I brought my cat to Santo Domingo from Toronto, Canada on May 11th, about 4 months ago, and I am taking him back with me at the end of the month.
I read under the Government of Canada Website, and it gives the following info:
Importations of Domestic Cats three (3) months of age or over from countries Canada does not recognize as rabies-free
The information on this page is current as of 2008-9- 16 .
1. Domestic or pet cats may enter Canada if accompanied by an original valid rabies vaccination certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian(1) in either English or French, which clearly identifies the cats and states that they are currently vaccinated against rabies. The certificate should identify the animals as to breed, colour, weight, etc., and indicate the name of the licensed rabies vaccine used (trade name), including serial number and the duration of its validity (up to three years). Please note that if the duration of validity is not indicated on the certificate, it will be considered to be valid for one year. There is no waiting period imposed between the time the animal is vaccinated for rabies and the time the animal is imported into Canada.
OR
2. If an animal arrives at a Canadian port of entry and does not meet the above requirements of paragraph 1), an inspector will order the owner-at the owner's expense-to have the animal vaccinated against rabies within the specified period of time and to provide the vaccination certificate to an inspector.
* Cats under three (3) months of age may enter Canada without an export certificate and are not required to be vaccinated for rabies.
(1) A licensed veterinarian is a veterinarian who is licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the country of origin.
Now, acording to this, I should be ok, as I have the original International Certificate of Health expedited in Toronto.
But I can't find ANYWHERE what the rules are to take my cat out of here.
I emailed a vet for info, and he said that the "College of Veterinarians" here has a Law that states that no animal goes out of the country unless they are paid for papers. The papers are obsolete, given the fact that I can't use them at all to get the cat into Canada, so that doesn't make sense.
Then I read somewhere else that at the airport there is a "Sanidad Animal" inspector that sees the animal before it leaves. That makes a bit more sense to me. Yet someone else told me that if I don't have a bunch of tests, De-worming, more vaccines and other documents drawn here, they won't let my cat out of the country when I get to the airport.
Does anyone have any clue about how it works to get OUT of here? Seems that getting my cat back into Canada will prove to be easier -and cheaper- than getting him out of here. Which also makes no sense.
