on the road with Animalcouriers

Courier J and M recently made a round trip to Germany and the Nordics with cats and dogs on board, with a stop-off in the Netherlands on the way home.

George and Caillou, 2 cats from Somerset to Germany

Lucie has taken up a research job at the University of Bremen. We collected her beloved cats, George and Caillou, from Somerset, where Lucie’s parents have been taking care of them.

Like all cats, they were wary but curious about their new surroundings

It wasn’t long before they started to explore!

Bonnie, a dog from Scotland to Denmark

Lovely Australian Labradoodle Bonnie travelled from her breeder Alistair in Lomond to new owner Natasha in Denmark. Bonnie was thrilled to meet Natasha — she jumped and wriggled and licked Natasha’s face.

The start of a beautiful relationship for Bonnie and Natasha

Dexter, a dog from Sweden to Oxford

The first of two Dexters on our trip — this is Dexter the handsome Samoyed. He belongs to Elisa, who works at the Oxford University Press. Following an extended visit to Vaxjo in Sweden, Elisa has returned to Oxford, and now Dexter is following on.

Dexter ready for the off

A pair of very large strawberries!

Seb and Kit, 2 cats from Stockholm to Scotland

In Stockholm we met Emma who’s been taking care of Seb and Kit, her friend Sarah’s two cats. Both Emma and Sarah have been working in Sweden’s retail sector — which has stayed active as Sweden hasn’t locked down during the pandemic — and are now returning to the UK.

Emma arrives with Sarah’s cats

Slinky Seb is jet black

Gorgeous Kit has only three legs, but Emma says you’d never know it, as Kit is so active!

An intriguing roundabout

We were glad this bull didn’t want to get on board!

Dexter and Oggi, 2 cats from Sweden to Hampshire

We collected adorable cats Dexter and Oggi in Avesta for their journey to Hampshire, where owner Mikaela was waiting for them.

Björn handed Dexter and Oggi over

We enjoyed fantastic scenery as we travelled through Sweden

Peaceful Lake Djurlangen

Warm autumn colours

Timmy, a cat from London to Sweden

Darling (but camera-shy) Timmy travelled with us from London to Sweden for a reunion with owner Simona.

We delivered Timmy to Simona in Kopparberg

Wonderful wall art

As usual when we’re in Sweden, we called in to the Ikea museum, where courier M enjoyed a traditional plate of meatballs in the restaurant

Kongen, a cat from Norway to Cheshire

We met Jan and family on the border between Norway and Sweden to collect their stunning Norwegian Forest cat Kongen. He travelled with us to Jan’s parents in Cheshire, where he’s waiting for the family to join him. Jan wrote to say:

“Thank you so much for relocating Kongen from Norway to the UK for us. Having almost given up hope on managing to move him, due to lack of airlines flying animals under Covid-19, we were SO happy to find you! We are so grateful that you went out of your way to make this happen and accommodated us by coming over the border into Norway for collection. Kongen arrived at my parents’ home safely, perfectly relaxed — and we can’t wait to see him again! Thank you once again for enabling us to include our pet family member in our move to the UK!”

A proper family send-off for Kongen

‘Kongen’ means ‘king’, and this chatty fellow certainly had a regal air about him

Baxter, a dog from Sweden to New Zealand via the UK

Laura and her husband are relocating from Sweden to New Zealand, and their delightful hound Baxter, a Labrador-Spaniel cross, will be joining them. The first leg of Baxter’s journey is to the UK, where his vaccinations and paperwork will be completed before he flies out from London Heathrow.

Laura saying goodbye to Baxter in Malmö, knowing it will be a little while before they’re reunited in New Zealand

The original plan was for Baxter to stay in kennels in the UK, but he’s actually home boarding with courier M instead!

Alfie, a tortoise from London to Berlin

Emily’s Horsfield tortoise, Alfie, travelled with us from London to Berlin. Horsfields, named after the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield, are also known by a number of other names including Russian, Afghan or Central Asian tortoises. They can live up to 100 years!

Handsome fellow Alfie

Driving along the fabulous Karl Marx Allee in Berlin, built between 1952 and 1960 — a real GDR propaganda showcase

We stayed overnight in Brunswick at a converted waterworks, full of lovely historical touches

The tower was used to manage water pressure. Now it’s a museum full of cogs, wheels and other bits of engineering wizardry.

We weren’t sure what the slightly spooky figure on the top of the tower represented — a diver, a water nymph, an alien?

Mycroft, a dog from the Netherlands to London

Super-cute miniature Schnauzer Mycroft splits his time between his loving parents Christie in Amsterdam and Thomas in London.

The street where Mycroft lives in Amsterdam

We met Christie and Mycroft on a rather damp day

Levitating magician outside the Museum of Magic in Amsterdam

Happy Thomas collecting a very exuberant Mycroft