Can I Ship a Dog with UPS?

Since UPS is a private shipping carrier, the types of animals it allows within its network differs from the US Postal Service. Due to this, we sometimes field the question of whether or not dogs can be shipped with UPS. Unfortunately, just like with USPS, the answer is no.

UPS Prohibits All Shipments Containing Dogs

UPS won’t accept any shipments containing dogs under any circumstances. Unfortunately, you can’t use any of the three major carriers in the United States to ship a dog, or any type of mammal, for that matter.

The Types of Live Animals UPS Accepts

The following is a list of the kinds of animals that UPS will accept in its network, along with some examples within each category:

• Amphibians (All)
  • Examples: frogs, salamanders, toads
• Cephalopod (All)
  • Examples: squid, octopus, nautilus
• Crustaceans (All)
  • Examples: crabs, crawfish, lobsters, shrimp
• Fish (All)
• Insects (Limited to beneficial insects only)
  • Examples: bees, butterflies, crickets, lady bugs
• Mollusks (All)
  • Examples: clams, mussels, snails
• Reptiles (Limited to the following)
  • Lizards (such as chameleons, geckos, iguanas, monitors, flying dragons)
  • Turtles (such as land tortoises, sea turtles, and all freshwater turtles except for snapping turtles)
• Worms (All)

The Types of Animals that UPS Prohibits

Here is list of the kinds of animals that UPS will not accept in its network, under any circumstance:

• Any poisonous, venomous or threatening animal
• Any Threatened or Endangered species
• Arachnids (All)
  • Examples: mites, scorpions, spiders, ticks
• Birds (All)
• Crocodiles (All)
  • Examples: alligators, caimans, gavials
• Mammals (All)
• Obnoxious Insects
  • Examples: flies, locusts, mosquitoes, roaches, termites, weevils
• Snakes (all, including both venomous and non-venomous)
  • While UPS prohibits snakes, you can use a specialized reptile transportation company other than UPS to ship snakes and other reptiles)

Since dogs are mammals, they fall into the category of “prohibited animals” that UPS won’t allow you to ship.

To read more about the types of animal that UPS accepts and prohibits, check out: How to Ship Plants and Live Animals on the UPS website.