Hi SpeedyP, We moved from Creuse, Limousin last October and drove our car here via France and Italy with our Breton spaniel in the back.
We caught the ferry from Civitavechia in Italy, (just north of Rome). The ferry does have kennels though we were not too impressed as they are in a noisy section on the very top car deck and are just big metal hut/cages with just room for you to put in the dog's bed and food dishes and the front is open to the weather. You are allowed to go out on that deck as often as you want to walk the dog round the deck between cars - there weren't many when we went and only one other dog in the kennels.
We came last October during a storm and for the duration of the storm we were not allowed access to the deck/dog because they considered it dangerous in the storm. That meant that our dog was not able to leave his kennel from about 7pm the previous night until we docked 12 hours later. His bedding was soaked and he was peed off - as one would expect. However, he jumped into the back of the car very happily and wouldn't get out again and suffered no ill effects.
Because we had already notified the relevent authorities that we were bringing him into Malta and of course we had all the necessary paperwork (see the link kindly posted above - you need an import certificate) we were met by the vet as we drove off the ferry. A chap was writing down all car registration numbers (and they had ours on record from the paperwork) and as we were about to continue following all the other cars (not having spotted anyone who looked like a vet!) another chap suddenly jumped out in front of us - probably because our dog had sat up and was looking around) and pulled us over to see our paperwork. He checked dates of everything and waved us off and that was it!
I would say that the most important part of the list of requirements (other than all the usual vaccinations that your dog will have had as a matter of course, living in France) is as follows: Treatment against ticks and tapeworm.
The treatment must be carried out between 24 and 48 hours, prior to departure, and has to be done every time the pet animal is entering Malta.
Pet animals travelling overland who will then be brought to Malta by sea aboard a ferry or ship, must be treated 24-48 hours before starting their journey aboard the vessel that will then enter Malta.
The pet animal must be treated with praziquantel for tapeworm and with any efficient product for ticks. If the animal is not treated adequately for tapeworm and ticks, the pet animal will have to be taken to the Small Animal Quarantine facilities in Luqa and will be released 24 hours after it has been treated.
When the pet animal has been treated, it is imperative that the Veterinarian places on the pet passport the products used as well as the date and the time (in 24 hour system) when the treatment was carried out.
I copied that because it is important that the ticks and worm treatment must be done 24 - 48 hours before boarding the ferry so you need to time your arrival in Italy or whilst you are still in France to meet this requirement against the sailing time of the ferry.
We had ours done in France because we speak French so that was easiest and you may find the same, as you have to make an appointment with Italian vets and they can be "difficult" (my son lives in Italy so was able to give us varous bits of advice.)
If we can help with anything else, let us know and we'll do our best.
Sheelagh - the female half - of Tearnet
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