Well, it is not that Frodo you just thought about. Instead of a hobbit, Frodo is actually a pug dog!
The first animal allowed in under the system was Frodo Baggins, a five-year-old pug dog. He was an unlikely history maker back in February 2000. But the Pug paved the way for pet owners to do something very special – take their pets abroad on holiday.
Frodo was the first animal to be awarded a pet passport when the scheme was trialed back in February 2000. It’s now commonplace for owners to travel with their pets under the scheme run by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
His owner, Helen de Borchgrave from London, spends four or five months a year in Europe for her work as an oil painting and fine art restorer, and as an art lecturer. She spent £200 on the microchip, documents, vaccination and blood tests.
She said: “He has never been able to travel with me before, as I think quarantine is cruel. Rather than lose him for six months I have left him behind in the past. I have wanted passports to be brought in for a long time. Pet owners have been waiting for them, as there is a definite bonding between dogs and their owners. The scheme is wonderful for all those families who will be able to take their dogs on holiday with them, as leaving them is like leaving part of the family behind.”
Frodo travelled from Calais, France to Dover on a cross-channel ferry with his owner Helen de Borchgrave, to take advantage of the relaxation in Britain’s century-old quarantine regulations.