How Much is that Doggy in the Window?

[cobraboy]

Yes, it is true.

The rascalian cobraboy has sold Casa Eloise and will be moving back to the States with the most fair Alida, she with the poor taste in men.

A change in scenery and life. All good. We look forward to the next chapter and the chapter after that, and then the sequel.

There are some things I won't miss about the rock-in-the-sun. I should write a book.

But there are some things I will dearly miss.

Like our dogs. We have six, and four cats. One was planned. Five just happened. Two cats also happened.

The reason we will miss our fur children is because the US Gubmint bureaucrats, specifically the CDC, implemented some seriously difficult and expensive policies about importing doggos to the States because some mid-wit DomYork brought a galldang Pit Buuuull with rabies to NYC. I am being generous with "mid-wit." I would offer the guy a Grand Prize of a ride in my bosses famous 'chopper, given a chance.

I won't go into details, but there is no way we can patriat our fur children to the Fruited Plains. Well, *technically* it's possible but costs 4 Months bureaucracy, $650 to a local vet for shots, lab tests, and paperwork, transportation in an freight plane----not one airline serving the DR and landing in an airport serviced by An Official Animal Quarantine Facility will allow a doggo from the DR on---$1250 in transport fees, a minimum of $550 to the pet quarantine STASI...and THEN you have to get them to their destination, in our case a 14hr. drive or two-hop flight. (each costing at least $200 per four paws.)

Maybe. No guarantees.

Times 6.

"I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy."

So I need to re-home three of the six. I am here with hopes that some lonely DR1er would like their face licked by an adoring furry companion.

.........

Meet Linda

She's medium in size and loves to play.

Linda is a pretty, soft, energetic young girl who loves attention, especially with kids.

She is not yet spayed, so she comes with RD$5000 to make that happen with new owners.

The video has more information.

.............

Meet Cristal

Cristal is a bundle of energetic love without an unhappy bone in her body. She is a Shih Tzu mix who was a a throw away.

I hate that. Just throwing doggos away. More helicopter rides for my "special frens."

Cristal even has the typical shih tzu underbite. Very healthy, not yet spayed, and comes with RD$5000 to make that happen.

She can be a bit shy at first. I suspect there was some abuse when she was young. But when you earn her trust, she's velcro.

.............

Meet Teddi

Teddi is special. When Mom CB passed away on 3/7/2020, a six-week-old pup parked himself at our gate the following morning and just would not leave. And being the cruel, mean, heartless bad man I am, took him in. He can be stubborn so I figure he got hijacked by some of Mom CB's spirit as she departed the earthly plain, and has been giving me order ever since.

Teddi is a combination of chill and alert. He loves attention and will let you pet him until your petter organ cramps. He is excellent at early warning and can go from "one more shrimp shell, please" to "let me at them" in about the time it takes a NGO-fueled TDS wokester to knee-jerk about Elon.

Yeah. like 2 nanasecond. (Bark > Bite)²

He's a great dog, and I will miss him greatly.

.....................

If you, or someone you know may be interested in adopting any of these great doggos, drop me a PM or email at rcooper (at) motocaribe (dot) com. Understand we're in Jarabacoa, and it is a pleasant drive in the tropical mountains to get here.

PS: we'd like to rehome two cats, a brother/sister combo we found on the streets one rainy evening. They were four weeks old. Orange tabbies, boy and girl, matched set. Spayed/neutered. Two years old.

More throw-aways. I can take some pics if anyone is interested. We can take them to the States reasonably painlessly but would not mind downsizing the feline population.

My boss needs a bigger chopper.

 

[cobraboy]

For clarity, I will give the adoptee RD$5,000 to get Cristal or Linda spayed. That is a condition of adoption and a healthy subsidy for the procedure.

 

[chico bill]

I am facing the same dilema. I have 3 that I want to take. Waiting on rabies titers and then the whole process.
Of course one could rent a home in Mexico fly them there and stay for six months and simply go across the US border with them.
The silliness of the CDC on this issue is absurd.
Rabies tests and a vet certificate of other vaccinations against other communicable diseases should be all that is needed.
Flying them in and dealing with some nitwit at a designated airport quarantine which was just set up to take your money makes the whole process stressful on the dog, especially mine who have seperation anxiety.

 

[windeguy]

Best of luck in the USA, CB.

 

[josh2203]

I am facing the same dilema. I have 3 that I want to take. Waiting on rabies titers and then the whole process.
Of course one could rent a home in Mexico fly them there and stay for six months and simply go across the US border with them.
The silliness of the CDC on this issue is absurd.
Rabies tests and a vet certificate of other vaccinations against other communicable diseases should be all that is needed.
Flying them in and dealing with some nitwit at a designated airport quarantine which was just set up to take your money makes the whole process stressful on the dog, especially mine who have seperation anxiety.

Having taken a dog from the DR to EU (who is now with another family there), so having gone through that process, I'm curious, so going to the US, the dog needs to go to quarantine even if they had all the papers in order?

 

[irishpaddy]

They recently added a new policy ...when leaving the USA to fly to Dr and returning to USA .... you have to fill out an Import license to take your dog back with you .This never happened before .Then you have the hassle with Jetblue when their staff at the airport dont know how to handle a Service Dog and what is required .

 

[Meemselle]

Perhaps another side of the issue is that there are plenty of homeless dogs/cats already in the US. Birthright citizenship and all.......

 

[AlterEgo]

I feel for cobraboy and chicobill. When we brought our dog to the USA 11 years ago it was simple. 1500 peso vet papers, something cheap at the SDQ airport, and $125 to airline because she was a pup and fit under my seat. (Now she’s 130 pounds, 11 years old and crippled with arthritis, poor girl).

 

[CristoRey]

Wow!
Cats and dogs should require a simple health exam and up to date shots. Airfare should be cheap.
Anything beyond this is greed and unecessary government buraeucracy.

Best of luck to you and Misses with starting a new Chapter back in the USA.

 

[josh2203]

Wow!
Cats and dogs should require a simple health exam and up to date shots. Airfare should be cheap.
Anything beyond this is greed and unecessary government buraeucracy.

That's exactly what I wrote above, I thought what we had to do to take our dog to the EU was complicated but apparently it was a piece of cake and dirt cheap.

 

[chico bill]

Perhaps another side of the issue is that there are plenty of homeless dogs/cats already in the US. Birthright citizenship and all.......

That's true but if you love your DR dog who is loyal to you and if you would just discard them, only because you could pick up a shelter dog in the US then you likely are not a true dog lover.
Dogs are family they aren't disposable. Rehome them if you must but don't dump them like so many do

 

[cobraboy]

Some further information and how it affects our return to the US:

This is the complete cost breakdown of shipping our tiny chihuahua, Bruno, from STI to Miami. I suspect the costs may a little higher when shipping to one of the other CDC required ports of entry, Atlanta, DC, Philly, or NYC:

Vet cost for CDC compliance	US$650
Air Freight (the only way) for the smallest IATA-approved crate	US$250
CDC-Required Port of Entry quarantine 2-3 days	US$1300
Customs Broker	US$415
Total	US$2615

Regardless of when the dog was vaccinated for rabies, even if it was 90 days prior, it will still receive another one-year rabies shot.

Additionally, if, for any reason, the vet at the mandated quarantine facility requires further quarantine, the minimum will be 28 days, for US$ 3,220, paid in advance when you make the initial reservation. They will ding your cc for $4520 when you make the reservation, then refund if you do not require the 28-day quarantine.

This is a definitive, comprehensive list of the costs involved.

We had planned to take our beloved tiny chihuahua Bruno, the classic big-dog-in-a-tiny-body, with us, along with two of our four cats.

We decided today, after emotional agony, that we will have to rehome all our pups, including Bruno. The cost is just too much.

So now we need new homes for Bruno, Cristal, Linda, and Teddi.

Bruno is healthy, neutered, and a joyful little guy.

On the bright side, we found that only American Airlines lets cats on board as carry-ons from the DR to the States, for $150 each. Even though no quarantine facility is required, the cost for air freight and a customs broker would be US$915 for the two cats. No other airline from the DR to the US allows cats, from what I can find.

The joy of selling our house and starting a new life in the US has faded into some sadness.

 

[aarhus]

Some further information and how it affects our return to the US:

This is the complete cost breakdown of shipping our tiny chihuahua, Bruno, from STI to Miami. I suspect the costs may a little higher when shipping to one of the other CDC required ports of entry, Atlanta, DC, Philly, or NYC:

Vet cost for CDC compliance	US$650
Air Freight (the only way) for the smallest IATA-approved crate	US$250
CDC-Required Port of Entry quarantine 2-3 days	US$1300
Customs Broker	US$415
Total	US$2615

Regardless of when the dog was vaccinated for rabies, even if it was 90 days prior, it will still receive another one-year rabies shot.

Additionally, if, for any reason, the vet at the mandated quarantine facility requires further quarantine, the minimum will be 28 days, for US$ 3,220, paid in advance when you make the initial reservation. They will ding your cc for $4520 when you make the reservation, then refund if you do not require the 28-day quarantine.

This is a definitive, comprehensive list of the costs involved.

We had planned to take our beloved tiny chihuahua Bruno, the classic big-dog-in-a-tiny-body, with us, along with two of our four cats.

We decided today, after emotional agony, that we will have to rehome all our pups, including Bruno. The cost is just too much.

So now we need new homes for Bruno, Cristal, Linda, and Teddi.

Bruno is healthy, neutered, and a joyful little guy.

On the bright side, we found that only American Airlines lets cats on board as carry-ons from the DR to the States, for $150 each. Even though no quarantine facility is required, the cost for air freight and a customs broker would be US$915 for the two cats. No other airline from the DR to the US allows cats, from what I can find.

The joy of selling our house and starting a new life in the US has faded into some sadness.

Hopefully you find solutions for your DR cats and dogs that you can be happy with. Best of luck with your new life in the US.

 

[AlterEgo]

Some further information and how it affects our return to the US:

This is the complete cost breakdown of shipping our tiny chihuahua, Bruno, from STI to Miami. I suspect the costs may a little higher when shipping to one of the other CDC required ports of entry, Atlanta, DC, Philly, or NYC:

Vet cost for CDC compliance	US$650
Air Freight (the only way) for the smallest IATA-approved crate	US$250
CDC-Required Port of Entry quarantine 2-3 days	US$1300
Customs Broker	US$415
Total	US$2615

Regardless of when the dog was vaccinated for rabies, even if it was 90 days prior, it will still receive another one-year rabies shot.

Additionally, if, for any reason, the vet at the mandated quarantine facility requires further quarantine, the minimum will be 28 days, for US$ 3,220, paid in advance when you make the initial reservation. They will ding your cc for $4520 when you make the reservation, then refund if you do not require the 28-day quarantine.

This is a definitive, comprehensive list of the costs involved.

We had planned to take our beloved tiny chihuahua Bruno, the classic big-dog-in-a-tiny-body, with us, along with two of our four cats.

We decided today, after emotional agony, that we will have to rehome all our pups, including Bruno. The cost is just too much.

So now we need new homes for Bruno, Cristal, Linda, and Teddi.

Bruno is healthy, neutered, and a joyful little guy.

On the bright side, we found that only American Airlines lets cats on board as carry-ons from the DR to the States, for $150 each. Even though no quarantine facility is required, the cost for air freight and a customs broker would be US$915 for the two cats. No other airline from the DR to the US allows cats, from what I can find.

The joy of selling our house and starting a new life in the US has faded into some sadness.

WOW. What a difference from our costs in post #8. Color me shocked.

 

[LindseyKaufman]

My heart breaks for you. This is tarnishing the joy of selling your home. I am truly sorry.

 

[cobraboy]

Meet Bruno

Bruno is a wonderful chihuahua we have had for five years. He may be six years old.

I had always wanted a Chihuahua, and one evening, after dark, when I went to the street looking for one of our cats that had gone missing, I spotted rustling in some bushes. I thought it might be the cat. But it was the tiniest doggo I had ever seen, curled in a ball, shivering and scared.

I took him inside the house. He was infested with fleas, had ticks, and his ribs were showing. Another throw-away.

We cleaned him up, fed him good food, and got him to the vet.

He is healthy, happy, and plumped up. He is neutered. He may weigh anywhere from 3 to 5 pounds. Tiny. Gotta be careful with the food quantity lest he plump up too much.

He is shy at first, and I suspect some abuse in a prior life. But when you earn his trust, he is a bundle of tail-wagging love. He loves laps, and likes sharing sleeping space with other dogs...and an occasional cat. Heck, all of our cats are bigger than he is.

Cristal is his bestestest friend most likely because of their small size. They often sleep on the same bed cushion.

I was going to take Bruno to the States, but it became cost-prohibitive.

So he needs a new forever home. I hope someone adopts both Bruno and Cristal as a set, since they have developed a special doggo bond.

 

[cobraboy]

Good news is that the family who wants our awesome Great Dane Baron, also wants Bruno. Those two make quite the odd couple, but get along fantastically. They even sleep together.

Lord, we will miss them, but at least they have good homes.

We still need to rehome Linda, Cristal, and Teddi. Anyone want a great doggo?