Visiting DR with my dogs.

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Andrea Duguay

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Where can I get the official word on what is officially required to bring my dogs into the Dominican Republic with me as I will be visiting as a tourist for 4 months.
 

Me_again

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Nov 21, 2004
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Hello

At the risk of seeming paternal, snotty or otherwise obnoxious, I have to ask:

Are you quite sure you want to do this?

Have you been to the DR before?

Do you know the conditions in May-June . . . or whenever it will be?

What sort of dogs are they? Large, small? Dark or light coloured? long-haired or smooth?

Where will you be staying? condo, apartment, hotel, villa, high up and cool-ish, or coastal . . .

This doesn't answer your question of course but . . . this will, surely.

Dominican Republic Pet Passport - Current Dog and Cat Import Requirements

But always ask the airline you're travelling on. It will not let you on without the proper documents.

(I'm a veterinarian with thirty years spent visiting the DR)

Send me an e-message if you like.

bramsay1942@gmail.com

wbr
 

Andrea Duguay

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I've been to the DR before, just never brought the dogs. I know that May to September is really hot there. I will be staying with friends in Boca Chica. I would rather wait until the winter to go but I have the opportunity to go now and don't want to pass it by. I've already confirmed my flight plans with AA, taking an evening flight to Miami, and then staying at a hotel overnight, and will take an evening flight the next night to Santo Domingo. As long as the temperature is below 29.4 the dogs can fly in cargo. It is much cheaper to bring the dogs with me than to board them. One of the 2 dogs is actually from Puerto Plata so I'm sure he'll be fine. My other dog is a 60lb German Shepherd/Border Collie/Husky/Lab, brown and white. The one dog from Puerto Plata I'm not worried about getting the certificate to travel for. I'm worried about my other dog that just got his annual vaccines. I'm not sure if I have to wait 30 days before he can be admitted to the DR.
 

chic

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Nov 20, 2013
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your vet////papers/shots/cage...in and out w/cage...pay a small entrance at animal control...
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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about 400 pesos each to enter.... vet certificate within 7 days.... no worry about the recent shots

same thing to leave - vet letter and a few hundred pesos each

there are many places hotter than RD in those months.
My house on the Great Lakes often has higher July/Aug temps than RD..... that's a fact
 

HUG

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Feb 3, 2009
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I think you or anyone who does not have the intention of living permanently in DR who wants to take thier dogs for vacation to DR are crazy. One, the heat, two, you can't allow them off the leash anywhere safe, especially around Boca area. But most of all, heavens forbid (and it happens all the time) they run away, get lost, break out somehow when you are out, and go missing. It is awful enough when they go missing and are native dogs and understand the life, but thinking about a foreign dog, used to a good life, lost on the streets of Boca Chica, La Caleta would probably bring about a nervous breakdown. I don't think it's worth it, nor fair on the dog.
That's what family or kennels are for.
I really don't believe any dog thanks its owners for vacations to DR. Like the people, most are hoping to get out of the country, only weird foreign humans are trying to get in.


On a sideline, is there overstay fine for dogs as in humans?
 

twhitehead

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Nov 1, 2003
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Double check on the 30 days - my understanding is that the rabies vaccine must be given at least 30 days prior to entry....tom
 

Boowow

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Feb 5, 2015
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We just got paperwork for our dog to travel - she's small so she will travel in the cabin.

You don't need a rabies shot 30 days before - you need to have your dogs rabies shot verified 30 days before travel.

If you are current with all shots - your vet will just sign off.

Our vet said make sure you have heart worm and enough flea medication.

Boowow
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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That is correct.... verified within 30 days

the OP's biggest challenge is the heat restriction.... early or late MIA flights is the solution
 

charlise

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Nov 1, 2012
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Double check on the 30 days - my understanding is that the rabies vaccine must be given at least 30 days prior to entry....tom

Doesn't make sense because you can't have your animal vaccinated twice a year if you travel twice a year. Nonsense. Vaccines MUST BE up to date but you need a vet exam at least 10 days prior to arriving in the DR and thus present an International Health Certificate upon entry..
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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I've been to the DR before, just never brought the dogs. I know that May to September is really hot there. I will be staying with friends in Boca Chica. I would rather wait until the winter to go but I have the opportunity to go now and don't want to pass it by. I've already confirmed my flight plans with AA, taking an evening flight to Miami, and then staying at a hotel overnight, and will take an evening flight the next night to Santo Domingo. As long as the temperature is below 29.4 the dogs can fly in cargo. It is much cheaper to bring the dogs with me than to board them. One of the 2 dogs is actually from Puerto Plata so I'm sure he'll be fine. My other dog is a 60lb German Shepherd/Border Collie/Husky/Lab, brown and white. The one dog from Puerto Plata I'm not worried about getting the certificate to travel for. I'm worried about my other dog that just got his annual vaccines. I'm not sure if I have to wait 30 days before he can be admitted to the DR.

First call American Airlines to see if there are any restrictions on what breeds they accept for flight. Also, you need to find out where to check the dogs in You will then need to make a reservation for the dogs. You will have to supply the cages the dogs travel in. There is no waiting time for rabbies shots and vaccines. You need the International Travel Document from your vet for both dogs. When you arrive in Santo Domingo and pick up your dogs you will be met by an airport official who will check your documents and collect the entrance fee. It is around $10-12usd per animal. You will then be set to go. On the return flight the office for pet control is located outside the main airport entrance to the left in a strip of offices. Go there first and check in your dogs. Make sure you save the documents that were given to you when you arrived origanally at SDQ. You will need to present these for each dog when you leave. You also will need to go to a vet in the DR to get new travel documents for the return. They must be dated no later than 10 days from your travel date. Personally if I were you I would leave the dogs in the States. There are many strays in the DR and many ticks and sand fleas. Make sure the dogs have flea and tick collars and bring flea shampoo in case. Also don't forget to bring your heartworm pills. The mosquitos in the DR are everywhere after the sun goes down and can transmit disease. Also be carefull about your dogs eating anything that is lying around outside. It could be laced with poison. There are also poisoneous frogs that you need to keep the dogs away from. After all of this hope everything works out for you. You do realize that you will have to pick up the dogs at the airport in Miami and get them to wherever you are staying for the night. That includes the cages. You would have been better off with a direct flight to Santo Domingo. You realize that you will have to pay for both dogs flying to Miami and then paying again from Miam to SDQ. That is about $500 one way. It sounds like you may need to rethink your plan. Also if you stay in the DR for 4 months you will pay an exit fee of about $60-70usds when you leave. Buena Suarte.
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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People will do what people want to do. I can understand the economic impact of housing a couple of dogs for four months back at home. I can also understand the reluctance of family and friends to look after someone else's dogs for four months. Pet owners have a responsibility to their pets and when one wants to up and travel for four months, well something has to be done with the dogs.

There is a good chance that this trip will not be all beaches and sunshine. It's going to be hot this summer like it is every year. The dogs will be in a foreign environment and under stress. These dogs have no experience with the cane toads, scaleopendra, mongoose, scorpions or all manners of spiders. They probably won't react well to or come away unscathed from an encounter. Maybe where the OP is staying this won't be a problem if the three of them stay indoors for 4 months.

How much you want to bet that that the OP has a hard time getting them on a flight due to heat when it's time to head north again? Unlike the trip coming to the DR, the trip home is dependent on decision making of local Dominicans not US airline employees. This is not a trip to a neighboring state/province, but to a 3rd world country.

I am sure there will be a need for some sort of unexpected veterinary care at some point for at least one of these dogs. Definitely a couple of trips to the Vet before they go home. The change in diet may be a challenge not to mention the introduction to our great drinking water supply. The dogs will need to be de-wormed before they go home or you just end up putting 3rd world parasites in your yard the first time the dogs dump in the backyard or the local public dog run. The neighbors will love her for this.

Those of us who live here know only too well that the average Dominican does not view a dog the way we do. If these dogs have difficulty settling in and bark too much or show aggression they may be shot, poisoned, run over or stolen.

It will be interesting to hear if the OP will ever do this again after this trip...
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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at SDQ... the 'dog check out' to pay the exit fee is on the lower level.... go there before you check in upstairs.

I learned that the hard way
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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People will do what people want to do. I can understand the economic impact of housing a couple of dogs for four months back at home. I can also understand the reluctance of family and friends to look after someone else's dogs for four months. Pet owners have a responsibility to their pets and when one wants to up and travel for four months, well something has to be done with the dogs.

There is a good chance that this trip will not be all beaches and sunshine. It's going to be hot this summer like it is every year. The dogs will be in a foreign environment and under stress. These dogs have no experience with the cane toads, scaleopendra, mongoose, scorpions or all manners of spiders. They probably won't react well to or come away unscathed from an encounter. Maybe where the OP is staying this won't be a problem if the three of them stay indoors for 4 months.

How much you want to bet that that the OP has a hard time getting them on a flight due to heat when it's time to head north again? Unlike the trip coming to the DR, the trip home is dependent on decision making of local Dominicans not US airline employees. This is not a trip to a neighboring state/province, but to a 3rd world country.

I am sure there will be a need for some sort of unexpected veterinary care at some point for at least one of these dogs. Definitely a couple of trips to the Vet before they go home. The change in diet may be a challenge not to mention the introduction to our great drinking water supply. The dogs will need to be de-wormed before they go home or you just end up putting 3rd world parasites in your yard the first time the dogs dump in the backyard or the local public dog run. The neighbors will love her for this.

Those of us who live here know only too well that the average Dominican does not view a dog the way we do. If these dogs have difficulty settling in and bark too much or show aggression they may be shot, poisoned, run over or stolen.

It will be interesting to hear if the OP will ever do this again after this trip...

I agree. First of all why would you not book a direct flight to the DR. It sounds like OP has no clue what the dogs and she will have to go through to arrive in SDQ on two different flights. No clue on the conditions the dogs will have to endure in the summer in BC.
 

Andrea Duguay

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May 2, 2015
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It's only $200/dog on AA, one time fee because the flight from Miami to SDQ is a connecting flight. They hooked me up with a pet friendly hotel and transportation there and back for my overnight, for only $100. My flight is only $250. A direct flight is well over $1000, not including the fee for the dogs! I have the reservations for the dogs and the proper travel crates. The monthly heartworm meds prevent fleas and ticks. I've already checked out the dog food options in the DR. My brand of dog food is there. One of my dogs is from the Dominican and I am in touch with the rescue group I got him from that has vet contacts across the country. My only problem is the rabies vaccination. Some sites say that the dog has to have had the shot within 30 days - 1 year before travel. My 4 year old dog has had his vaccinations regularly but just had his yearly booster. I'm quite clear on what the dogs will have to endure in the summer in BC (Boca Chica, Dominican Republic Weather Averages | Monthly Average High and Low Temperature | Average Precipitation and Rainfall days | World Weather Online), pretty much the same as they would endure in Toronto (Toronto, Canada Weather Averages | Monthly Average High and Low Temperature | Average Precipitation and Rainfall days | World Weather Online). Still better than them being stuck in a kennel for 4 months, been there done that. And not everyone has family so... I've done my research, but thanks for putting me down before asking.
 

HUG

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Feb 3, 2009
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I'm quite clear on what the dogs will have to endure in the summer.

Yeh, it's difficult to remember how truely nasty that heat is once you've left. There are very good options out there, you have dog sitting options rsther than kennels, foster homes etc. loads of options far better than taking your dogs to what can only be described as a hell hole for foreign dogs. You will do as you will even after advise. You do know that dogs even go missing from the airports in DR. If you trust your animals with this kind of incompetancy then I dunno, seems nuts and a bit selfish. But crack on, good luck doggies!
 

Andrea Duguay

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May 2, 2015
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Looks like HUG needs a hug. What a condescending person. Thanks for the unsolicited advice and failure to answer the actual question :)
 
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