Bringing a dog to Buenos Aires

[steveinbsas]

I just hope anyone who brings a big dog to Argentina has a big yard and the dog can spend most of the time outside...and not on a leash.

If you bring a lab, boxer, or any big dog to BA to live in an apartment I think you deserve a fate even worse than the dog (imagine being locked up in your bathroom).

My pups (who each weigh less than one kilo) are free to romp in the 60 mtr 2 quincho all day.

 

[Fabe]

I agree, ive seen much of that in manhattan , people have friggen afghan houds living in apartments , tragic

 

[mmoon]

We also brought our large dog to BA, and had similar experiences to what has already been mentioned. The only thing I would add is to make sure you call your airline and give them the measurements of your crate and get it confirmed, in writing, if possible. When we flew here on Delta, they tried to tell us at the airport that they didn't have room for a crate that large (in our case, it was an extra large size), but I had everything confirmed in advance, so they had no choice. It would have been a total disaster if our dog hadn't been able to come with us when we flew. LAN was much, much better than Delta.

 

[vanessa]

We always take our dogs back and forth from Buenos Aires to LA (but they are small and fit under the seat). We take United. They have been on about 8 RT flights (I think 8). We never have had to pay Sensa in, customs is so preoccupied and they're small and in their sherpa bags, they never notice them.

Anyway, since most of your questions are already answered I will answer question 5 about taking them back.

To leave Argentina you must get a certificate from your vet stating the dog(s) are healthy and the rabies (and other vaccinations, but really they are concerned with rabies) vaccinations are up to date. Then you have to go to Sensa in Puerto Madero area with those papers TEN DAYS or LESS before your trip. Also bring your passport with you. Plan for 2-3 hours there. Or perhaps your vet will send someone for you for a charge, my new vet offers this service.

If you do not do this the airlines will give you a huge hassle when leaving the country. (We didn't do it the first time).

In Dullas (Washington DC, we always fly United since they let ours in the plane), your immigration form will be marked and you have to go in the USDA line with others who have plants, animals, etc... The agents half the time dont even bother looking at your papers if you're American. Sensa gives you a copy to give to your destination country and one for them when you get back (but you still have to do the leaving US papers to come back).

Honestly the most concerned parties when it comes to paperwork are the airlines, the customs in both countries aren't really paying too much attention (but perhaps they know the airlines check so strictly anyway).

 

[Risu]

Please be cautious about which airline is safest for your pet to fly on. Check travel sites for pets & Travel Advisor to get the most up to date information. Our dog was "lost" for 16 hours in transit. The airline was not helpful at all…until we called our neighbor who happened to be VP of Operations. Soon we had six very attentive employees there to help but they still could not tell us/had no idea where our beloved dog was. Don't know where you are traveling from but we know that Continental is possibly a good option for your pet. Houston Airport has a pet hotel & is a good between stop-over for pets & people alike. The Marriott Hotel at Houston airport will rent rooms by half day which are pet friendly. Best of luck!

 

[BROOKLYN]

i brought my cat to this country in 2008.
Previously i made it a point to have all the ts crossed and Is dotted.
I went to the senasa website while in USA . I CALLED senasa from USA.
After I collected all they required, I called again and asked them if it was ok .
They requiire a form , issued by the USDA . ( senasa does).
The rabies shots must fall into the criteria of no earlier than , no later than .
With all that , I went to continental cargo . here they charged me someting like 200 300 dollars to transport my cat on the same flight.
They assured me there would be no more charges.
I was to get off the plane , go to the continental cargo office at eze and they were to hand me a form that i was to present at he customs depot in the eze airport omplex.
That is where the problems began.
The juanita at the desk told me that the form costs 200 dollars.
I promptly told her that she could have that money after she ate the peanuts out of my shit and asked to speak to the manager.
Of course , he was nowhere in sight.
I spoke to the guy on the fone after waiting there an hour.
He said she was mistaken , and it was only 100 , that she was new and didnt know .
I protested the 100 dollars claiming he couldnt charge me , and less in dollars.
I called a cop in while i was on the fone with him , and he relented when i told him i was in the process of making a denuncia.
Got my form and went to the depot
After some passes issued to get into the place. I started the process of getting my cat out.
Second nightmare.
The very nicely dressed ambulating clerk exuding her " Argentina , un pais con buena gente "appearance" Advised me that her mother authorised her to accept a "gratuity" From me .
Bewildered I asked her to explain to me about this tip.
Her facial expression turned from angelical to deminic and she stated " Se lo explico porque me parece que ud se esta haciendo el pelotudo "
" If you dont lay 500 dollars , yourcat goes to quarrantine , and cats dont really suvive more than a few hours in quarrantine."
I whipped out a judges contact card , and asked her where the nearest fone was.
Again her facial expresion turned , and she came out from behind the counter and ushered me thru he entire process , office to office as my personal escort.
Be forwarned. This , or something like this is what you have to expect. Dont make this country worse by accepting to be extorted by some scumbag in the guise of a "Buen argentino"

HAHAHA thats great dude! thats one thing I hate when I go back to visit.. slick portenos

 

[steveinbsas]

Lots of great advise. Although not originally asked, I would add that is better to get the crate well in advance the travel date, and get the dog used to getting and staying inside it for some periods of time.

Hopefully, your dog will enjoy the trip in the crate and also not have to get used to staying inside an apartment in BA for "some periods of time."

When I observed "professional" dog walkers in the city "walking" as many as ten dogs at a time, and not even stopping for them to pee, I realized how cruel it could be to have a big dog in the city.

It isn't just stray dogs that suffer here. From what I observed when living in the city, almost everyone who hires a "professional" dog walker is abusing their pet.

Hopefully you are renting (or buying) a house with a big yard for your dog to live like a dog and it won't be left alone for hours at a time.

My five pups have full access to the quincho (75 mtrs 2) all of the daylight hours.

At night they have access to the kitchen (24 mtrs 2) but they usually sleep together in a "dog pile" of less than 1.5 mtrs.

And...just like me...they have no desire to leave Argentina.

 

[citygirl]

There are plenty of dogs that are healthy and happily acclimated to life in the city.

Big dogs can in fact be much more comfortable living in apts than smaller, high-energy dogs.

As long as you have a routine that allows your pet the appropriate amount of exercise for the breed, animals can quite happily live in a smaller area.

 

[ElLatingo]

Sorry if any of this repeats what's already been said, but I brought my cat to Bs. As. last month, so my experience is still fresh in my mind. I'll qualify all of this by saying that, again, I brought a cat and not a dog. That said, some points below might be helpful.

First and foremost, what I'm thankful I did was go to the USDA office in person. Fortunately, the location in Miami was only about 40 minutes from my parents' place, which is where I stopped off before heading to Bs. As. I called the USDA and made an appointment. The main benefit of going in person (aside from getting the form stamped and handed back to you within about 10 minutes) is that if your vet f'd up the form you have to take with you, you'll know immediately and will have time to sort it out before you're supposed to leave. The USDA offers a service where you mail the documents to them (and enclose a return envelope), but I didn't want to risk it. Aside from the USPS or FedEx/UPS losing the envelope, if something had been wrong with my forms I wouldn't have been able to get what I needed in time (the 10 days before rule is a killer). In the end, my vet rocked the house and got everything right, but I was still glad to have been at the USDA office in person.

Secondly, and this wasn't an issue for me (even though I think I technically didn't follow the rules), allegedly ARG requires that the pet have the rabies vaccine 30+ days before you travel. Fortunately, SENASA didn't enforce its own rules (maybe because I got to EZE at 10pm and the guy who helped me seemed totally chill) because I learned about this "rule" only after I got all the paperwork stamped at the USDA — and the ARG Consulate in Miami confirmed it. Sometimes the lax attitude here works in your favor

Contrary to what someone else said, I opted not to buy the forms online. The vet had the form I needed. That said, you might want to call your vet to make sure he/she has the APHIS 7001 form. Don't waste your time printing it out and bringing it to the vet; turns out that the form needs to be in triplicate. Not even sure why the USDA provides it on their site.

Finally, as others have said, SENASA will be more than happy to take your cash when you get here. I think the fee was about 330 pesos. You go to the SENASA line*, the dude or dudette will fill out a form, ask for the USDA-endorsed form (and possibly ask to see the rabies vaccine), and then send you next door to pay the fee. Once you get the receipt showing you paid, you head back to SENASA, show the receipt, and you're good to go.

All in all, it was a fairly painless process. Things flowed smoothly at MIA and EZE...and it was all made possible because the vet I used was awesome and the USDA applied that nice little seal to the health certificate...and took my $37 in greenbacks.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.

*Most people at the airport didn't seem to know what I was talking about — so as an FYI, SENASA is in the same area where you go through Customs (where they scan your bags).

 

[g_c]

the senasa by the luggage/customs area is only if you have your cat/dog with you. if you don't due to pet size or airline restrictions you have to head out of that terminal to handle your business.