While it's fresh in my mind, I decided to write up what I had to do in order to ship my dog from Quito, Ecuador to the U.S. and then from the U.S to Algiers, Algeria.
My dog: 12 years old and a 50lb mixed breed. (a little German Sheppard breed in her, but mostly mutt.)
Limiting circumstances - Traveling from Quito early August 2020 to the U.S. And then from the U.S. to Paris and Algiers late September 2020. All this was done during a rise in pandemic cases.
Part I
Leaving Quito was more difficult due to the pet travel ban on international commercial flights. I could fly out, but my dog had to travel via a cargo flight as cargo. Fortunately, my vet (Ecuavet - Dr. Ellen Van Nierop) was fantastic in helping me navigate all the paperwork, cargo airline requirements, and in personally kenneling and transporting my dog to the airport. My vet and I also coordinated the trip with a U.S. pet transport company, Pet Travel, who received my dog upon her arrival at the Miami airport. Avianca Cargo was the cargo airline we used.
Paperwork needed:
- Licensed Veterinarian Health certificate.
- This is only valid (in Ecuador) for 8 days, so my vet performed a final check-up on my dog a couple days prior to our departure.
- Proof of rabies vaccination-
- No earlier than 30 days prior to travel and no older than 1 year prior to travel.
- Up to date pet vaccination history-
- My vet gave me an immunization pet passport early on upon my arrival in Quito. We used that to show each vaccination and her corresponding signature/stamp.
- AGROCALIDAD exportation certificate- (Other countries may or may not require this.)
- My vet handled this with AGROCALIDAD. They are basically the agriculture export/import agency for Ecuador.
- Cargo shipment payment-
- After I paid, Pet travel took care of air waybill required by the cargo airline in order to book her space on the flight.
- Cargo airline waiver of liability on transport of live animals
- Basically, signing away your right to hold the cargo airline accountable if something goes wrong with the safety of your pet. (God forbid)
I would recommend shipping your pet as cargo only as a last resort. I was extremely lucky nothing went wrong. Having a reputable and experienced pet transport and veterinarian were crucial to making this trip a success. In my case, I had already stayed in Ecuador months longer than I had anticipated for work. I needed to leave in order to get to my next assignment. Cargo was the only option at the time. I believe commercial flights may now be accepting pets as accompanied baggage on the same plane as the pet's owner.
In my case, I met up with my dog Lucia in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. U.S. commercial flights also banned the transport of pets on commercial flights as of Aug 2020. From there, I got a rental and drove two days to Virginia.
Part II
Leaving Virginia was easier in some regards. But I still had to arrange my travel beforehand, since many airlines were not allowing personal travel from the U.S. to Europe. Since my travel was work-related, the U.S. Embassy in Algiers helped reserve my flights with Air France. They were the only airline that allowed the shipment of dogs in the planes hold. However, I was the first Embassy employee to travel via Air France to Algiers with a pet in the hold during the pandemic. Recently, other employees were able to transport pets using other airlines, but their pets were kept in the cabin.
In my case, we would depart Dulles airport in Virginia (end of September 2020), have a 4 hour layover in Paris, France, and then proceed with a short flight to Algiers, Algeria. But Air France does not handle pets in Paris at Charles de Gaulle Airport. So I would have to collect my pet and luggage upon arrival and then recheck her and the luggage for the last leg. Here's the rub, that means I am no longer transiting Paris, but instead entering Paris. So I had to ensure my pet paperwork complied with EU requirements for exporting a pet from a European country.
Paperwork needed:
- 2 Licensed Veterinarian Health certificates approved by USDA/APHIS
- Fortunately, my vet clinic in Virginia is also fantastic. Merrifield Animal Hospital
- USDA confirmed I would need two health certificates. One for departing the U.S. (the regular USDA one) and one for departing France (the EU one). Both are accessible on the USDA/APHIS website. If you're already in the EU and have a pet EU passport, then you wouldn't need all the other paperwork I had to provide.
- Proof of rabies vaccination-
- No earlier than 30 days prior to travel and no older than 1 year prior to travel.
- Up to date pet vaccination history-
- We used the same pet immunization passport I used in Ecuador, with just updated vaccinations that were due. Unfortunately, it's all in Spanish but the vaccinations also had stickers in English listing the vaccination's name. More on that later.
- Air France requires proof of a microchip
- Air France's waiver of liability on transport of live animals
- Basically, signing away your right to hold the airline accountable if something goes wrong with the safety of your pet. (Again, god forbid but at least you're traveling with the pet on the same plane.)
- It also asks if the dog is a category 1 or 2 (agressive breed)
- And if the dog is a stubbed-nose breed
- My vet and I included a letter of acclimation
- This isn't required but I pointed it out at each check-in to make sure the air line understood temperatures needed to be maintain between 7 and 29 degrees celsius.
As far as the actual trip, I didn't have any trouble at Dulles. The paperwork was good. I paid for the shipment of the dog for both flights. And then I took her a few feet over to where the over sized luggage/pet carriers are inspected. A technician examined the kennel and then gave his approval. I said my "See you soon" to Lucia and left for the gate. They kept her safe behind the check-in area until just before all the luggage was loaded and the plane was due to take off.
Before taking off, I asked a flight attendant to verify if Lucia made it on board. They nicely checked and confirmed.
Upon arriving in Paris, I had to go through a screening to show my Covid test results from the day prior. After that I went directly to the luggage pickup area and found Lucia waiting in her kennel safe and sound. After a bio-break for her and some well earned walking outside. Unfortunately, there wasn't a sign of any grassy areas anywhere. So she did her business discretely on a remote sidewalk.
With a four hour layover, we had plenty of time before check-in. As the time approached, I took her and my luggage to Air France for the next check-in. It wasn't as smooth as Dulles, but I finally got her checked in. I had to help the check-in person find my visa and also proof I had paid for my extra bag and Lucia back in Dulles. Everything else paperwork-wise was fine.
Then came the drop off with the over sized luggage/pet carrier technicians. The check-in person informed me that I couldn't leave Lucia with them during the whole layover. I had to come back about an hour or so before the flight boarded and took off. Which was fine. The gate wasn't too far away. I spent the rest of the layover with her and she got to go outside again for a break or two. About 75 min before departure, I dropped her off and made sure the kennel was secured with wire-ties. (Air France had plenty of ties I could use.)
Next came boarding and take-off. I actually got to see Lucia on the tarmac in her kennel as I walked on the plane's glass skywalk. The flight crew was securing her crate to two other pet crates on a large metal pallet. Hopefully, everyone got along during the flight.
After I landed in Algiers, it took a long time to go through Passport entry. Once I was through, I got to the baggage area and found my luggage. My expediter from the Embassy helped guide me to the over sized luggage/pet kennel area. This time I was there around 10-15 before Lucia was dropped off. Relief washed over me as I heard the luggage handlers start to bring strollers, racks, and other large cargo pieces into the area. My expediter confirmed they had my dog and so the crate was delivered immediately after.
We're now in Algiers and ready to enjoy the days to come. No more traveling!
I hope this helps anyone that's researching what it takes to travel with a pet during the pandemic. I've never had to adjust so fast to changing conditions, rules, and requirements during any of our previous international travels. So if you have to travel with your pet, I wish you Godspeed.