VOICE OVER
For many people taking a holiday without their pet is unthinkable and the figures back that up. Stats from Stena Line show that 2,836 dogs and cats were taken away in 2007, rising to 3218 the following year an increase of more than 13%. In fact since the year 2000, 60,000 holiday makers have taken a dog or cat on holiday with them.

PRESENTER (Gemma de Ville)
Well I'm here in Holland with Jason who's brought his pet dog Eddie on holiday with him. Now Eddie is resting at the hotel, so whilst he's not here tell me, would it not have been easier to have leave him at home?

JASON
It might have been a little bit easier but the entire point of this holiday was that I was going with Eddie and he's had a great time and I've had a great time and I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

PRESENTER
So how easy is it to do, well there are a number of procedures that you and your pet will have to go through before heading abroad, so earlier I caught up with vet Sarah Pemberton to find out more.

SARAH PEMBERTON - VET
Initially your pet needs to microchipped. This is a routine procedure that I strongly recommend to any pet owner. After that there's a rabies vaccination given, which is again a routine vaccination, we have very few side effects associated with that. Following that we take a blood test to ensure that the vaccine had worked for obvious reasons but also it is an absolute must for the passport - we can't create one without a positive result. Once that's been done we can go ahead and create the paperwork ready for the pet passport. One further thing to remember is that between 24 and 48 hours prior to reentry into the UK, the animal much be treated for ticks an tapeworms. This can be done by a local veterinarian in the country in which you're staying in but it's important to check that this vet is official and you can do that by checking on the local government website.

PRESENTER
Sarah Pemberton there. Now there is one other thing that you must make sure that you do and that's to travel on an authorised route with an approved travel company. Eddie and Jason travelled here on Stena Line Ferries from Hawrich.

MALCOLM ELEY - Onboard Service Manager, Stena Line Ferries
We carry all sorts of pets but mostly dogs and cats, horses, we do carry the occasional ferret. Since the introduction of the pet passport scheme we've noticed a vast increase in the travelling of pets - a big increase - and it's increasing every year.

PRESENTER
So Jason what would you say to people who might be considering taking their pets abroad with them this summer.

JASON
I'd say they should just do it. If you haven't got a pet passport go and get one, and Europe just opens up to you, you can take your dog or your cat absolutely anywhere you like and you'll have a great time and it's really easy - just do it!