Health Certificate for Cruising Dog

[Solstice]

Try Googling "pet passport." There's a wikipedia article that appears pretty accurate and at least one pet travel site that will sell you what they call a pet passport. As I said, we didn't find a US vet who knew about them, and officially from the US other documentation is required. What you need depends on where you're going. The regulations are not standardized world wide.

Here's a link to another posting I did on a similar subject. It includes some of the mistakes I made despite my research.

[Astrid]

Try this site:

International Health Certificate for traveling with your pet. PetTravel.com

[Agur's Wish]

We have been transporting our dog in and out of the Bahamas for 5 years and every time it is different. This year we were actually complying with the 48 hour rule but when the exam with our same old vet was done, he handed us a strange new form which required that we get a Dept. of Agriculture stamp. We have never ever had to do that. But it wasn't a big problem because we were heading to Denver where the office is to catch our flight later that afternoon. So we called the Dept of Ag and they asked if we had an appointment. We said, "Uh, no. All we need you to do is stamp this form." "When are you traveling", they inquired. "Today," we replied. "You sure waited until the last minute," they snarkily replied. Go figure!

Any way....In the Bahamas

You must have the pet permit to bring the pet in to country. There have been times though that the government has failed to send us the permit back and I have had to sit at the airport while Jeff runs to customs at the port in Marsh Harbour to get the permit. Also there have been times, officials have not asked for any pet papers at all.

They have never been that picky with us about the 48 hour thing but we usually try to get it within a week to 10 days.

***The pet permit is good for one year but if you leave the country with your pet within that year you must have a brand new permit and vet certificate to get the pet back in. We almost missed a flight out of Miami one time because I didn't realize this. We'd only been out of the Bahamas a month so I thought we were good...not. The agent at check in wouldn't let us board without a new vet certificate. We called the two vets we use here in the states and neither one of them would fax us one. We finally called our vet in Marsh Harbour and he faxed one. The customs officials in Marsh Harbour didn't seem to think there was anything funny about a form that stated a vet in Marsh harbour had seen our pet the day before we flew in.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Agur's Wish

<snip>
The customs officials in Marsh Harbour didn't seem to think there was anything funny about a form that stated a vet in Marsh Harbour had seen our pet the day before we flew in.

Heh . . . I love this part.

TaoJones

[Astrid]

Yes, that is rather amusing. Some places are scrupulous about enforcing regulations, others are lax--and that can depend on how bored or overworked the official is at the moment, and some laws are only rigidly enforced if one does offer a gratuity.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Yes, that is rather amusing. Some places are scrupulous about enforcing regulations, others are lax--and that can depend on how bored or overworked the official is at the moment, and some laws are only rigidly enforced if one does offer a gratuity.

Astrid, I am intrigued by your sig line, and a Google search has returned the following information:

Vits er þörf,
þeim er víða ratar;
dælt er heima hvað.
Að augabragði verður,
sá er ekki kann
og með snotrum situr.

translates as:

He hath need of his wits who wanders wide,
aught simple will serve at home;
but a gazing-stock is the fool who sits
mid the wise, and nothing knows.

The foregoing is from the Havamal - in Icelandic and English < anomy.net website. Is that an accurate translation?

TaoJones

[Astrid]

Yes not bad in an older form of English. In more modern English poetic style:
Vits er þörf,
þeim er víða ratar;
dælt er heima hvað.

would read something like,

He who travels widely
needs his wits about him;
The stupid man should stay at home.

I rather thought it seemed appropriate for sailors as the Norse were renowned as such.

Að augabragði verður,
sá er ekki kann
og með snotrum situr.

This translates out literally as you say. The poems were set down in Eddic style 1000 years ago and made wide use of kennings. These are phrases or words which were colloquial in nature and that formed a sort of puzzle the listener had to sort out for himself. The more complicated the use of kennings, the better was considered the poem. Norse people, includding Icelanders and Faroe Islanders did not talk that way in normal speech--it was merely a poetic art form that most understood quite well. In more modern English, the second part would have the meaning:

The ignorant man is often laughed at
When he sits at meat with the sage.

This implies a man too ignorant to solve the puzzle of the kennings will show his bewilderment and be laughed at. The 'sitting at meat' part was appropriate since story telling and recitation or impromptu making up of poetry was considered proper at the table entertainment.

[Moondance38]

To everyone, thanks for the pet info. We made it to West End last Saturday and didn't have any problems. As most people said, customs just glanced at the health form. They were more interested in making sure we had the Dept of Agriculture permit. I did see a vet near Lake Worth before leaving and had a health certificate within the 48hr requirement. I would highly recommend Town and Country vets--they were very accomodating and helpful!

[MeckDC]

For anyone who's interested, we recently had a 7 day crossing to Isla Mujeres, Mexico with our 15 year old dog. We arrived on Sunday and did not get checked in until Tuesday, Monday was a holiday. We hired an agent from the Marina Paraiso to check us in. He made all the copies of our papers and phone calls to the appropriate agencies.

Prior to departing TX I took our dog to the local vet and she gave me a state certificate of health. Unfortunately she forgot to put that he was free of internal and external parasites. They required that I see the local vet in Mexico. He came aboard, never looked at the dog, who was sleeping on the bow, and asked if he took heartworm and when the last time I used "frontline" was. He went back to his office and typed up 2 letters of clearance for me, one in Spanish and one in English. We were charged 200 pesos. I noticed after I received the letters that he didn't state that the dog was free of parasites either! Apparently it was just a way for them to get another local paid. Long of the short is, make sure you have up to date Rabies, and a state health certificate that includes the statement that your pet is free of parasites as well any infectious diseases. There was no additional cost to check in the dog. I'll update again when we check into Belize.