Importing a Dog

Hi there,
It is true that trying to get the information is not only difficult but different depending on who you ask and when. That being said, I brought 3 dogs and a cat several years ago as do people all the time. I would recommend contacting my vet Dr Adrian Molina who has a veterinarian clinic in Escazu as he could help you with current info available to him. His phone is 506.2228.1909. At the time I brought my pets, a current check up and documentation of all shots being current with a rabies free certificate from your local vet was needed. It had to be notarized and you had to travel to Costa Rica within 10 days for it to be valid. I have known from others that this notarization was not necessary for them so it really is open… Hope this helps. All my pets are doing great 🙂

Forget about the consulate , they are a bunch of knuckleheads . You dont’ need anything notorized either. The vet form with the USDA seal is all you need as far as paperwork goes .

Two sources I would consult: Roger Peterson’s Legal_Guide_to_Costa_Rica

My understanding of the process, and what we did is as follows:

First, the animal must be vaccinated against rabies thirty days OR MORE prior to the travel date. That’s due to rabies’ incubation period. And Costa Rica only recognizes one-year rabies vaccinations.

Next, your veterinarian in the U.S. must examine the dog and complete an International Health Certificate for each animal. Your veterinarian can obtain the blank form (but you cannot) from the USDA’s Animal and Plan Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The examination and completion of the International Health Certificate must be done NOT MORE than ten days before the animal arrives in Costa Rica.

Third, once your vet has completed the International Health Certificate, it must be authenticated by a member of the “Veterinary Service”. Turns out that the Veterinary Service consists of the USDA’s fifty state veterinarians one of whom is located in the USDA’s office in your state capitol. Google USDA + Veterinary Service for the name, address and phone number. You can fax your vet’s completed International Health Certificate to the USDA vet in your state capitol, hand carry it or whatever.

And finally, once you’ve got the International Health Certificate fully approved and have the rabies vaccination record, the dog must travel in an approved carrier, as someone has already stated. It’s my understanding that dogs which can fit in a small enough carrier to fit under the seat may be allowed to travel in the passenger cabin, but the airlines have a limit on how many animals may travel in the cabin at one time.

Oh, you’re absolutely right, costaricafinca. At least a couple of them have stopped handling live animals altogether.

I’d check Continental first. They appear to have air conditioned spaces in their baggage/freight areas, so the restrictions the other airlines apply regarding temperature on flight day don’t seem to apply on Continental.

We brought 2 labs down last year – Continental did a good job. We did have to have all the paperwork, especially the USDA stamp on the International Certificate, before they would load the dogs. That certificate has to be issued no MORE than 10 days before shipping. We were charged a $45 “customs” fee at Liberia airport once here. Realize no such fee exists but with the dogs going nuts with excitement in their cages and unable to get them out until it was paid – who’s arguing?