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The rules for entering the UK with a dog are no different regardless of how you enter--plane, train, boat. You will have to go through immigration and customs. And the paperwork is the same.

Yes, you are right. We have already started the rabies titer process.

The difference is that for plane travel to England, dogs aren't allowed to be in the cabin with the owner, all dogs must travel in cargo. At least that is what my research has shown so far!

We prefer to have our small dog travel in the cabin with us, so we're going to fly to another country that allows it.

That's what brings up the dilemma about the rental car!

No pets on the Eurostar train. Only registered assistance dogs are accepted on board.

You can drive a left drive vehicle (like ours in the USA) on the left side in England.

But beyond it being hard to pass someone being on the "wrong side" of the car, are the huge drop fees if you drop a French car in England.

There was a long discussion on this topic elsewhere on the board, putting the car on a ferry, or on the Chunnel car-train. You can find the whole thing at this link.

The best suggestion from there was

"Option 3, take a normal domestic UK train train to Dover (dogs go free of charge), a ferry across the Channel, then a domestic French train to Paris. See the London-Paris train+ferry page for train and ferry times and fares. There's a problem here too, as most ferry companies do not allow foot passengers to take pets, only motorists. However, P&O Ferries (Dover-Calais & other routes) will now accept cats or small dogs with foot passengers under the PETS travel scheme, as long as the dog has the appropriate veterinary cover and documentation, and is carried in an approved PDSA carrier at all times whilst on the ferry. Please confirm by calling P&O Ferries."

Wouldn't this option be ok, as your pet is small and it's only about an hours journey time? "

Thanks so much for the information.

Can you tell me what a "drop fee" is?

The link to the other post was very helpful!

Drop fees are what it costs you to pick up a car on one place and drop it in another. They vary by rental company. You can research them on the big web sites like Expedia and Travelocity. But with Hertz it will be €655 ($971) from France to the UK. Plus the cost of the rental. OUCH!!!

I have dogs, and while I don't like to travel them via cargo, they don't seem to mind a bit.

A drop-off fee is what a rental company charges if you pick up the car in one place and return it in a different location. If you pick up the car and drop it off in the same country, there's usually no drop-off fee. But if it's in a different country than where you picked it up, there usually is. And it's often shockingly high. Taking a car from France and dropping it off in the UK, I would not be surprised to find the rental car company wanted a substantial extra charge.

Thanks, Steve and David. Now I understand!

We'd drive back to Paris for the return flight, so we shouldn't encounter the drop fee.

I appreciate y'all taking the time to help me! Elizabeth

All I know about dogs is that they bite. However, I often rent cars in France and Germany and take them back and forth to the UK. No problem at all. What I have found however, is that the ferry is the least expensive way, that the Dunkerque ferry is cheaper by a long shot than the the Calais ferry, and that by getting on the boat early in the morning or later in the evening, you save a heap of bucks over making a prime-time transit.