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| Jordan and Milo's Health Books from Cameroon |
Part Two: And Back Again
So now you have the “There”… time for the “Back Again — with
a Hitchhiker”.
“You want to take the cat back?” my husband inquired with
undisguised hope that I’d answer to the negative.
Ignoring his unspoken plea, I answered, “Yes, I would like
to Milo (our cat) back. We don’t know if there will be a replacement living in
this house when we leave; someone might not come to replace me for months, it
wouldn’t be very nice for Milo (our cat) to abandon her when it’s not that
difficult to bring her with us. We brought the other volunteer’s cat back last
summer and it wasn’t too bad, remember?”
Bill rubbed his temples and massaged his neck muscles at the
memory. “Yes, I remember.” Grudgingly he admitted, “she was pretty easy to
transport. However, I don’t mind if someone else wants to keep her here in
Cameroon.” His voice lifted for a moment at the end, still hopeful the cat
might find a friend to take her in Cameroon.
“Well, I think we should move forward with trying to bring
her back in case no one else wants her,” I answered.
“I’ll call the vet and set up an appointment for her rabies
vaccination then,” Bill caved to my wishes with a patient sigh. The rabies
vaccine for international travel must be up to date within one year but also
administered more than 30 days prior to the departure date. Both Jordan and
Milo were appropriately vaccinated and boosted with rabies vaccine.
~o~
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| Rabies Vaccination Signed and Stamped in their Health Book |
“How’d it go in Douala at the Brussel’s office?” I asked
Bill after his trip to the international airport.
“Fine, fine. I have the tickets for the pets and us.” Bill slouched
down into his chair and tried to forget the harrowing driving conditions that a
trip to Douala entails these days. He showed me the pile of boarding pass sized
airline tickets. The pet tickets specified one carry-on pet (that would be Milo,
the cat) and one extra luggage of a pet as great or greater than 15 kilograms
(that would be Jordan, the dog). The pet tickets were tied to our own passenger
tickets, specifically, Bill actually. I found it a little ironic that in spite
of my husband’s reluctance, he still ended up tying his airline ticket with the
dog and the cat.
~o~
“I read the email from your husband,” the local veterinarian
hopped off his motorbike and sat down next to me. Bill was still away in the
U.S. while I remained to finish my last few months of mission service in
Cameroon. “Bill seems to be quite anxious about the pets.”
I nodded. “Yes, he wants to make sure that the animals get
their health certificates without any problems. He wanted me to ask about any
blood tests that the dog might need too. He mentioned something about a test
for screw worms…” my voice trailed off. I really didn’t know what to make of
this last requirement Bill and I had read about on the custom’s website.
The veterinarian nodded. “The health certificates have to be
obtained one or two days before the departure date. It’s still too early. We
can have everything together though and be ready to take the documents for
signature and stamps on Thursday.”
“And what about any blood tests?” I prompted again.
“To be honest, your dog hasn’t had any non-healing wounds,
right?”
“Never,” I affirmed.
“Well, then, we don’t need to worry about screw worms. She
doesn’t have any signs or symptoms suggestive for the worms.”
“So we don’t need any blood tests?” I wanted to be clear on
this last point. I didn’t want to find myself in the situation of getting down
to the day of departure and suddenly being informed that my dog couldn’t travel
because she hadn’t had the required blood test for worms or whatever.
The veterinarian shook his head. “We’ll get the certificates
for the dog and cat on Thursday. The signature and stamp will be from the
government veterinarian so the paperwork will be what the airline officials in
Douala are used to.”
“Oh?”
“Sometimes people have their private veterinarians sign the
certificates but then you might get questioned at the airport. It’s better if I
get the government signatories that they’re more used to in Douala,” the vet
tried to reassure me.
“OK then,” I smiled, “but since our departure date is
Thursday, how about we try to get the certificates on Wednesday?” I suggested.
“I mean, what if the official is not on-seat on Thursday? Maybe it’s better to
try the day before since the date can be two days before departure?”
The vet smiled. “Oh, ok. I get you. That’s ok then. I
understand you. No problem.” He hesitated like he wanted to say some more but
held back at the last minute.
“You have the health booklets with the pet’s rabies
vaccination certificate inside, right?” I checked to make sure he hadn’t
forgotten.
“Yes,” he answered, producing the booklets to show me.
“I have the photos for their books now too.” I produced a
four by six inch photograph proudly. With the help of one of our volunteers, I
had taken a photo of the dog and the cat and had them printed in such a manner
as to come out the appropriate size for pasting in the health booklets — 2
inches by 3 inches. They were even in color!
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| Milo's Passport Photo (2 inches x 3 inches to fit her health book) |
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| Jordan's Passport Photo |
Our veterinarian was duly impressed and proceeded to paste
them into their respective booklets with great care. I’ve never seen anyone
take so long to glue two photos down. At last he departed with the promise to
get back with me next Wednesday. “I have to travel next week,” he informed me,
“but, I’ll have someone get the documents next Wednesday.” He drove off in a
puff of exhaust.
The next Wednesday our motorcycling, traveling veterinarian
was still far away in Kumba. Thankfully, he kept his promise and sent his
brother who collected the signed and stamped official health documents and
delivered them to our doorstep. The check list was complete:
1. One dog; one cat - check
2. small health booklet with photo pasted inside and
stamped, official rabies vaccination record — check and check
3. printed tickets from agent at Brussel’s airlines for cat
and dog, including receipt of payment - check
4. dog crate - check (same as the one we used bringing her)
- check
5. cat carrier - check (brought by Bill and borrowed from
our friend who used it to transport her own cat the year before) - check
6. health certificates - check and check
7. Small bag of dry cat food and dog food - check (not that
the animals actually ate on their trip)
8. attachable bowl for water/food for dog; small bowls for
water and/or food for cat (again superfluous but psychologically comforting for
owners)
9. extra towels and pad for cat carrier and dog crate
(should have brought more disposable towels for cat carrier…)
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| The All-Important Vet Certificate of Good Health (Must be dated within 2 days of departure date) |
Thursday dawned. So many goodbyes were said. We fed the
animals early. We gave them last chances to relieve themselves. The cat was a
bit miffed that I locked her in the kitchen for the afternoon. The dog was
happy to go for an extra walk. She could sense that we were traveling and she
wanted to be as close as possible. She sat determinedly under Bill’s legs with
an ‘I’m-not-letting-you-out-of-my-sight attitude. She at least was able to
maintain her nearness to “her Bill” during the taxi ride to the airport since
the vehicle was jammed pack with 4 suitcases, 2 backpacks, 1 large and disassembled
dog carrier, 1 husband, 1 driver, 1 friend, 1 cat in her cat carrier, and
me — does the list remind you of a
song?! …’two missionaries — and a kitty in a cat cage.’
We arrived at the airport and our driver parked the vehicle
in the parking lot area, allowing us to assemble the dog crate, bolting top and
bottom together. Bill walked around with Jordan, giving her last chances to
relieve her bladder. We joked nervously and munched on chin-chin snacks,
feeding Jordan who happily snapped up the treats tossed her direction. The goal
was to check in without feeling rushed but still not check-in so early that
Jordan would be left on the tarmac for too long before boarding and plane
departure.
“Let’s go in at 9 pm?” I suggested. “That way we’ll still
have three hours before scheduled departure but if we’re hassled, we’ll still
have some leeway to figure things out.” Bill agreed with me. Jordan wagged her
tail. I rubbed my jeans and sniffed a damp corner of my shirt. “Uh! I think the
cat peed already. The carrier is not pee-proof.”
“Sorry, dear,” Bill replied absently as he comforted his
dog.
Our friend helped me change the absorbent pad in the cat
carrier and replace it with a clean towel. I should have brought more old rags
that would have served as disposable pads. I tossed the soiled pad in a sealed
plastic and splashed on some instant hand sanitizer. “Perfume would have been
nice,” I mused to myself. At least no one else seemed too bothered by my urine
tinged travel clothes. *sigh*
We bid our good byes to our driver and friend and several
luggage attendants came eagerly forward with their carts and hauled bags and
dog carrier into the airport. With a few francs tip, it’s amazing how many
willing hands and able backs are available to assist!
(Bill picks up the story here) Health officials stopped us just before the Brussel’s
check-in counter and inspected our pets’ documents (health certificates and
vaccination records). We paid
5,000 XAF (about $10 USD) per pet and received another two official-looking
documents stating the animals had been inspected and were healthy. Tucking them
safely into my bundle of travel documents, we continued to the check-in
counter.
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| Health Certificates from Airport Inspector - One of the "chat" and one for the "chien" |
The check-in agent weighed our luggage, inspected our
documents, placed luggage tags on the four bags and dog crate DLA / IAD,
indicating that we should not expect to see the dog or any of the luggage until
Washington DC. I took Jordan out
of her crate and the check-in agent sent our bags and the crate down the belt. Trixy was free to pass through the
process of departure. I went with Jordan and a DLA (Douala Airport) security
agent down to the baggage handling area where they inspected the crate and had
me place Jordan back inside (note: I handed off my passport to another security
agent in this process and retrieved it on my way back to the normal departure
process line). I said my good-byes
to Jordan and wished her well, praying silently for her safety and special
blessings for all who would handle her in process. Once back in the normal
departure area, I handed in my white immigration card and processed through
immigration to the departure gate.
Milo remained with us (Trixy’s possession mainly) as we
traveled. She was pretty quiet,
like her daughter, Friday. I had traveled with Friday, Milo’s daughter cat, only
the year prior, bringing her back to America for a friend and former volunteer
in Cameroon. Sad meows echoed
pitifully from the interior of her carrier only during walking off the airplane
in Brussels and again coming off the flight in Washington D.C. It appeared that
the gravitational changes and alterations in environment gave the cat a false
hope of escape from her cat prison at these times.
Brussels has two routes they fly to/from Douala, depending
on the day of travel. It might be
BRU>>DLA>>NSI>>BRU or it might be
BRU>>NSI>>DLA>>BRU.
We specifically booked the second for the shortest flying time to
BRU. We followed the advice of the
airlines to book the full flight with them (they send checked dogs as excess
baggage, United Airlines considers them as cargo. Apparently there can be
problems when switching between the two. We didn’t care to find out).
In Brussels we mentioned we had a dog in the hold and
enquired as to what should we do as we were transferring to a Washington DC
bound flight. The agent at the
counter said the dog would transfer and we need do nothing special. To verify we found the transfer desk
and enquired about the process.
Same answer. We settled
into some very comfortable sofas in the airport waiting area for the next eight
hours praying that our dog was also somehow comfortable wherever her crate was
situated. Since Trixy had the cat,
we did not exit the airport and tour Brussels. Europe tends to have stricter
import rules regarding animals than the U.S. We decided not to bother with
attempting customs for just a few hours in the city.
We boarded our last airplane for the trip from Brussels to
Washington DC. It was the last and longest leg of the journey. Milo settled
down to a quiet sullen silence, curling up on another fresh towel, having
refused food and water in spite of Trixy’s offers. We could only pray that we’d
see Jordan when we reached America.
“So, we have to declare some things on the custom’s
declaration form, right?” Trixy looked over for confirmation, pen poised.
“Yes, we have to go through the line at the custom’s counter
for people with items to declare. Put down both the dog and the cat.”
In the end, it made little difference that we had pets to
“declare”. The first official, the Immigration officer, welcomed us back
without comment on the pets. But a
few questions on the “food” we were bringing. Satisfied there was no risk or issues for America he passed
us on to Baggage claim with a “Welcome home”.
“Over here,” I called to my surprised wife. “The luggage was
tagged ‘priority’ so it’s already here.” I pointed to an exclusive pile of
luggage at the head of the luggage turnstile.
“Where should we look for our dog?” Bill tried to flag down
one of the attendants hovering over the luggage claim area. Suddenly, I spotted
Trixy waving from across the room.
“Over here,” she waved and pointed. A smiling airport
employee rolled a familiar dog crate out into the luggage claim area. “She made
it. Jordan made it.” My wife smiled.
“Jordan!” the furry canine inside wagged her tail furiously
and whined in impatience — ready to break out of her 30-hour confinement.
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| On the way home from airport with furry friends |
General notes:
While no one past Douala checked our documents, you are
advised to keep with you at all times: health certificates, vaccine documents,
tickets (i.e. everything related to your pet’s health and travel).
There are some good resources if you are traveling with pets
and coming to the United States. I
am sure Europe has their own as well.
The CDC has these links:
A very good overview:
http://www.cdc.gov/features/travelwithpets/
Lots of details:
http://www.cdc.gov/animalimportation/travelingpets.html
We have two preferred airlines from Douala to Washington
DC: Brussels Airlines and
Turkish. Air France is also very
good (we flew them to Cameroon).
But they tend to be more expensive. We should also note that five years ago we were required to
collect Jordan at the baggage claim in Paris and check her and my luggage back
in before the next flight. I don’t
know if that is still how they work today.
We have heard stories that Turkish Airlines doesn’t always
have a pressurized cargo area for pets.
I don’t know if this is true or not. Our main reason for not choosing them was their longer
flight pattern. I flew Brussels
Airlines with Milo’s youngest one year before we returned. The Brussels personnel were helpful and
never showed any sign of unpleasantness at me for having a cat on board. In this first case I flew Brussels from
DLA to BRU and then switched to United Airlines from BRU to IAD. I would advise against this as you may
have to pay twice, once for each airline. While not difficult, switching
airlines, even partner airlines, adds a level of complexity. Both airlines
counseled that it is best to fly one airline when possible.
We complicated our travel somewhat by booking our tickets
and then changing our dates. This
caused some confusion within the airline.
I rebooked in the USA and should have just kept the rebooking with the
agent in Douala. That would have
been the best thing. In any case
the agent in Douala made sure everything was set correctly and our rebooking
secure including the pets. The pet
tickets are valid for one year from the date of purchase. We paid for them in May and when we
rebooked the confusion was what to do with the tickets, one person said we
would have to pay a second time and we would be refunded the first amount, one
person said there would be no refund, but the agent in Douala and the tickets
themselves indicated no specific travel date and so were flexible to their
human’s tickets, provided the pressurized cabin was not already fully booked.
Limits of our information:
Seriously, this is a review of our experience. We normally travel DLA / IAD, we know
the airports and the airlines we have used. Your experience may be very
different. We don’t know what it
is like to have onward travel beyond the port of entry.
Here are the summary bullet points:
Choose your airline carefully (if you have options)
Fly the same one from your foreign home to the USA, if
possible
Your foreign-based vet should be knowledgeable in securing
Health Certificates a couple of days before your intended travel
Pets should be up to date on Rabies vaccine and proof in
your pet’s health book/passport
Appropriate pet carriers should be secured well in advance
Food/Water for travel
Summary of Costs:
These will vary to your own circumstances, but be prepared.
Vaccines
Health Certificates
Airline tickets
Exit fees
I would also suggest you keep a photo record of your pet’s
documents. Be able to produce them
on your smart phone, tablet, or laptop if anything should happen to the
physical documents.
Airline tickets
Health Certificate(s)
Health book
