Day 41 - Getting Dog Shots & Packing

After reading all the forum posts, official websites and some not so official we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to our dogs.

Here are some things that we learned so far.

1 - Fly Pets As Luggage - Try to get your dogs put in as luggage. Delta and other airlines will do this flying to Costa Rica. United will not, they may you check them as Cargo. Avoid Cargo at all costs because it will cost you. You will be forced to hire a pet broker on the Costa Rican side and some of the bids I got were outrageous to the point of being taken advantage of.

I say all this because we had to two large dogs 33lbs and 66 lbs that we wanted to take with us. Getting a pet broker to even return your email is an act of God and those who did were outrageously priced. 

So try to fly your pets as luggage anyway possible.

2 - Getting Your Pets Their Shots and Paperwork Together - From what we have read, we need to make sure we had the dog shots 30 days prior to us leaving. BUT you need to get a health certificate and your APHIS Form 7001 ten days before you arrive.

Do some shopping around on this. We had one vet that wanted to charge us $125 just for the APHIS Form 7001 form. That did not include the health check and they insisted on giving any shots and such.

Needless today this vet was price gouging or really did not want to do the work.

We found another vet that would do if for $54.00 per dog, which was a lot more reasonable. 

3 - 11 Years of Stuff  - Where to Sell - After living in our home for 11 years, we have a lot of junk. In fact we are really trying not to take much with us. We have been selling a lot of things and it has helped with the cost of the move.

If you are a  Facebook user, look for "online garage sale" page for your area. This is a great place to place things for sale.

There is also the standard Craig's List that has been productive as well.

But a good place to post as well is Meetup.com. You need to register for this site, but it is a great place to find like minded people.

SO if you have a lot of things that are specific to a certain hobby or lifestyle, this is a great place to put your stuff for sale.

EXAMPLE - We are "Preppers." We have a lot of survival food, camping stuff, and other survival gear. We were able to let a prepper group we found on Meet Up know that we had stuff for sale and we were able to sell a lot of our specialized things and get a good price too.  

So in working all these different places, we have been pretty successful in selling a lot of things that we did not want take with us, nor just give away either.

What our plan is to sell as much as we can and then if all else fails, we can have Goodwill or Salvation Army come pick stuff up and they will come load it up and haul it away.

Day 45 - How to Travel With Pets to Costa Rica

This is our little Bella - she is 2 lbs
Cost to fly in cabin - $200.00
This is a great deal when compared
to the Pet Broker we emailed.
They wanted a crazy amount for our 30 lb
Jack Russell Terrier.
He is flying for $200 also.

We have four dogs that we are taking with us and we love our dogs.

I have to say that getting your pet down to Costa Rica is and "interesting" endeavor.

"Interesting"... there is a Chinese curse that says, "May you live in interesting times."

No comment... I spent 3 + hours on the phone today with Delta Airlines.

Back to taking your pet with you. Some things have changed and if you ask 20 people, you will get 20 different answers.

One place that I have learned to put some faith in is "International Living" Magazine. It is a great source of information, that is when they are not "up selling" you for something.

I highly recomend that you become a subscriber to this publication, it has a lot of informtion written by expats for expats.

I am saying all this because the following article had a lot great instruction about traveling with your pet to Costa Rica.

Ray
Unpacking Costa Rica

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How to Travel With Pets to Costa Rica

By Jason Holland

I’d never traveled with a celebrity before.

When we arrived at the airport in Costa Rica, it was a madhouse. People kept coming up to take pictures with my companion. Customs officials rushed us through the line after a cursory check of our documents. Baggage handlers competed to grab our luggage.

It got to be a bit much when a police officer stalked over determinedly as we waited outside for our rental car to be delivered. “All our documents are in order, right?” I thought to myself nervously as he reached us and then stooped down to give the “celebrity” a scratch under the chin… and then asked me to take a picture with his cell phone.

Jester - The author's poodle

The celebrity in question, if you haven’t guessed, is not human. It’s my silver-haired standard poodle. And thanks to a trip to the groomer just before we boarded the plane in Miami, Jester was quite a sight when we arrived at our new home in Costa Rica.

It helped that poodles aren’t all that common in the country – so everyone was curious.

Now, if you’re considering a move to Costa Rica and have dogs (or even cats), I can’t promise they’ll get the “star treatment.” But I can say that the process of bringing them over will be easy and hassle-free.

First off, there is no quarantine here. Your pets come off the plane and are immediately in your hands.

But you do have to take care of a few things before you leave. Go to your vet for a clean bill of health within two weeks of your departure date. And make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations for rabies and some other common diseases. You probably already have most if not all these shots. (The full list is here.)

Your vet should give you a health certificate indicating your pet is healthy and has all their shots. Then you get it endorsed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a nominal fee. Just send (or bring in person) a copy of the vet’s health certificate to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in your region.

Once you have their sign off, you’re set. No need to contact the Costa Rican consulate. Just make sure you have four copies of each document just in case any official wants a copy during your trip.

Small dogs can go in the cabin with you if they can fit in a carrier under the seat – be sure to let the airline know before-hand.

But larger breeds will have to go with the checked bags in a non-collapsible kennel with food and water.

In both cases, the airline will usually charge an extra fee. American Airlines, for example, requires $175 per animal.

For the health of your pet, most airlines will not let them travel when the temperature is forecast to be above 85 degrees anywhere on your itinerary. That’s usually not a problem at Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, where the temperatures usually stay in the 70s during the day.

But keep an eye on the temperatures in your departure city or at any connections. If it’s summertime in Miami, for example, you might have to fly out early morning or at night to stay under 85 degrees.

Of course, check with your airline for their specific policies and restrictions before buying your tickets. For their safety, some breeds aren’t allowed to fly during summer as checked baggage, including short-nosed varieties like pugs or boxers. And most of the “budget” carriers do not allow pets at all.

Another option is to ship your pet as “cargo.” You don’t even need to be traveling with them. It’s great if you have a pet in the States but can’t fly back. You can handle this through individual airlines or through specialized services that charge a premium but handle everything.

Source - http://internationalliving.com/2012/06/how-to-travel-with-pets-to-costa-rica/

46 Days and counting - OUR SHIPPER

If you are coming to Costa Rica, then by all means you want to hire a reputable shipper.

We did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people on the forums.

One name kept coming up.

That company was "Ship Costa Rica"

The owner of the company is named Barry, but our contact was Arden Brink.

What is wonderful about Arden is that she is also the author of a very well known expat book

"Unraveling the Mysteries of Moving to Costa Rica: Real stories from real people, what we've learned and how it can help you!"

You can ORDER HERE from Amazon

Arden has been a HUGE help and I want to recommend her book. It is full of great information and detail for anyone who is moving to Costa Rica.

In fact, I recommend it if you are moving anywhere in Central America. It will give you a lot to think about and information that you can us no matter where you are moving.

I wanted to share with you what "Ship Costa Rica" is going to do for us....

-- bring the container on the chassis to your door in New Braunfels
-- wait three hours while you load it,
-- take it to the port,
-- ship it to San Jose,
-- provide US customs export papers,
-- provide all shipping and import papers,
-- obtain MAG and Minae permits as needed,
-- arrange dock transfers,
-- manage the Costa Rican duty calculations,
-- pay the duty on the household goods,
-- handle customs inspection and release,
-- pay the bonded warehouse fees, and
-- deliver to you with men to unload the truck into your house in Atenas
-- All inclusive, no extras, no surprises.

Folks, when you think about it, they are doing a lot.

We know of other expats who have used "Ship Costa Rica" and they were very pleased as well.

There are a lot of ways you can get your personal items down to Costa Rica and yes you can save a buck or two too. But you really want to find someone who will take care of the details for you.

I am one who believes in hiring a professional to do a professional job. You do not want your personal items to be held up in customs or waiting on duty or such. Barry, Arden and the great staff at "Ship Costa Rica" have that covered.

They are truly "All Inclusive, No Extra and NO  SURPRISES."

At least we hope so. We have been really pleased with the personal service we have gotten from them so far.

What Arden and the folks at "Ship Costa Rica" have done is allowed us to place our faith in them and their word that they will see that out items we are taking to Costa Rica will safely get there.

Continue to follow Tracye and I as we will blog more about our personal effects, as well as everything else involved in our relocation to Costa Rica.

Pura Vida!