The Paperwork Hill

Once upon a time, there was a Paperwork Mountain I learnt to scale.

As I looked at the mountain at times in utter despair, I saw, the genesis of this blog.

A year ago in March, I began Boot-Camping Bruno for relocation and international travel.

Teaching Bruno to walk into a bag...

For although I have been truly blessed to have had dogs all my life, I never ever had a dog that needed to be contained in a carrier, wearing winter clothing, nor flying across continents.

Long ago, there was a dog named, Mickey Mouse who went everywhere with me, including, college.

But Bruno is a different challenge.

  

Diligently, for four months last year, we worked towards the day of departure in July.

Bruno practising to stay quietly in his bag.

And because Singapore is not dog-friendly, I really had to think up situations where he could be exposed to public transportation, crowds, eating out in restaurants etc.  Sometimes, I used Angel the Beloved to assist with reinforcing ideas.  For instance, the concept of the travel bag as Bruno's haven.

Thank you, Angel!

Last week, we ventured out of the UK for the first time since relocation.  This week, I am thinking- perhaps it is time, to explore, another continent...

So I took out our bags.  Immediately, Bruno jumps right into his Sturdi Bag for plane travel, and watches me without wavering.

Which brings me to the Paperwork Hill, and a mild case of stage fright.

(Air France, please do not disappear when crossing the Atlantic.  My family needs me, still, even if we don't live together in the same city.  Merci)

The Paperwork Hill is truly just a hill in comparison to last year's Paperwork Mountain.  Heartfelt thanks to Mary-Alice of Dog Jaunt, and her readers who responded so readily with concrete help.  A question I posed regarding the USDA is immediately met with specific answers backed up by facts.  American vets also advertise their services with clear information on-line.  A vet that promised to get back to me within 24 hours, actually did, and so, Bruno and I secured an appointment.

Back at Dr P's this morning for him to certify that Bruno is fit to fly.  I wrote down all the things that the State of New York would need for Dr P to confirm on official letterhead.  Digging through Bruno's paperwork, I was very relieved and happy to find that last year, I crossed an extra T with our dearest Singaporean vet, asking her to put in writing, that Bruno was tested (negative) for heartworm.

Thanks, Dr Heng!

Dr P included this information to the health certificate he generated for us.  This just saved us USD$50 for Bruno to be tested for heartworm by the American vet, who agreed to administrating the tapeworm treatment (a tablet), only after doing the very same test!

Other things I learnt that I hope will also help someone else in need of similar information:

-  the EU Pet Passport is specifically for travel within the EU and certain surrounding countries.  (Please refer to the EU Commissions for a list of these countries.)

-  If your dog is a resident of the EU, he can travel to X countries (stated on a different list) temporarily using his EU passport, so that when it is time to return back to the EU, from the United States for instance, there is no need to worry about getting all the paperwork endorsed by the USDA.  He will need to be health certified for travel by a USDA-approved vet, the vet will need to fill out the 7001 form, and then fill out the relevant columns in his EU Pet Passport.

-  As with everything else in the US- look carefully at what each state requires/specifies, over and above what is required on a federal level, for entry and departure.

-  Lastly, there is no need for a blood test to be done to test for the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine, if traveling to France from the US.

-  And if you do need to deal with the USDA in New York state, the office is alas, in Albany.  But, there is also a more "humane" option- right across from JKF at 230-59 Rockaway Blvd (call 718-553-1720).