Aliyah tails: Family pet journeys to a future in Israel

When Amelia was rescued from a Midwestern-US puppy mill at the start of the COVID pandemic, this four-legged star could have never guessed where her life would take her. 

Now estimated at 11.5 years old, this rescue Yorkshire/Dachshund mix has spent most of her life of freedom in Tel Aviv alongside her owner, a breaking news desk manager at The Jerusalem Post. The choice to adopt her was easy – but sorting out the details of Amelia’s aliyah journey came with trials and tribulations.

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On paper, vets and aliyah aid organizations had everything lined out, but Amelia’s journey with her owner from New York to Tel Aviv in December 2020 was no easy feat. 

Coming to Israel with a pet can add layers to an already challenging move. Between incurred additional costs, special testing, and a search for pet-friendly housing, her owner would face the same issues that so many pet parents experience when relocating internationally with their pet companions.

Though each “aliyah tail” has a different story, pet parents who wanted to turn their aliyah dream into a reality jumped through all the hoops needed to move to Israel with their companion. The ultimate question, though, is – was it all worth it?

The Magazine received an overwhelming response to a call for the stories of pet aliyah journeys. From dogs to cats to birds, the consensus was clear: Moving to Israel would be harder with a pet, but worth it in the end.

Even for those who had a change of tune after the fact, most agreed that leaving that extra family member behind was simply out of the question.

What is the process of moving to Israel with a pet?

Moving to Israel with a pet can have a variety of requirements, depending on the species of pet and country of origin. 

According to Nefesh B’Nefesh’s “Making Aliyah with Pets” section, applicable to people moving from North America primarily, pets are required to follow specific documentation for import. According to the Agriculture Ministry and the Nature Parks Authority, it is illegal to import animals under the age of four months. 

Animals in good health – including cats, household birds, rabbits, rodents, and most dogs – are typically approved for import to Israel but are not always allowed to travel in-cabin. A handful of dog breeds – many of which are available for adoption within Israel’s borders – are banned from import. 

Pit bulls, bull terriers, Rottweilers, a variety of Staffordshire terriers, the Argentinian dogo, and the Japanese tosa are among the breeds banned from entering Israel. According to Nefesh B’Nefesh, these breeds are deemed “dangerous” by the Agriculture Ministry. 

Reptiles, amphibians, and rare or exotic birds are classified as wildlife, thus requiring special approval, assuming they are household pets. Additionally, “it is illegal to import monkeys and a number of animals classified as wildlife by the Agriculture Ministry and the Nature Parks Authority, i.e., species that do not usually live with human beings in their natural habitat,” the aliyah organization noted.

Is it impossible to move to the Holy Land with a breed that has been banned from import? Not necessarily.

Maria Rosencrantz moved to Israel from Moscow with her mini bull terrier in 2014. “I faced every possible problem [because of his breed],” Rosencrantz told the Magazine. Things worked out for them, and her dog will be celebrating its 10th birthday this year in Israel. However, Yvonne Rose-Saat had to take the difficult step of re-homing her beloved companion because it was a banned breed.

Are there exceptions to the rules of importing household pets? What are they, exactly?

The country of origin and species can determine the steps needed for a pet’s aliyah approval. Ultimately, animals need to be up to date on standard vaccinations and in good health. The most important is the rabies vaccine and the subsequent rabies titer test. This blood sample, which determines whether the vaccinated animal has enough antibodies to be protected against rabies, can cost hundreds of dollars.

If the animal does not pass the titer test, it would need to be vaccinated for rabies again, and re-tested around a month afterward. The re-test would incur the same costs.

Bringing a pet from the US, Canada, or France (among others) may require a different process when clearing customs than those from countries such as South Africa or Brazil. For example, a handful of immigrants to Israel who traveled with an in-cabin pet, originating from the US, reported that no one at customs looked twice at their pet or their paperwork. Others reported transferring within the airport to meet their pet, and then waiting several hours before they were reunited with their pets.

Many others relied on services like Terminal4Pets, which helps patrons move their pets overseas; in this case, to the Holy Land.

Philip Searle told the Magazine that relocating with his dog from Australia via Asia required a crate agent to get his four-legged furry friend, a Labrador/golden retriever mix, to Israel. The two had to fly separately.

“She was traveling via Asia and had a few transits on the way. She went from Melbourne to Sydney and spent one day there. Then [she flew] Sydney to Singapore, then on to London for one day. From London, I met her and we flew to Israel,” Searle recounted. 

“She was in the cargo hold, so I didn’t see her until we landed in Israel. In Israel, I had to change terminals to collect her. They wanted to charge me import tax; however, I told them it was a domestic animal and not for breeding purposes. I had to write that on a piece of paper and sign it. They then let me get her,” Searle added.

“I was very stressed about her. Organizing her to leave Australia was very challenging! It wasn’t a simple process, as there was no direct flight (or no single airline carrier able to take her point to point). I don’t believe this could have been done without a crate agent.

“But overall, she arrived happy and healthy. It was the greatest relief to see her after such a long time traveling.” In total, his dog took a journey of around five days to make her way home.

Making aliyah with a pet requires adjustment

Long before today’s import standards applied, one respondent recalled what felt like a simpler time. “This was before the present import standards, so all that was needed for my cat was a health certificate and a rabies vaccination,” Judith Goldberg said.

“On the day of my flight, I gave her a tranquilizer. We were given a front row seat so she wasn’t under my seat and I could keep an eye on her. I took her to the toilet a few times to try to get her to pee and to give her water. The flight attendants just nodded and smiled,” she recalled.

“We arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on a Friday afternoon, and they didn’t check her papers. So off to the absorption center. My room door [at my accommodation] had opened and cockroaches were jumping all over, so there was no way I could stay there. So my aunt told me to take a few things and I’d sleep [at her place] until a better room could be found. Miranda had to stay [there].

“A few shades were missing, so we patched them with paper. I put out the disposable litter box and litter that I had in my luggage, a bowl of water, some food. Off to my aunt’s. 

“After dinner, I walked back to check on her. All was well. Next morning, I went out for a jog and, of course, jogged over to the absorption center. I returned, opened the door, and – oh no, where was Miranda? I had opened the bathroom window, so she must have gotten out. I felt horrible. I took her so far and lost her,” she recounted.

“I was out looking for her, calling her name, but I had no luck. Then I went back inside, and she jumped through the window! She saw me and jumped into the overhead storage area. I closed the window and waited for her to come down.”

Though it was a rocky start, this mom and cat duo were finally able to get started on their lives in the Holy Land. “After three apartments, I got her a friend here, as she needed a playmate. There was never a problem, except that pet meds weren’t available in those days, and there was nothing for hairballs. So, since my mother visited twice a year, guess what I had her bring? Miranda and I had 18 years together.”

ALEXANDRA BABKINA made aliyah from Russia with her dog, Klod, and two cats, Zhunya and Lushka, on October 6, 2022. Babkina’s husband, Daniel, had left Russia in the preceding weeks and met with his wife and two children in Turkey. Previously, Klod had been brought by his then-owner to a vet to be put down, but the vet refused and helped get the dog adopted to a new home. Klod soon found himself adopted into a family that was setting off for a fresh start in Israel.

This was not without drama, though. “We had to change flights in Turkey and could not find the place where pets were given to passengers. Plus, I was running around the airport with a baby and a teenager. I was crying a river! I was so afraid he had died,” Babkina recalled. “I was afraid he had died at the airport or in transit. Thank God there is a happy ending!”

After some airport drama, the family was eventually able to continue their journey to Israel with their pets. Klod, 14, a long-haired dachshund, and his cat siblings are living with their family.

SUSAN TOVA HIRSCH made aliyah from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Yechiel, and two pets in August 2004. This older couple quickly connected to their community thanks to their chatty dog Penny, who just wanted to get to know the neighbors.

“We rented an apartment on a small street, Ben Labrat, in Rehavia. We had a fenced-in yard that Penny enjoyed,” Hirsch said. “The only problem was she barked loudly whenever anyone walked on the sidewalk in front of our apartment. 

“Of course, I tried my best to get her not to bark at our new neighbors and frequently yelled ‘Penny’ at her. Directly across the street from our apartment, there was a small grocery store. A few days after making aliyah, I went there to purchase a few items. The store’s owner asked me if I was the new lady with the dog across the street from him. I said yes,” Hirsch said. 

“The owner, a very nice chap, asked me if I could change our dog’s name. His name was Pinny, and every time I yelled at Penny, he came out of his store to see who was calling him.” 

It takes all kinds to make aliyah

Claudia Schlamm Brodsky made aliyah from Seattle, Washington, with a Jardin parrot. Margarita Khakhan made aliyah from Russia two and a half years ago with two medium-sized dogs. Now she runs a Telegram channel dedicated to helping people better understand the process of relocating with their pets to Israel.

Luiza Rosemberg made aliyah from Brazil with three dogs. Ben Marjan found his dog, Molière, on the streets of Shanghai, China. “He jumped on my scooter at a red light, lay down on my feet, and refused to go away. He made aliyah five years later,” Marjan said.

Leah Klagge Luria made aliyah with her family’s pet cockatiel, Cheekers. “My son Micah has always been a bird lover. I’m more of a cat person and my husband loves dogs, and somehow our son just loves birds. We got Micah a pet cockatiel for his birthday when he turned eight,” Luria said.

“Cheekers actually flew away shortly before our aliyah, and we were all heartbroken. We posted about her in social media to see if anyone had seen her. We put her cage outside and hoped she would fly back to it, and we took walks around the neighborhood calling out to her. We’d almost given up hope when after eight days, we got a message that she had been found – three miles away at a neighborhood tennis park.

“Being reunited with a pet bird that flew away truly felt like a miracle. So, of course, when the time came to make aliyah, there was no question that she was coming with us. Cheekers had her own file and needed to be chipped, quarantined for a week, and some other hoops, but thank God we got all the necessary stuff done and she was able to come on the flight with us.”

Cheekers traveled in style from the US to Israel. “We got a special travel carrier for her, and she was in the carrier on Micah’s lap the entire flight. Before our lift came with her cage (our lift was delayed due to COVID, so it was close to two months later), we let her stay out of a cage in the boys’ room. 

“Now she has three other cockatiels to keep her company, as we are long-term bird-sitting for our friends’ birds, since they moved back to the US for the war. Cheekers is a very sweet, social bird and also a well-traveled one.”

Sheli Berger brought her two dachshunds from the African continent and gave them star treatment when they were reunited. “I have a stroller for them. I came from South Africa, and dogs are not allowed in the cabin from Africa. So they traveled in a special container at the back of the plane,” Berger recalled. “They couldn’t fly with cargo, at risk of death due to their size and other factors. 

“I was allowed to bring the stroller with me and kept it until I boarded the plane. At every checkpoint I went through at the airport (passport control, security), the officials kept seeing an empty stroller and asked each time where the baby was. So I had to explain that I was traveling with dogs and had the stroller, so when we landed I could put them in the stroller the moment we were reunited.” Berger was able to walk away from the experience with a good laugh.

Could aliyah change a pet’s life?

Making aliyah with an animal requires many adjustments that may seem beyond reasonable to some pet owners.

Veterinary care is inherently different; vaccination requirements and medications must match Israel’s requirements per species. Many vaccinations needed for a household pet in the United States are not required in Israel. Pet owners traveling back to their point of origin at any point must stay up to date with any relevant requirements for that country. There are limited options for 24-hour emergency pet care in certain regions, with few options for even the most populated areas.

For instance, even in a bustling city like Tel Aviv, pet owners might have to go to a Petah Tikva clinic in an emergency. The quality of medications varies, and many animal food products are imported. These are not necessarily make-or-break factors to consider before moving to Israel with a pet but are important to consider.

Making aliyah with a pet may have its difficulties, but having that companion follow you into your new stage of life could be the anchor that steadies you. For all of the hoops that pet owners jump through, immigrating to Israel would not be complete without their pets coming along. 

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