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Yesterday, we took care of the most important thing we’re bringing with us - Delilah, Mersal’s 8 year old, 7.5 pound, mini-pinscher. She has already dictated whether we were going to move or not (could we take her with us), where we lived (she has to have some outdoor space), an increased security deposit ($900 more just because of her!) and what airline we flew (Delta because they’re the only one that allow pets in the cabin on international flights). Delta was definitely not the cheapest airline, but there was no way I was going to be the one to tell Mersal that Delilah had to be put in the cargo hold for 17+ hours. The extra $100 to bring her on with us seemed like a bargain.
From reading some other blogs (Moving to Argentina and Tangotours), it seems like it should be a relatively easy process. The Argentine Consulate has the following rules:
Bringing pet animals into Argentina
The Consulate does not issue permits to enter pet animals into Argentina. Owners must make shipping arrangements with airlines directly. To avoid quarantine upon arrival in Argentina, the following documents are required to enter DOGS or CATS:
- Anti-rabies vaccination certificate.
- Good health certificate, no older than 10 days from the date of the animal’s arrival to Argentina.
Both certificates must be issued by a licensed veterinarian and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Division, Veterinary Services. To locate an accredited veterinarian and the VS Area Office for your state, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/area_offices.htm. The Consulate does not need to authenticate these documents, which must be submitted directly to the airline.
Sounds simple enough, so this week we took Delilah to the vet for her checkup and to get a good health certificate and copy of her rabies vaccination. Got that, so now, we’ll just go to the nearest USDA office… What? None in Manhattan? Ok, this is something you should check out in advance as they seem to have a limited number of offices. We found an office out near the JFK airport, so we headed out there. They are located in a large office complex and when we went in, we found only one person ahead of us. The whole process took about 5 minutes and cost us $24.
We’ll let you know what our experience at the airport and customs is next week.
UPDATE: All went smoothly and we pretty much sailed through immigration, even though our Spanish is horrible. All the paperwork was in order and we paid the fee and zoomed right through.
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Quickroute // Jul 25, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Not sure if your shipping stuff here but it can get tricky bringing in goods as a foreigner with ludicrous customs charges so beware!
2 Erika // Jul 25, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Hi Dave and Mersal!!
I came across your blog today. My boyfriend and I just moved to Buenos Aires. We’ve been here for a little over a week now. Like you, we also decided to bring our dog, Zoe. Like Mersal, I WOULD NOT have Zoe travel in cargo. Our little 13 pound shitzu-poodle traveled in cabin with us on United. When we arrived to Buenos Aires, we expected some huge deal because we were traveling with a pet. However, nothing happened! No one knew we had a dog with us, not in O’hare, Dulles, or Ezeiza. There was no one waiting for Zoe and no one to inspect her and the $24 dollar stamped international health certificate. Traveling with her was a piece of cake. One thing I didn’t expected was Zoe getting motion sickness, though. She threw up several times due to the bumpy flight. You might want to ask your vet for some anti-nausea medication for Delilah…just a suggestion:) Well, I just wanted to let you know that there was no problem bringing our dog to Buenos Aires. Good luck to the three of you:)
3 DaVe // Jul 25, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thanks Erika! We hope the move is that smooth too - minus the motion sickness part.
4 DaVe // Jul 25, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Quickroute - we’re bringing everything in with us because I heard it can be a pain in the ass to ship stuff. I’m packing my PC and LCD into a couple of suitcases as well. I’d rather pay the extra baggage charges.
5 trish // Jul 29, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I’m having considerable trouble finding an apartment for 3 months that will take my dog (20lb terrier) Any suggestions? I’d also like your opinion on neighborhoods. I thought I wanted San Telmo - but have read several times that it’s dangerous..true ?? SHould I stay in Palermo with all the parks ? Thanks
6 john // Aug 1, 2008 at 12:02 am
for rentals check out craigslist.com … go to buenos aires section… i post a few rentals in there that explicitly state they allow dogs/cats — best of luck - john casamartirano AT gmail.com
7 jim // Aug 4, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Definitely if you are looking for full pet services in your own language and in high standards of services you have one stop service giving by PetsVentura®.
To have Up-to-date information regarding Pet’ Relocations to South America and information about life with a pet in Argentina have a look at the website
http://petsventura.blogspot.com/
8 DaVe // Aug 4, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Jim - thanks for the comment. We will probably be using your services when we bring Delilah back to the U.S. and need to get the necessary paperwork for the return trip.
9 victoria // Aug 11, 2008 at 2:27 pm
to DaVe and Mersal- i’m bringing my two 13 year old cats to BA in november- i read your blog posting and greatly appreciate your advice. i am moving on a tourist visa.. are you a temporary resident? and how was your experience in the airport and customs? thank you!
10 DaVe // Aug 11, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Victoria - we’re on tourist visas too and had no problems with customs or the airport. We brought 10+ suitcases and the dog with no problem. You simply go to the pet area and present all the paperwork from the USDA to get stamped and pay the fee. We had to use our horrible Spanish to communicate, but we managed.
11 Lilly Darnell // Sep 17, 2008 at 12:05 am
I had a completely different experience because my dog is too big to fly in cabin. I did my research ahead of time, had numerous calls with Continental to make sure all my ducks were in a row and followed all the procedures, and it was smooth sailing with Continental and the US side of things.
The difficult part was at the Cargo Complex at EZE and dealing with Senasa (the immigration department). I had no idea it would take 3 hours of process and paperwork (3rd world country) and that after a 10 hour flight, no one in the cargo compound would take responsibility for my baby and take her out for a walk or potty break. She wound up being in the crate for 17 hours!
I felt like I was springing her out of jail after walking to numerous buildings in the compound and doing this, then go here and do that, then go here… it was very frustrating and I just wanted to see her and know that she was ok.
I was extremely blessed that my Remesis driver came in with me to help. Though he did not speak much English, he knew what I was there to accomplish and helped me get through each step in the process (there were many) since it’s doubtful that anyone in the Cargo complex speaks English.
Though my dog was a bit traumatized when she arrived, she was very happy once we got back to my apartment and has been extremely happy (and spoiled) ever since. This is definitely a dog city.
12 2008: The Year in Review | Discover Buenos Aires // Jan 5, 2009 at 9:32 pm
[...] to keep in touch with family, as well as old and new friends. And everyone is on it - we boarded Delilah at a dog kennel outside of Buenos Aires, and the manager there added Mersal as a Facebook friend [...]
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