If there isn't such a thing as a pet attorney, I'll be one! The amount of paperwork and hassle involved in hauling a pet over from abroad is mind-numbing and nerve-wracking. All I can say is start early! As soon as we found Louise whimpering in that flea-infested ditch back in Nov month, we went straight to the vet. And if you don't speak foreign language and/or you live in a rural town where dogs are more likely to end up on somebody's plate than as a pet\, good luck finding a vet! But we did, and fortunately he knew which shots to give her so she could go to America. The next step was finding an airline-approved kennel. That took three trials. The first two we bought were not approved, as we found out through the Internet. The third one we ordered from a Korean website.
The final hurdle was gathering all the right documents. I called Northwest Airlines and they told me I only needed a health certificate. Then I called the Korean Quarantine Office at the airport and they said they had to check out Louise and make sure that she was healthy. Just to play it safe, we arrived at the airport four hours early and that was a blessing because we needed it. First we took Louise to the quarantine office and there was a wait of an hour. Then we took her to luggage registration and that took a while because all the documents had to be visible on her kennel. Fortunately, the agent at registration knew exactly what he was doing, and within a half hour, Louise was put on the conveyor belt and off to new adventures. We waved good bye to her and even shed a tear, knowing the hell she would be going through, what with 3 stopovers and an overall 15-hour flight. She is only 9 months old, and all she had seen up until then was the ditch and rice paddies... I think we were smart to deck her out in a came sweater just so that the airline agents would not forget about her.
Anyway, all hell broke loose for us once we landed on American territory (Seattle). We asked agents about Louise and they would send us in 10 different directions. Finally, an hour later, we found Louise quivering in her kennel, looking dazed and confused (who wouldn't be after spending 15 hours in the cargo dept of the plane?) We took her for a walk, as we had a 12-hour layover, and she was back to her old self.
The last step was getting her on board Alaska Airlines. Again, we were sent in 10 different directions. Finally, at 3 am, we arrived in Fairbanks with Louise thankfully greeting us by the luggage area.
Now, I can safely say that Louise was born to be in Alaska. She rides with us everywhere, sitting calmly in the backseat of the truck, sniffing everything and taking long naps. She also went camping with us, though she is not yet fit to sleep in a tent, so she had to sleep in the truck, which didn't seem to faze her. Yesterday, I am proud to say that Louise passed the all-time Alaskan test: Louise rode with us on the canoe! She didn't even flinch when we caught a fish, as if she had been around canoes and fish all her life and had better things to do than bark and go berserk over a stupid little fish..... Come on, this is Louise we're talking about, the all-Alaskan wonder dog.....
The final hurdle was gathering all the right documents. I called Northwest Airlines and they told me I only needed a health certificate. Then I called the Korean Quarantine Office at the airport and they said they had to check out Louise and make sure that she was healthy. Just to play it safe, we arrived at the airport four hours early and that was a blessing because we needed it. First we took Louise to the quarantine office and there was a wait of an hour. Then we took her to luggage registration and that took a while because all the documents had to be visible on her kennel. Fortunately, the agent at registration knew exactly what he was doing, and within a half hour, Louise was put on the conveyor belt and off to new adventures. We waved good bye to her and even shed a tear, knowing the hell she would be going through, what with 3 stopovers and an overall 15-hour flight. She is only 9 months old, and all she had seen up until then was the ditch and rice paddies... I think we were smart to deck her out in a came sweater just so that the airline agents would not forget about her.
Anyway, all hell broke loose for us once we landed on American territory (Seattle). We asked agents about Louise and they would send us in 10 different directions. Finally, an hour later, we found Louise quivering in her kennel, looking dazed and confused (who wouldn't be after spending 15 hours in the cargo dept of the plane?) We took her for a walk, as we had a 12-hour layover, and she was back to her old self.
The last step was getting her on board Alaska Airlines. Again, we were sent in 10 different directions. Finally, at 3 am, we arrived in Fairbanks with Louise thankfully greeting us by the luggage area.
Now, I can safely say that Louise was born to be in Alaska. She rides with us everywhere, sitting calmly in the backseat of the truck, sniffing everything and taking long naps. She also went camping with us, though she is not yet fit to sleep in a tent, so she had to sleep in the truck, which didn't seem to faze her. Yesterday, I am proud to say that Louise passed the all-time Alaskan test: Louise rode with us on the canoe! She didn't even flinch when we caught a fish, as if she had been around canoes and fish all her life and had better things to do than bark and go berserk over a stupid little fish..... Come on, this is Louise we're talking about, the all-Alaskan wonder dog.....
