#166 – The Expat Files: Navigating Pet Travel and Cultural Dynamics in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:03] Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America. The show that tells you what it's really like to live, work, play and or retire in Latin America. I tell it just like it is, not the version they give you in those glossy travel magazines or the picture they paint for you in those international traveler websites where they're only trying to sell you something. What's it really like for expats living in Latin America? Well, if you stick around a while, you'll find out. So let's get started. You know, I get a lot of inquiries from people wanting to know if they could bring their pets down to Latin America and once they get them down here, can they travel between borders easily? Between Latin American borders that is. Now I'm not completely ignorant about this. I brought two dogs to Costa Rica and brought a cat from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic.

[00:52] So I know what it takes, the forms to fill out and the dos and don'ts. That's for sure. But there are some things you definitely have to keep in mind. Now a lot of people think they can just take Spot over to the local vet in Cleveland and have him fill all the paperwork out, give them their shots and their distemper and all that. And after Spot gets a clean bill of health, everything will be okay. You'll have all the paperwork and when you go to the border or the airline, they'll look at it, smile at your dog and say, go right on through. Well, it's not that easy, believe me. You'd think that if your dog or cat was all checked out by a certified American vet, everything should be kosher when you bring them down to the third world because obviously third world rules and regulations regarding pets and everything else are really lax and in a way that's why a lot of us are down here. The fact is, Big Brother hasn't really arrived down here yet.

[01:39] Except maybe in Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina and Chile. But this is Latin America, so Big Brother in those four countries is still quite disorganized and pretty toothless. Anyway, when you're bringing a pet to Latin America. The official languages down there are Spanish and in Brazil, Portuguese. So first off, as you might imagine, all your paperwork is going to have to be in Spanish or Portuguese depending on the case. So how do you go about doing that? How do you get veterinary paperwork translated? Well, actually, you don't have to do it at all. If you follow the rules and each individual country has its own rules, they're not the same at all even though you'd think they'd be the same throughout Latin America. Anyway, some Latin countries are very lenient about letting pets in and some are very tough. Now what you want to avoid at all costs is having your pet quarantined once it gets into

[02:27] the country of choice. So every country has its own regulations and the problem is, if you're not in compliance, that means that your pet can be refused entry and the relevant government authority, whether it's at the airport or a land border, will consult with an authorized veterinarian from that country and between those two guys, they can decide whether they're going to return your pet home or put your pet in a quarantine at the airport or at a land border, at your expense of course. And even worse things can happen besides your pet being stuck in a quarantine. Now suppose you're shipping a pet and you're not there to meet it when it arrives at the airport or the land border. Or because of some confusion, no one's there to meet your pet at all. That happens sometimes, especially when zoo animals are shipped. Anyway, if you're not there and no one's there, suppose the plane's laid or came too early

[03:16] or travel arrangements just got screwed up, well if no one's there to pay the financial compensation because the paperwork wasn't in perfect order, let's say, then guess what? They can put your pet down if they can't arrange a place to do the quarantine. Now let me tell you, in most of the international airports in Latin America, they do have an actual room for pet quarantine. But if you're crossing a land border and they decide to quarantine your animal, especially a border that's a little off the beaten trail, they're likely to stick your dog in his cage in any old place. One expat friend of mine, who was traveling through a Nicaraguan border, told me they stuck his dog for 18 hours in a room that was filled with confiscated fireworks. And it was a stifling 100 to 110 degrees in that room, with no ventilation at all.

[04:02] So you could run up against that, so you have to try by all means not to get your animal quarantined. And that just means having the right paperwork filled out. And the important thing to remember is the paperwork is time sensitive. For example, these are some of the general rules that almost every Latin American country follows. And there are extra ones for particular countries, but we'll get into that in a second. Anyway, you'll need a health certificate from a US vet stating that your pet is healthy, free from internal and external parasites, and it must be signed no more than 72 hours before you travel. And that's the kicker, you gotta get to a vet right before you leave. Because you see, you could be traveling through a number of countries to get to your final destination. Suppose you stop in Costa Rica for 2 or 3 days to visit someone, your ultimate destination

[04:47] being Panama. Now, you're really cutting it close on that 72 hours, because Panama is really strict on that stuff. In fact, Panama's guidelines are the strictest of all, so if you and your pet can jump those hurdles, you'll be able to go through practically any Latin country without a problem. And next, here's an obvious point. Of course, your dog must be vaccinated against rabies and hepatitis and distemper. And there's a timeframe on that too. Your dog must have those vaccinations no sooner than 30 days before you travel, and no later than 1 year after the time you arrive in the country you're entering. I guess right now is a good time to give you Panama's regulations, because like I said, if you can pass these, you're in. Now here's the toughest one, and most Latin American countries don't require this, but I'm giving it to you because a lot of people end up down in Panama.

[05:34] It's a pretty popular destination, even though I don't recommend it. Anyway, as far as Panama goes, at least 2 weeks prior to your arrival, you must file an application for home quarantine. You got that? Home quarantine. Failure to do this means that your pet will be quarantined in a government facility when it gets there. And how long is that quarantine period? Well, it could be from weeks to months. That's why you want to avoid it, believe me. And for example, if your dog is quarantined for 30 days, and they charge you $12 a day like the last time I brought a dog to Costa Rica, you're looking at a $360 extra charge, plus you've got to supply the food and the water. And that poor animal is going to be in a cage for a month with no exercise at all. Down in Costa Rica, a friend of mine had that very problem.

[06:21] A dog stuck in quarantine. His dog was only about 2 and a half months old when it came in, and therefore couldn't get a rabies shot, because vets don't give dogs rabies shots until they're 3 months old. So when that dog came in, it had to sit 15 days in the airport quarantined, then when it became 3 months old exactly, he got the rabies and distemper vaccination, but then he had to be quarantined again for another 30 days. Because it takes 30 days for the vaccine to provide full rabies protection. So keeping that dog in quarantine costs that owner over $500. So that's another tip for you. Don't bring a dog that's under 3 months old. In fact, some countries don't even allow a dog through unless it is 3 months old. That's the minimum age. But let me continue with the Panama requirements now.

[07:07] Remember I said that at least 2 weeks prior to your arrival in Panama, you have to file an application for home quarantine. What does that mean? That doesn't mean you have to home quarantine your dog before you come down up in Cleveland where you came from. It means this, when you arrive at the Panama airport with your animal, the veterinarian at the airport, and by the way there's supposed to be a vet there, but I'll talk about that later. Anyway, he'll take all your pets' documentation and issue a new set of papers right there, and those papers give you the permission to take your animal with you for home quarantine for 40 days, and that'll cost you $130 right there. You gotta pay it. And that money is just for the paperwork, nothing else. So I guarantee you, even if everything's in perfect order, you're gonna be sitting at

[07:52] that airport from anywhere from 4 to 6 hours just screwing around with that. And if there's a couple of gringos in line in front of you with their animals, there goes your whole day stuck at the airport. And how's that gonna feel after a 3 and a half or 4 hour flight from Cleveland? Not to mention all that TSA crap and pat-downs you're gonna have to go through on the way to getting down. Of course, I don't think they'll pat down your dog, but who knows. Now remember, like I said, if the veterinarian determines that your papers are in perfect order, he'll give you some more papers that allow you to have your animal in home quarantine. And that's for 40 days. Now you have to consider this. You can't stay in a hotel or a place that doesn't accept animals then. Where you're gonna be staying in Panama has to be a house or a condo that accepts pets. Because one of the rules of home quarantine is that your pet has to be with you at all

[08:42] times during those 40 days, and I don't know if that's possible, and I don't know if anybody's checking. I kind of doubt it because Panama is Latin America after all, even though Panama is doing its damnedest to copy every first world regulation it can, including that stupid home quarantine thing we're talking about. And as a matter of fact, a lawyer friend that I have in Panama told me it's all about making money for the government. What else is new? Because think of it. Every time a pet comes through and hundreds of them come through a month, Panama gets a hundred and thirty bucks just for a piece of paper that says, home quarantine approved. And here's how they really make their dough. Here's the catch. Remember I said a little while ago that you have to file for an application for home quarantine at least two weeks before you travel to Panama?

[09:28] Well, a lot of people don't do that. They don't even know about that. Most first world vets don't even know about that. Most people just go to their local veterinarian in the States. He fills out all the paperwork for him for international travel, and that's it. Unbeknownst to anyone that you're supposed to get that special application for home quarantine at least two weeks before you come down. And since most people don't have that, your pet will automatically be held at the airport quarantine center for forty days at twelve bucks a day. There you go. Five hundred bucks again, right? Plus food and stuff and a lot of nickel and dime veterinary charges thrown in. And here's another thing that most dog owners and veterinarians in the States don't even know about. Even if all your paperwork's intact and you've got that certificate of home quarantine all done, a lot of times when you go to the airport and pick up your dog and bring him to the

[10:17] airport veterinarian, the veterinarian won't be there. Because the vet office at the airport is only open Monday through Friday, nine to noon and one to five. And Saturdays from nine to noon, sometimes. So for example, if you arrive on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday, your animal is going to be impounded till Monday morning. And think of this, how many of us arrange our international flights so we arrive at a certain time? You know, like between nine and twelve o'clock in the morning for example. Well, I certainly don't know anybody who does that. I don't. Only frequent business travelers ever do that. I just go strictly for price. And of course if two or three carriers have the same price, I'll pick the one that has the most convenient hours, but you usually don't have that option. So the bottom line is this, most of the time you're going to land and the vet's not going

[11:05] to be there. Because if you figure out the hours when his office is open, you'll find out he's not in his office a lot more hours than he ever is. It works out like this, there's 168 hours in a week and the vet at the airport in Panama is only on the job 38 of those hours, which is less than a quarter of the time. Which means you've got less than a 25% chance of being there when he's got office hours. So plan on wasting some more time at the airport, maybe even a day and a half if you get unlucky and land on a Saturday afternoon. And here's some more information you're going to have to provide. You must have an up to date list of inoculations including type, manufacturer and batch number. So don't forget that. And the only bright spot in all this when bringing your dog to Panama is that you can get the health certificate and the instructions on how to do things online.

[11:52] But not that home quarantine certificate you've got to have at least two weeks before you come down. You need to mail a $30 money order to the Consulate General of Panama and fill out that quarantine for domestic animal form and send it to the Minister of Health in Panama. And the paperwork has to arrive there at least three days before the animal does. Which means you're going to have to send everything registered mail or UPS or FedEx because that's the only way you're going to be able to prove that your documents got there. Because again, this is Latin America. Oh and by the way, I was told by my friend that Panamanian lawyer that if you arrive at the airport with your dog and the vet's not there, he can arrange it with the Ministry of Health to have a government vet meet you at your plane. Of course, it's going to cost you. Like I said, you just have to have a lawyer down here.

[12:40] You see how easy things can be if you know the right people and how hard they can be if you don't? And how much does that cost, having a government certified vet come over and meet you at the plane? Well, the lawyer told me about $100 US dollars, which I bet they split 50-50. Are you starting to see how things work down here now? There are rules, but they're bent all over the place. And there are extra charges and fees and even bribes that you pay sometimes, but they're always pretty negligible compared to what you pay up in the first world. Even in a country like Panama where the prices are quite high, double what they are in most all other Latin American countries except maybe Costa Rica, Argentina, and Chile. And of course all the other big time tourist destinations in some of the other Latin American countries and all those cruise ship ports of call, of course. You're going to pay high prices there because gringo tourists have flooded those places

[13:28] with dollars. But even though Panama seems quite expensive, especially for that quarantine, you know $500 to keep your pet for a month, before you start thinking that's outrageous, think about this for a second, first world countries quarantine pets too of course. For example, let me tell you about Hawaii and their protocol for animal quarantine. If you bring a pet in and it doesn't need to be quarantined, it costs $165 straight. If your pet needs a 5 day quarantine, which most do, that'll cost you $224 per pet. Now if you're really unlucky and your pet has to go through the full quarantine, which turns out to be 120 days, that costs $1,080 per pet. And sure, that breaks down to only $9 a day, but still, once you're in that program you

[14:16] gotta go the full 120 days. So looking at pet quarantine from that angle, Panama looks like a pretty good deal doesn't it? Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention when you bring a pet into the first world these days, it has to be microchipped and it's gotta have a blood test, which runs about $30-50 in the states, with about a $20 fee to get it logged into the pet registry. And you know as far as RFID chips, I'm pretty much against them all together, except maybe in this case, simply because pets get lost and escape all the time. And that's another reason it's so nice down here in Latin America, because RFID chips? Go ahead and ask anybody about them. Even ask a college graduate, they don't know what the hell you're talking about. And sure, in Sears and Office Depot and Walmart down here, since they're first world franchises

[15:04] and multinationals, you're gonna have a certain amount of RFID chipping in the products they sell. But believe me, down here they're 20, even 30 years behind the technology when it comes to that stuff. Which to me is a good thing. Now most of the time of course, unless you're going to Mexico, you're gonna be flying your pet in with you. And every airline has its own restrictions and regulations about doing that. Now let's talk about a typical big carrier like American Airlines. They have their own policies about bringing pets, and the fact is they even allow small dogs and cats of course, to ride along with you in the cabin. In an authorized pet carrier of course. So you could have Fido if he's small sitting right next to you. Of course they have a limit for the size of the carrier for that pet. And it's 19 inches long, 13 inches wide, and about 9 inches high.

[15:50] If it's that size or smaller, then Fido can travel right with you in the cabin. And the charge for that varies a little bit between carriers, but it's around 125 bucks. However if you have a bigger kennel and a bigger dog, you'll have to check them in like a piece of baggage. And that'll cost you about $175 for the trip to Latin America. The charges are different to Europe and the Orient, but I'm talking about Latin America of course. And you know, all airlines have weather and temperature restrictions too, as far as taking animals aboard. Because obviously when animals are shipped as cargo, it could get mighty cold and mighty hot and your pet could die. So you have to be aware of those temperature restrictions. Now most carriers will not take a pet when the forecasted temperature at the airport on the ground is above 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

[16:36] And that's for any location on the itinerary where that airplane is touching down. And they won't take a pet when the forecasted ground temperature anywhere on the itinerary is 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less. Makes sense, you know. And you could check with individual airlines on that. And now it's time to get your pencil out because here's a great resource if you're ever thinking about shipping a pet. You go to www.pettravel.com. That's www.pettravel.com. Now what's very cool about this site is on the left side of the main page you can click on the link that says Pet Travel by Air. And once you've done that you can select any airline off the list and get exactly the requirements. And what's also very cool about this website, on that left side you can click on the link

[17:25] that says Pet Immigration Information and once you've done that you can put in any country of your choice, Latin American or otherwise, and find out their exact rules and regulations about bringing pets in. And not only that, if there's any forms, applications or documents that you need, you can buy them right from this site. You don't have to spend an hour searching on the internet finding that stuff. In fact, I just plugged in Honduras as a destination and it says here, for $12.50 I can get all the forms in the paperwork necessary to bring my pet in there. And for that $12.50 it says here you get the instructions for taking your pet to Honduras. You get the official Honduras veterinary certificate that has to be filled out by your vet. You get APHIS form 7001, an internationally accepted form that comes from the U.S. Department

[18:14] of Agriculture. Your vet in Cleveland is going to have to fill that one out. That particular document is required by the airlines too. Now I'm not making any money at all by referring you to this pet travel website, but I just think it's one of the better ones because everything seems to be there. And finally, I do want to mention that there's actually such a thing as a pet passport. It's an international travel document for pets that started out as a method to allow pets to move freely through first world mostly European countries. Because suppose for example you wanted to go from England to France and drive on through to Italy or Germany, taking your pet along of course. Well, you're going to go through about five or six country borders to get there. So having an international pet passport is a great idea to simplify things.

[19:01] And now you could use that pet passport in most first world countries like Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. And it's a nice, concise, complete document, but it's not going to help you much in Latin America because each one of those countries has its own specific rules. And it's that Latin American lag time thing I always talk about, which means in a few years they're going to catch on and use that passport too. But for now, forget about it. Alright but what if you have a bird or a reptile or a monkey or an exotic animal like a lemur or an alligator or a Jesus lizard or an ocelot or a cheetah? Well then it could be a real pain in the butt but not impossible. There will be a lot more forms and red tape to fill out too. For example, an exotic animal import permit which you can get from the National Environmental

[19:46] Authority, that's A-N-A-M. And if you have a bird, he, she or it will have to be vaccinated for all the usual bird infections like Newcastle disease, tuberculosis, avian influenza, chlamydia and salmonella. And here's some advice for people who want to bring those kind of animals in. First, get yourself a local lawyer and he'll handle everything. And another thing, you should really think about the trauma that your animal is going to go through when it comes down. Unlike a dog or a cat who get over that trauma really fast. Exotic animals and birds are very sensitive and you know, there is a chance that your animal just won't make it or come out of it really neurotic. And my advice is, buy a lizard or a bird or a crocodile down here, they got a million of them. And they're dirt cheap. Besides anyway, let's be honest now, how much are you really bonded to your snake or

[20:34] your tarantula? Why not give a local critter like that a home, you know? Enough said about that. Alright, changing gears a bit, now here's an email I think you'll find very interesting. This is from Eric and he says he'd like to come down to Latin America for an extended period of time with his significant other, his girlfriend. And here he says, dear Johnny, now that I think about it, most of your shows are about guys who move to Latin America or ladies who move, but I don't recall many shows about couples who move down to Latin America. Any advice? Yes. For one thing, when you bring your girlfriend or wife down, every Latin guy with two hairs on his chin is going to hit on her. And I don't mean in a rude or disgusting way, I just mean that every Latin guy would just love to have a gringa girlfriend or wife. It's part of the gringa advantage that first world ladies have when they come down here.

[21:23] It's the same thing, gringas get three points added to their scale too, so if a girl comes down and she's only a four or five, which means she probably had a rough time of it romantically up in the first world, down here she's going to be a seven or an eight. In fact, gringas get so much attention from the local guys down here that I've actually heard complaints about it. And that's from women who normally didn't get much attention up in the first world, and now they're complaining that the guys just won't leave them alone. Now like I said, it's not like they come on hard and heavy and rude, they're not like that at all. But for example, if you're in a mall carrying a package or tool, I guarantee you some Latin good Samaritan's going to come up and ask you if he could help carry your packages to the car. And he's not doing it because he wants to rob you, he wants to do it because he wants your phone number. Now generally, Latin gringas down here don't get that kind of attention from the middle

[22:12] and lower class guys, that is middle and lower class Latin style, you know guys making $250 to maybe $400 a month. Those kind of guys live at home with their parents and can't afford a car so they ride the chicken bus to work. Now that class of guy, as much as he would just love to hook up with an expat gringa, well that's the impossible dream for him. He'll give every gringa he sees the once over and maybe even give her the eye but he knows he's completely outclassed. So the Latin guys that are going to hit on those first world gringas are guys slightly above middle class and higher. Guys who've got cars and know they just might have a chance at getting a date. And even though it's a thousand to one shot, they give it a try. And that's why I tell people who ask me about that kind of stuff, people from the first

[22:58] world, I always tell them if you're an average middle class first world girl up in Cleveland, going out with a bank clerk or a car salesman, you know, the middle class life up in the first world. Anyway, you come down here to Latin America, if you end up in one of the bigger cities that is and you're not out in the middle of a coffee plantation or something like me, you're instantly going to be invited into the high social strata of the society. The kind of life that you never could imagine could happen to an average person like you up in Cleveland. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that the wealthier classes welcome you with open arms. You get invited to all their parties and events, and you find out soon enough you're connected with high rollers and the movers and shakers in that society. If of course you accept those invitations and go, and it happens to expat guys too.

[23:45] When I first got down here and got connected with that part of society, I accepted a lot of those invitations too, I mean, hey, who wouldn't want to take a helicopter ride from one guy's house to the next, you know? But eventually that stuff gets pretty old too, because most of those so-called movers and shakers at the high end of society, even the ones that send their kids to universities up in the first world, well, these people are pretty shallow. They're a lot like the wealthy people in a daytime soap opera, you know? A lot of money, a lot of things, a lot of creature comforts, but they're all show and no go. So the bottom line is single first world gringas that come down here often end up hooking up with very well placed Latin guys, and even end up marrying them but it's almost never happily ever after. Because first world women are pretty liberated, and the guys down here in the wealthier classes

[24:33] are solidly bonded to the Latin macho thing, I mean, that's how they were brought up. You know, daddy has a mistress or two, everybody knows in the family but no one talks about it. Uncle Julio, who's married too, has an illegitimate kid or two that he's supporting. That stuff is common in every high end Latin family, believe me. And Latin women, even highly educated Latin women, have to put up with it, that's their society. But first world gringas that come down here, they hook up with a handsome, wealthy Latin guy and think it's happily ever after? Well sorry ladies, I've never seen it happen that way. And don't think you're going to change these guys, cause you're not. But back to Eric's question, what about first world expats that come down as a couple? Well here's my answer to that. For one thing, the female half of your equation will have loads more time on her hands and

[25:22] much more leisure time of all sorts. Let me tell you, she's going to have to get a lot of hobbies, write a book or get active in business or charities or something, just to fill her time. Or else she'll end up watching Kardashian reruns or staring at the lake all day. And why do you think I'm saying that? Because everyone, and I mean everyone that comes down here, has a full or a part time cleaning lady, cook, babysitter, maintenance person, gardener. I mean, when we were back up in the states, we did that stuff ourselves. We could never afford to hire a cleaning lady to come in. You'd have to be making really big bucks in the states to have a full time living made, that's for sure. And down here, they're so cheap, that it's really tempting to hire one, because let's face it, we absolutely hated to do that kind of work when we lived up in the first world,

[26:09] but someone had to do it and that someone was us. And it's funny, a lot of expats when they first get down here, they say, oh I don't want someone coming in the house. I've always done my own laundry and my cooking and my cleaning myself, I'm used to that. I don't need a cleaning lady. And you know what? After about six months, everybody changes their tune. Just like me, at first I didn't want a cleaning lady or a gardener or anything, but when you realize you can pay a cleaning lady by the day, and I pay 12 bucks a day for mine, man I'll tell you, when you realize all the time in your life that gets freed up when you have someone else doing that kind of stuff, it's one of those reasons why none of us ever want to go back to the States. Think about coming down here, let's say you're 45 years old, and all of a sudden you've got a life of leisure. So men and women, when you come down here as expats, you better get some hobbies too,

[26:58] because you're going to have a lot of time on your hands. And think about this, if there's anything you ever wanted to do up in the first world, but just never could get around to it because there weren't enough hours in the day, Latin America is the perfect place for you. Have an idea for a book or two that you never could get around to? Come on down to Latin America, and you'll write it. Are you into herbal medicine, astronomy, gardening, painting, or anything artistic? Come on down and you'll find plenty of time for it, unless of course your hobby is doing laundry windows and toilets. You've been listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America, coming to you each week from somewhere south of the border.

[27:45] And don't forget, you can email me on anything at all about Latin America, The Expat Files at gmail.com. Once again, The Expat Files at gmail.com. See you next time, nos vemos!