwork requirements.
Transportation Coordination
We arrange bookings and guide airport procedures.
Arrival Support
We provide guidance for post-arrival steps and customs procedures when needed.
Pet Transport Services Tailored to Your Needs
Air Pet Shipping
We guide pet owners in choosing the best air routes, coordinate airline ticket booking, and arrange airport pet check-in when required.
Ground Pet Transport
Ground relocation is arranged for regional or cross-border travel with realistic timing and route planning.
International Pet Transport
International relocation includes documentation coordination, airline compliance, and destination-country entry planning.
Door to Door Relocation
Door-to-door service combines ground and air coordination for smooth pickup and arrival transitions.
Types of Pets We Transport
Each pet has unique needs, and our services are designed to match them.
Dog Transportation
We coordinate dog travel with airline-approved crates, route planning, and seasonal considerations common to Vancouver’s coastal climate.
Cat Transportation
Cat relocation includes advance documentation review and airline coordination to reduce handling and unnecessary transfers.
Bird Transportation
Bird transport requires species-specific permits and airline approval. We arrange routing and paperwork for domestic and international destinations.
Small Mammals Transportation
Rabbits and similar pets travel under airline and import rules that vary by destination. We plan documentation and timing carefully.
Reptile and Exotic Pet Transport
Exotic pet transportation involves specialized permits and routing strategies. Compliance is confirmed before travel is arranged.
Our Service Areas Near Vancouver
We serve Vancouver and surrounding communities including Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, and the Lower Mainland. In addition, Pet Travel Advisors coordinates pet transportation nationwide and internationally.
Elsewhere in the province, moves run through our British Columbia service area, listed with the rest on our service areas page.
Common Local Mistakes to Avoid
Vancouver’s airport volume and coastal conditions create planning details that are easy to overlook.
Underestimating bridge traffic to YVR from North Vancouver, Burnaby, or Surrey during peak hours
Assuming all trans-Pacific flights accept pets year-round
Not accounting for airline embargoes during peak summer heat on long-haul routes
Booking multi-leg international flights without confirming pet acceptance on each segment
Overlooking time differences when coordinating international arrival and customs clearance
Waiting too long during peak holiday travel when overseas routes fill quickly
Ready to start?
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
What to Expect When Shipping a Pet Through Vancouver Airport (YVR)
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) Location: Richmond, BC, about 12 km south of downtown Vancouver. YVR has extensive experience handling pets for both domestic and international relocations, including services for cats, dogs, birds, and other animals.
YVR supports wide-body aircraft, which is important for long-haul and trans-Pacific pet relocation.
High travel volume means airline cut-off times and seasonal restrictions must be carefully managed. Route selection often focuses on reducing layovers and aligning documentation timelines with departure schedules.
Who actually handles your pet at YVR
Air Canada Cargo runs the AC Animals product out of Cargo Terminal, 4900 Miller Road, Richmond. The station runs every day, 05:00 to midnight, with cargo acceptance and screening across the same window. The tender window is narrow: an animal must be tendered no later than three hours before departure and no earlier than four, so it is a one-hour slot rather than a morning.
Air Canada Cargo’s before you book page, read 15 September 2026, says door-to-door service is not available for animals, so somebody has to take the crate to the counter and somebody has to collect it. Bookings inside Canada go direct to Air Canada at least 24 hours ahead; bookings to the United States or overseas have to be placed through a registered IPATA, IATA or ATA agent rather than by the owner. We book the CFIA endorsement appointment against the flight rather than the move date.
Temperature limits and ground handling
Airlines decide whether a pet flies, not the airport. Carriers refuse an animal in the hold when forecast ground temperatures fall outside their published limits, and they layer seasonal embargoes on top of that. Air Canada Cargo also requires a comfort stop when a connection runs longer than 6 hours, or when an animal is not collected within 4 hours of arrival: the animal goes to a kennel or a veterinary service and those fees fall to the shipper. Between drop-off and loading your pet waits in the cargo handler building rather than a dedicated animal terminal, so the acceptance window and the handler opening hours are what a travel date has to be built around.
Pet Relief Areas
YVR has several designated pet relief areas outside and within the terminal, including one after security for international departures. These areas have waste disposal stations and are designed for pet comfort.
Questions about moving a pet to or from Vancouver
Request a QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
Does Vancouver’s mild weather make pet travel easier?
Vancouver’s departures are timed for each move on the weather, the season and airline availability, and we watch the forecast at both ends of the route.
What kinds of pets do you relocate from Vancouver?
We coordinate travel for dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, and select reptiles or exotics from Vancouver, whenever airline and destination rules allow. Each species has its own requirements, and snub-nosed breeds and older pets get extra planning around routing and the weather.
What paperwork does a pet need to fly from Vancouver?
Pet travel runs on health paperwork. For a move within Canada a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian is usually enough; for international moves the destination sets the requirements and the export certificate must be endorsed by the CFIA, often on a strict timeline. We map the vet visits and CFIA steps for your Vancouver move so nothing expires at the wrong moment.
What does pet transportation from Vancouver cost?
Every Vancouver move is priced on its own, because the route, airline fees, your pet’s size and crate, the season, and the destination’s rules all change the total. Tell us where and when, and we’ll put together an estimate: request a quote. For a closer look at what drives the price, see our guide to pet shipping costs in Canada.
For real numbers, our Canadian pet shipping cost guide puts a typical full-service cargo move for a larger dog at $2,000 to $3,500 CAD, and our pet shipping cost calculator itemizes the government fees route by route.
Where are the pet relief areas at Vancouver International (YVR)?
YVR has eight full-service pet relief areas after security, on the A/B, C, D and E piers and at the South Terminal, including one across from gate C29 and one across from gate D72. Before security there is an outdoor relief area outside International Arrivals at the entrance to Chester Johnson Park. Give your pet a break before check-in, since animals stay in their carriers inside the terminal. The airport lists every location on its animal relief areas page.
Do you help with crates and carriers for Vancouver pets?
Yes. The crate is one of the most important parts of a safe flight, so we size it to your pet and to the airline’s rules, which set the dimensions, ventilation and labelling a carrier will accept. For Vancouver pets we confirm the crate well before travel so there are no surprises at YVR, and we share acclimation steps early so the crate feels familiar by travel day.