Pet Transport in Boston, MA
We provide international pet transport to and from Boston, planned around the weather, the season and your destination’s entry rules. A move to or from another state goes by road with a partner driver or on a domestic flight.
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- Export and import paperwork
- Check-in at BOS
- Door-to-door relocation
- Meeting your pet at the arrival airport
Dogs and cats entering Massachusetts need a health certificate.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 1-877-540-0555
Boston at a glance
How a move from Boston works- Flights from
- Boston Logan (BOS)
- Door-to-door pickup
- Roughly one to two hours’ drive of Boston
- Airline guides
- Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines
- Export paperwork
- USDA endorsement through VEHCS
- Service area
- Northeast
Pet Relocation from Boston
Boston (BOS) is a busy Northeast gateway with strong transatlantic and cross-country routes, which gives pets leaving the area real options. The constraint here is weather at both ends of the year: cold, snowy winters with airline temperature rules and the occasional storm delay, and warm summers with their own heat limits. We plan your dates around those windows and book nonstop flights where they exist to cut down on handling.
How a Move from Boston Works
Book our pet relocation services one at a time: only the flights out of Logan, or everything from your door in Boston to the arrival airport.
Flights and check-in
We book your pet’s flights from Boston Logan (BOS), 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 Boston, and handles the check-in personally, and we meet your pet at the arrival airport. We do not run local rides to the vet, groomer or daycare.
Paperwork for a move abroad
For a move abroad, the paperwork starts with the destination. APHIS’s export page, read September 16, 2026, says to verify your destination country’s entry requirements every time you plan to travel, and that a USDA-accredited veterinarian submits the health certificate for USDA endorsement on your behalf. APHIS calls VEHCS the fastest route to endorsement, says processing there is staffed Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time outside federal holidays, and says there is no in-person or drop-off service. We prepare the file with you, including an import permit where the destination country asks for one, and check each document against its rules before your pet flies. Our destination guides cover the rules country by country.
Arriving
Moving a Pet to Boston
Coming from another state? The Massachusetts page on importing pets, read September 22, 2026, says dogs and cats entering the state must have a health certificate, and that a dog or cat over 6 months old must be vaccinated against rabies no more than 12 months before it arrives. Once you live here, the City of Boston’s dog licensing page, read the same day, says anyone who owns a dog in the city must license it. A dog arriving from another country also has to meet CDC’s rules for entering the United States, which our guide to the CDC dog import form sets out.
How the service works from start to finish is on our pet transport services page.
Flying a Pet Out of Boston
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
is the primary airport serving the Boston area. Since terminals stay busy, planning routes and timing early can improve availability and reduce travel-day stress.
Airlines that fly pets from Boston
Each airline named on this page publishes its own rules for animals. Our guides set out what each one says:
Alaska Airlines: cabin fees, carrier rules and its seasonal embargoes.
American Airlines: cabin, cargo and PetEmbark.
Delta: cabin rules, fees and who it ships pets for.
United Airlines: what it publishes for dogs and cats.
How Our Pet Transport Process Works
Consultation
We review your pet, your timeline, and your destination requirements.
Customized Plan
We build a plan with route options and key deadlines.
Pre-Travel Preparation
We outline crate/carrier needs and required documents.
Transportation Coordination
We coordinate routing and travel-day logistics, including airport check-in.
Arrival Support
Finally, we confirm arrival steps and what to expect after landing.
Our Pet Transport Services
Air Pet Shipping
We coordinate airline-approved routing, confirm seasonal embargoes, and arrange airport pet check-in when required. Documentation and timing are planned together to reduce travel disruptions.
Ground Pet Transport
Ground transport offers a flexible option for regional moves around Massachusetts and neighboring states. We plan routes, rest schedules, and timelines that suit your pet.
International Pet Transport
International relocations require destination rules, airline standards, and careful timing. We coordinate the process so pet owners understand what’s required and when.
Door to Door Relocation
Door to door relocation combines ground pickup, air travel, and final delivery when permitted. As a result, your pet’s journey stays organized from start to finish.
Types of Pets We Transport
Dog Transportation
Dogs are the moves we plan most often. We match the crate to your dog’s size, book around airline rules and winter cold limits, and plan the routing through Logan (BOS) so nothing turns into a last-minute scramble on travel day.
Cat Transportation
Cats travel best when the day stays calm and the waiting is short. We choose airline-approved carriers, sort out the cabin-or-cargo question early, and plan the schedule so your cat spends as little time at the airport as possible.
Bird Transportation
Birds need a little more care: species-specific paperwork, airline approval, and travel that holds a steady temperature. We walk you through the health certificates and routing so nothing slips through the cracks.
Small Mammals
Rabbits, guinea pigs, and other small pets travel in approved carriers on carefully timed routes. We confirm that the airline will accept your pet well before the date, so there are no surprises.
Reptiles and Exotic Pets
Reptiles and exotic pets each come with their own rules. We review the airline policies and temperature requirements one by one and build a route that genuinely suits your animal, not a one-size-fits-all plan.
Service Areas Near Boston
We provide pet transportation services throughout Greater Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Quincy, Newton, and surrounding Massachusetts communities. In addition, Pet Travel Advisors operates nationwide, coordinating moves across the U.S. and internationally.
We serve the wider area through our Northeast service area, which also covers New York and Philadelphia.
Ready to start?
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
What to Expect When Shipping a Pet Through Boston Logan Airport (BOS)
Who actually handles your pet at BOS
Swissport runs the cargo warehouse at 112 Harborside Drive, Building 63, and that is where a pet booked on Alaska Air Cargo Pet Connect is dropped off and collected. Drop-off and collection run daily, 6:30am to 9:00pm, weekends included. American Airlines Cargo is the other option here, through its PetEmbark service. Delta ships pets only for active US military and State Department Foreign Service personnel with permanent change of station orders. United publishes its own policy on its pets page.
Temperature limits and ground handling
Airlines decide whether a pet flies, not the airport. American transports warm-blooded animals when ground temperatures are between 45F and 85F. Below that it requires a letter of acclimation signed and dated by a licensed veterinarian, which covers 20F to 44F, and it will not carry an animal at all below 20F. Alaska Air Cargo says many of its stations have seasonal temperature embargoes for animal shipments over a summer season that generally runs from May 1 to October 16. 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.
Questions about moving a pet to or from Boston
Request a QuoteFAQ: Pet Transport Services
What season is best for a pet move from Boston?
Boston sees both cold winters and warm summers, so timing matters at both ends of the year. Airlines set temperature limits for animals in cargo in extreme heat and extreme cold, and we plan your Boston move around the forecast, picking the safest departure window from Logan and adjusting routing when the weather does not cooperate.
Do you help with crates and carriers for Boston 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 labeling a carrier will accept. For Boston pets we confirm the crate well before travel so there are no surprises at Logan.
Will my pet have layovers flying from Boston?
Where we can, we plan Boston moves with the fewest connections, because a direct flight is shorter and calmer for your pet. When a layover is unavoidable, we choose connections with enough time and the right conditions, routing through Logan or a nearby hub to keep the total trip as short as possible.
How do you price a pet move from Boston?
Every Boston 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.