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I’m still digging for a way to transport our dogs down to CR without putting them in baggage on a plane…….will never happen.
somebody suggested looking into steerage on freighters.
Anybody know anything?
They also suggested looking at Panama as a destination, since alot of freighters go through the canal, and perhaps we could get off there and drive up into CR.
It’s worth a try. I’ve started a search, and also figured I’d put it out here too.
Getting the pups up to Miami is easy, it’s the Miami to CR that we’re still trying to work out.
Thanks for any help.
Mark.I’m guessing here but wouldn’t your dogs be treated a whole lot better on a plane than a freighter which is probably staffed by people more accustomed to eating dogs than taking care of them?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWe also wanted to do anything to keep from having to ship our dogs by plane, even seriously thought of driving the whole way to CR (from Southern Caifornia). Call me a coward but driving through Mexico scares me, even speaking excellent Spanish. Their officials are so out of control and when they can hold you, your vehicle and animals hostage it is too much an unknown. I researched every possibility, including freighters. Came up with nothing – Cruise lines won’t take animals, nor will freighters, most freighters won’t even take passengers anymore. Our final decision was that we will drive to Houston and fly from there with the dogs, that gives them the shortest possible trip with no stops and no transfers.
If you come up with something in you research, please let us know.
We investigated the freighter things, too, and it was a no go. I’m now flying down on Tuesday with one dog in cargo (Denver to SJO with a change of planes in Dallas). Hubby comes later with other dog in cabin. I just have to hope for the best. My vet did give me two Valium — one for the dog and one for me!
Maravilla, please be careful. If the dog is visibly sedated, the airline won’t accept him or her. Take both Valium (this is a shock!) yourself. The doggie will do just fine.
You can all save yourselves the effort of looking into air charters. I did that in 2005. If or when I win the Big Ball lottery, I’ll reconsider it.
maravilla
Give us a post as soon as you have time after arrival to let us know how it went – you can send me the spare valium – I am going to need it!
Ruth
They will in fact take a dog that’s been sedated, although they don’t recommend it, but if it’s under the supervision of a vet, they will accept the dog. Believe me, I checked! If I don’t give this Blue Heeler something, he will ARF ARF ARF all the way from Denver to SJO! 10 mgs of Valium is only going to take the edge off and not make him unconscious, whereas if I took it, I’d be out like a light.
I’m leaving Tuesday but probably won’t get to an iternet cafe until Friday sometime, unless I impose on one of my neighbors. But yes, I will check in and give you a report. Everyone says not to worry about putting the dog in cargo. American Airlines assured me that the cargo was pressurized to 5000 ft (same as the cabin) but we live at 8000 ft, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m more worried about how badly he’s going to have to whizz when I get him out of baggage in SJO and can he hold it til I get him outside to the curb. LOL
Hey, all bringing dogs down. If you don’t speak fluent spanish bring someone who does to customs to get the dog released; tell them he/she is your lawyer. After sending me five different places with paperwork and running me around I found someone that would “help” me and it cost some money to bribe my poor dog out of customs. There was another distraught woman there that had been there for two days with a bichon because she wouldn’t pay the exit fee.
Was your dog on the same plane as you or did you ship him as cargo? When we took our other dog down last year, we had no problems whatsoever, but then the dog was in the cabin with us. However, there were two or three other dogs that came in cargo as checked luggage and they went through customs before us and they hardly even checked about the dogs, just glanced at the paperwork and waved the owners through. How much did it finally cost you to get your dog sprung from customs? Now you’ve really got me nervous.
By law, there IS no exit fee for dogs and cats. And no import license is needed either. I just got off the phone with the USDA who has all the updated rules and regs for Costa Rica and this is the most current advisory http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/iregs/animals/cs_cn.pdf
There is no exit fee. My dog was shipped down in cargo on a separate airplane from me. I took my cat in the cabin; no problem. When I got to customs they sent me to a separate building three times. No one at this building had any idea why I was there and kept sending me back to the original customs building. A man then approached me and said he could help me for $160.00. I only had about $120.00 on me and gave him that since my only objective was to get my dog out of customs. I told him I would come back the next day to pay him the rest. They let me see the dog after that and walk him. They were literally holding other dogs for people who wouldn’t pay. So, what do you do? Try to make a fuss and get your dog detained further? I paid and my dog was released. They had the nerve to call me the next day when I didn’t show up with the extra $40. I had my cab driver call them and say he was my attorney and they stopped calling me. So, that is why I am warning people, take someone who speaks spanish and is assumed to be an attorney. It was a bad experience in a country I really love.
That’s an awful experience and why I’m taking my dog as checked luggage. On the trip home in April he’ll have his service dog letter and then he can go in the cabin with me. Yours is not the first horror story I’ve heard about people shipping their dogs in cargo on a flight other than the one they are on. It sure doesn’t seem worth the hassle to do it that way, and it couldn’t be cheaper if you have to pay bail money to get your dog out of jail.
Hey Maravilla, what do you know about service dog status? And having them on the plane with you?
A friend of mine got her dog service status so she could bring her wherever she went, and said that she could site emotional issues as the condition.
She also said that when you have the paperwork that proves your dog has been issued the service dog status, that you are not legally required to disclose your “need/challenge”.
If you don’t mind, I’d be interested in hearing what you know.
I just assumed that if a person with a service dog, such as a blind person, is travelling by plane, that there dog would be put in baggage as well, and given assistance on and off a plane.Service dogs travel for free in the cabin, and if you have a letter from your doctor stating that the dog is essential to your emotional well being (it helps to have anxiety issues or be disabled with some psychological problem — in my husband’s case, he had a head injury from an auto accident and now suffers anxiety when traveling), the airlines, by law, are not allowed to challenge you. They are also not allowed to ask you WHY you have a service dog, other than that it is for emotional support. Not any doctor can write this letter; it has to be from a mental health professional of your choosing. We took our 14 year old terrier as a emotional support dog when we came down last year. The airlines didn’t ask for proof that he was a service dog, or ask to see the letter, they were only interested in the rabies vaccination papers. Service dogs do NOT have to be crated ON the plane. They sit at your feet, and it’s helpful to request bulkhead seating so you are not sandwiched in the middle of the plane. Here is everything you need to know about serivce dogs according to the International Air Carriers rules and regulations.
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/20030509.docIt’s helpful to have this printed out in case you are hassled on any issue. During the layover in Atlanta, hubby took the dog out for a wee and when he tried to get back through security they insisted that the dog needed a service dog vest. Hubby whipped out the rules and shoved it into the TSA agent’s face and that was the end of that discussion. This year we did order “service dog” patches that we will put on a little vest.
I wish now I had gotten a letter for the dog I’m taking down tomorrow. It would’ve been a lot less hassle than putting him in cargo and dealing with a crate, etc. Good luck.
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