Joe_Daisy

Does anyone have any information on brining pets to the USA from Vietnam? My wife would like to bring her small dog from Vietnam to the USA, but I dont know how I go about doing this? Do I need to fill out some forms? Then do I just make arrangements with the Vietnam Airlines to have her dog shipped to the USA?

Thanks for any information.


-Joe

Buendia

I am bringing my cat back to the US from Ireland and there don't seem to be any rules as far as the US government is concerned. But the airlines will have special requirements (including vaccinations, possibly a health certificate, type of carrier, etc.). There may be restrictions on when the dog can travel (temperatures) and for how long at a stretch (I could not fly direct from Dublin to LA because my airline has determined it's too long to be in a carrier so we are going through Chicago and spending a night there first - and Vietnam to the US is an even longer flight!). I'd call several airlines... Some will also take the pet traveling alone, and if you have problems I think a shipping company will take a pet also. Good luck!

Just Jenney

For starters, read the information here:

US CUSTOMS PETS & WILDLIFE LICENSING & HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
http://www.customs.gov/ImageCache/cg...df/v1/pets.pdf

That will have all the basic information about what the US goverment requires when importing a pet into the US.

Now, the Vietnamese goverment may or may not have requirements of its own. When I brought my dog from Chile to the US a few years ago, I was required to get a "pet export permit" from the Chilean Dept of Agriculture. It cost me about $15, I think. In the end, nobody even asked for it at all, it was just a $15 piece of paper, but of course I didn't know that at the time I got it. Even so, if the Chilean goverment said that was what I needed, that's what I got.

Have your fiancee check with the Vietnamese Dept of Agriculture, Customs, or the like to see if there is a similar permit needed.

Next, check with the airline. Like Buendia said, certain airlines have certain requirements and restrictions. Make sure you get the proper carrier crate, or else they may refuse to accept the dog. Make sure the crate is properly labeled with all the information outlined in the link listed above.

Also, it might be a good idea to get documents (rabies certificate, etc.) in both English and Vietnamese. At the very least, make sure they are in English, so the authorities can read them.

One thing I always mention to people who are planning to bring their dogs from another country is to NOT bring pet food/treats with you. I made this mistake when I left Chile. I brought a sample-sized bag of dog treats to pacify Andie at the airport in Santiago, and when I boarded the plane, just stuffed the bag in my carry-on and forgot about it. When I arrived at Dallas the USDA Beagle Patrol sat next to my things and I was nearly fined for "importing a meat product" into the country. Luckily I still had the little sample bag the treats came in, and was not fined when USDA determined the treats had been originally manufactured in the US and then exported to Chile. Had they been manufactured outside the US, I would've received the fine. Strange, but true.

~ Jenney

ian-mstm

I have no helpful information about your question, but I would like to offer a personal thought if I may. Unless she plans on having the dog on board with her (i.e. in a small carrier that she can place under the seat) it is often terribly distressing for an animal to be placed in the plane's cargo bay. There is usually no heating available, the air is not recirculated, and the cargo bay is not pressurized. I'm not sure that shipping an animal halfway across the globe (i.e. not on a passenger plane) is any better. I personally would not subject a beloved family pet to such conditions - moreso on a long intercontinental flight.

Just my $0.02 worth. I'll get off the soapbox now.

Ian

Ranjini

Ian, my nieces much-travelled dog (became my nieces pet while she was in College in North Carolina, travelled twice a year to Sri Lanka every year, then to Finland with her then fiance for awhile and finally ended up in Sri Lanka when my niece finished with College. Right now the pet is in the US moving to New Zealand in six months (that's another story)!! -- talk about much-travelled and much-loved!! So I would talk to an airline first, about options. Maybe the conditions aren't as bad as you might think....

Buendia

On domestic US flights pets can travel under the seat in a small carrier (with restrictions). However, on all overseas flights I've had experience with, the pet must be in the cargo area. I too was concerned about the conditions - the cargo area for pets is different from the cargo area for luggage/shipments. It definitely is pressurized and the air is conditioned. It has to be in order to carry live animals. You have to reserve the area early because they will not take incompatible pets (cat and dog for example). I actually feel better about my cat being in the pet cargo area; more room to move around on a long overseas flight, it's relatively dark in there so he just goes to sleep.

My cat flew from LA to London last September and when I picked him up at the Animal Reception Centre he seemed happy (not traumatized at all) and had clean bedding, food, etc. The airlines seem like they're pretty used to transporting pets.

Richard Cochran

ian-mstm <member2954@british_expats.com> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

    > I have no helpful information about
    > your question, but I would like to offer a personal thought if I may.
    > Unless she plans on having the dog on board with her (i.e. in a small
    > carrier that she can place under the seat) it is often terribly
    > distressing for an animal to be placed in the plane's cargo bay. There
    > is usually no heating available, the air is not recirculated, and the
    > cargo bay is not pressurized.

While you have some points, you're absolutely wrong about pressurization.
The cargo bay is most definitely pressurized in all jet airliners.
I worked as an engineer at McDonnell Douglas back before they became
a part of Boeing (in the MD-80 and MD-11 days). The reason the cargo
bay is pressurized is because that's the cheapest and lightest way to
build the airplane structure. In basic mechanical engineering, you
learn that corners or planar surfaces in pressure vessels are bad
news, and require very heavy reinforcement. The lightest way to
contain a pressurized volume is a sphere, but a cylinder with
rounded ends (i.e. an airplane fuselage shape) isn't too far behind.
The lightweight floor of an airliner isn't nearly strong enough to
stand up to the pressure difference that would happen if you had
a pressurized passenger compartment and unpressurized baggage hold.

In fact, when a CARGO door opens in flight, it's potentially
disasterous, because the airplane's pressurization is lost, first
in the cargo compartment, usually resulting in the collapse of
the floor. In 1974, a cargo door came open on a DC-10 flying from
Paris-London. The explosive decompression caused the floor to
collapse as well as other damage to the control systems, leading
to the eventual crash and death of all 374 aboard. A similar
accident happened to a 747 out of Honolulu in 1989, though only
nine people were sucked out of the plane to their deaths this
time, and the damaged airplane was able to limp to a landing with
most passengers surviving.


There are sections of the cargo hold with poor air circulation, marked
"No live animals". But there are other sections that have temperature
control and air circulation. My own dog has flown in the cargo hold
of airliners several times in years past. She just celebrated her
16th birthday friday, so I suspect the air flights didn't harm her
too much.

--Rich

Just Jenney

Yep -- size is the major restriction. My 100lb Akita couldn't fit under the seat even if she tried!

Also, some (if not all) the cargo holds ARE pressurized -- otherwise any animals permitted to travel in them would be dead.

As for the trauma of travelling on a long-distance flight, I can certainly understand that concern. However, I can assure you that leaving my dog behind with strangers (or, worst case, to be put to sleep) would be much more traumatic for her than a day spent flying on a plane.

~ Jenney

ian-mstm

Well, as you and others have noted, my fears about travelling pets seem to be somewhat unfounded... much to my relief. Many thanks to all who responded - I've definitely learned something today!

Ian

Joe_Daisy

Thank you everyone for your replies.




-Joe

psychobabbler1

Others have replied with helpful info, but I just wanted to say "hooray!" to your fiancee for bringing her dog with her. It's sad how many pets are abandoned by owners when they move. If she loves her dog that much, she must be a good-hearted person, so yay for you, too! :-)

psychobabbler1

Oops! Should have typed "wife", not fiancee. Sorry!

Matthew Udall

In your stomach? Sorry, I should not have posted this, and it was only meant as a joke. Good luck in bringing over the beloved pet.

anyone4tea

ROFL!!!

The only reason I looked in this thread was to hunt for a comment like this!

Kath

psychobabbler1

I was going to add that if she did leave her dog, it might very well end up being served with rice, but didn't want to seem morbid. Let roll the comments about a lawyer having no such qualms! (just joking, for the record!) ;-)