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**JusDreaming** · 31-01-2012, 05:17

has anyone used the NEW usda health cert. It seems as of January 1 there is a new certificate to be used by vets for travel. It is suppose to be sent to the USDA from the vet to be certified, which is suppose to take 2 weeks for turn around.
I am very tempted to just take the form, which has been filled out by my vet. and not worry about getting the USDA certified copy

**Hannah on 'Rita T'** · 31-01-2012, 05:21

In the British Virgins you need the USDA certification to get an import permit. Cost $144 for a signature that said the vet is actually a vet.

**Hud3** · 31-01-2012, 05:35

When we imported our cat to Nevis, I personally took the form from the Vet to the USDA office and got the stamp. Waiting for the mail can put you in a Catch 22 situation, since the place you're going usually has a short time limit for how old the form approval can be. We needed ours to be dated the day before we flew from the States to Nevis, for example.

p.s. we used the old form, but I don't think that matters. It's the need for a very current examination by a USDA certified vet that's the issue.

**JusDreaming** · 31-01-2012, 05:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hannah on 'Rita T'

In the British Virgins you need the USDA certification to get an import permit. Cost $144 for a signature that said the vet is actually a vet.

Not that I am suggesting forgery, but what is filled in by USDA that you couldn't just fill out yourself?

**Hannah on 'Rita T'** · 31-01-2012, 06:03

I guess the risk is an island without rabies could put the dog down. I wasn't willing to take that risk.

**Sailmonkey** · 31-01-2012, 06:06

Taking our dog to Mexico, the USDA form filled out by a local vet and signed by a friend of mine was OK.......Just a paper trail for the latin carbon copy machine

**Canibul** · 31-01-2012, 06:36

hmm...We've got the opposite problem, we want to bring our dog to the USA. We got a vet, but we ain't got no USDA here.

**Sailmonkey** · 31-01-2012, 06:50

We flew back with the dog, from mexico last month, after being in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. All the agricultural guys cared about was the current rabies vaccination. No one looked at the stack of dog paperwork we had, other than the rabies.
FYI we flew into Dallas with the dog as checked baggage.

**Canibul** · 31-01-2012, 07:11

OP says things changed Jan 1.

We couldn't fly with the dog last summer, something to do with the temperature at any place on the itinerary being forecast to be above 85 deg. Well, our dog lives in a temp above 85, but no good. Miami and Dallas were both well above 85 all summer.

Continental will take em no matter what ( great airline for dogs) but the only Continental flight to USA from here is to Newark. We don't wanna go to Newark.

**osirissail** · 31-01-2012, 07:22

There is a huge difference between pets that remain living "on board" a cruising vessel and those that are "imported" into a land-living situation in another country.

I have cruised the Caribbean from Florida south and east all the way to Trinidad and back several times and never had a problem with "on board" cats even in the islands that are noted to be strict about animals.

Even with dogs, the folks I know who cruise with them along the same routes only get reminded by the officials to not bring them ashore.

I even got a USDA certificate in Puerto Rico once, but nobody in any other country cared or asked about it. All they wanted to see, when they did take notice that I had pets on board - was the Rabies documentation from the Vet who administered the shots. Even when the Vet's document was in a different language they only wanted to see "when" the Rabies shot was administered.

However, that being said - you DO NOT want to take an animal into Trinidad - IF you plan on flying back home from there with the animal. A pet on board is not big deal - but if the pet has to transit via an airport the procedures and costs are extremely expensive.