Dog Importation in Dominica

[KDH]

Good afternoon all. My two small dogs have accompanied us all the way down the Leeward Islands with lots of paperwork submitted and received with some inconvenience but little in the way of real problems. We are now in Guadeloupe and hope to move onto Dominica in a few weeks. The government website says that with the proper preapproval the dogs can be brought into Dominica. The problem lies in the fact that all the contact info is out of date. The general inquiries number rings unanswered and the sole email address was for the Minister of Agriculture who did not reply to my request for info. There is a postal address but I don't have much confidence in being able to get a letter off island here, to the appropriate authorities there and then back to me in time. Does anyone out there have a working phone number or email address for the Veterinary services office in Dominica? Many thanks!

[KDH]

Posting this for others. Another cruiser has pass on a Carribean Compass article from November 2010 by Liesbet Collaert entitled "Cruising the Eastern Caribbean with Your Dog".
The article has additional contact info for Dominica as follows:
Contact name : Dr. St. Aimee; email agrivet4@hotmail.com as well as forestvet@gmail.com (first address went to a blackberry and we received a reply right away saying our application would be processed this week but two emails to forestvet went unanswered). Have not tried the phone numbers but they are (767)266-3824 or 266-3827 phone and fax is (767) 448-8632. Website is www.dominic.gov.dm/cms/index.php?q=node/786

Will post another update when we get the papers on current regs etc.

[speciald@ocens.]

We have been there atleast three times with our little dogs. Generally, if the dogs don't leave the boat - there is little problem with dogs on board. Our only problem was in Bermuda when our dog barked at the customs agent.

[KDH]

Our dogs have to go ashore. I have had no problems taking them ashore with the proper papers, which we did have to show once in the BVIs when we were on Jost Van Dyke. In Antigua, the vet said she was too busy to come look at our dogs, so the customs officer wanted the dogs to stay on the boat but the Immigration supervisor, who had taken the call from the vet, intervened and explained to the customs officer that the vet said we had all the necessary papers and it was all ok. The customs officer said ok, no problem. Because the vet did not show up I was not asked to pay a fee for the dogs.

[Hud3]

Take care if you get down to Bequia. A cruiser there told me that a customs agent told him that his dog would be shot on the spot if he brought him ashore a second time. Best get doggie clearance in writing when you clear in in Port Elizabeth.

[KDH]

Thanks for the warning Hud. I should clarify that in Antigua, we did have the permit as the vet had emailed it to us. Our itinerary this year is a bit uncommon in that we are not continuing south to the Grenadines and beyond but are heading back north after Dominica and heading for the Mediterranean via Bermuda. On the way north, the dogs will fly from St. Martin to Arkansas to stay with our middle son. Once our youngest son (who lives onboard with us) returns to Canada for university in the fall the dogs will go with him.