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During our stay in Atenas this time we adopted a sweet little dog who needed a loving home. Rather than leave her with a friend here I want to bring her to the States. I know US Airways will permit us to take her with us for entry at Charlotte, NC, then on to Baltimore. I also know the US entry requirements and stipulations for bringing in pets from overseas. Has anyone on the forum ever actually done this with their pet? I’m interested in knowing if we’ll be able to make our connection from Charlotte to Baltimore on time (2 hour layover) or will customs and immigration want to keep her longer for inspection?
Knowledgeable responders only, please. Thanks.We brought our dog back with us in April. All customs was interested in was the rabies vaccination certificate. They briefly looked at the dog, fawned over him really, and let us pass. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes — this was in Atlanta. We had to go through a special customs line, but it was really easy. So I don’t know why you would have a problem unless it has to do with the timing for check-in for your connecting flight. Our dog went in the cabin with us, so we didn’t have to check him in, but there is almost always a check-in counter in customs if you do have a connecting flight.
Last April I flew to the US with my cat. I flew on American and they only allowed pets in the cargo hold. I have flown Americawest (US Airways) and my cat flew with me in cabin. In both situations, US customs showed barely any interest in my cat. Took her out, turned her around, put her back. They looked at my documents and that was it… yea…less than 5 minutes.
OH! one thing I didn’t realize… you can’t bring in cat/dog food if the bag has been opened. I went through customs, but then had to report to a different area to show them my food. I just surrendered the open bag of Science Diet, no big deal.Customs let me keep the baggie filled with kibble. They said they thought it would be a long time before my dog got home to eat (we were on a layover in Atlanta and wouldn’t be home for 5 mor hours at best). This really surprised me! I expected to surrender it, but they looked at it and let me pass.
If your dog is not small enough to fly in the cabin with you, you can not ship it in cargo at this time of year. The Airlines won’t allow it because of the heat.
It can’t be above 85 at any (take off or landing) location along the way to your final destination. In some locations that may be iffy this time of year, especially in the south. The smaller Airports are not open all night. Even BWI never used to stay open all night, unless that’s changed. All you can do is hope that there is no heat wave when your ready to go. Good luck with your trip, hope everything goes smoothly for you and your new pup.
Thank you, Peg and everyone else who replied with good information. My nephew is a pilot for Continental and I asked him for help. He made some calls and recommended Continental’s Pet Safe program to ship her from here through Houston to Baltimore. It’s certainly quite pricey but well worth the $$$ when you consider that she’s a family member and you want her to be well cared for during her trip. If anyone listening wants to learn more about the Pet Safe program go to Continental’s website. Thank you again.
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