travel with pets to panama

PETS  Yes those wonderful members of the family.  ok heres the deal to bring them with you to panama. first the vet must give them a clean bill of health. not just any vet can do this, it must be a vet that is listed with the U.S.D.A.  As soon as that vet signs the forms, the clock is ticking. you have 15 days to be here in panama with those forms.  sounds like plenty of time doesn't it?  well not really.  after your vet signs off on everything, you need to make copies of it just for your records. then you must mail it to your  usda office, for them to look over and then stamp. I can't remember what they charged me to do that. then they send it back to you.. then you must mail it all to panama's embassy IN THE U.S. for them to stamp, again another fee, I am thinking 10.00 dollars or so for every stamp. then they must mail it back to you. I used fed ex and pre paid for them to fed ex it back.

now I used a pet relocation company based here in panama http://www.panamapetrelocation.com/ these people were great. I mean it, they went out of their way to help us.

you will need to contact these people or any other service you wish to let them tell you what paperwork they will need before you get here. They in turn must fill out paperwork here and set up the vet to be at the airport to meet you and your pet. without doing this ahead of time, your pet will be taken and put in Quarantine for 30 days. if you have the paperwork done you can take your pet right out the front doors with you and to your home, to be Quarantined at your home.

also check with airlines on what their rules are on this.  some won't fly in cargo if its to hot or cold. we flew continental airlines and they allowed the cats to be carry on.

We had two cats, one huge pit bull and my wife who was 8 months along with our first child. I think at that point I would rather fight the pit bull, butt naked over a steak bone then to have my wife upset!!. we had to drive from memphis to dallas to get the flight, due to it being to hot in memphis and dallas, but the dog could fly in a transport plane that had a/c. so we had to take a road trip to get there. once my folks dropped us off they went down the hill to drop the dog off at the other airline.

into dallas airport we went, me carrying all bags, and two cats. and trying to help my wife at the same time.  we get in line to be checked by home land, and my wife goes through and walks over and takes a seat, while they check our bags. then comes the fun part, opening the cat cages and getting the cats out so they can check it. well I have a female and a male. The female is no problem at all she is very sweet and easy to deal with. the male on the other hand doesn't like the cage at all and doesn't like much of anything after the day he had already had.

I knew that if I opened his cage he would attack and I would let go of him and then it would be a fight all over that airport. I could see swat being called!!

 so I showed the ladies the female cat, no problem then I tried to tell them the problem we were going to have checking the male, and asked did they have a small room they could take us so if he got away I would have him trapped in that small room.. NO. NO WAY.  get the cat out right here or go check him in the cargo of the plane.. can I speak to someone in charge please? NO I AM IN CHARGE NOW OUT OF LINE.

ok thank you. glad I am helping pay for your job.  now here is what really makes me mad, you won't allow me to be taken into a small room so you can check this cage, but you will allow me to have the airlines NOT check it and place it in the cargo hold of that same airline? makes you feel safe doesn't it?

anyway I went to the airline desk and talked to them, but they said they couldn't put him in the cargo because it was to hot. ok cool. so back to home land again, but when I returned it was a whole new crew of people, miss, here is my problem do you have a small room to check him in? o yes right here come this way!!  so me and a mad male cat and four ladies from home land went into this little room, not much bigger then all of us.

now don't take this the wrong way because I only point it out because I think they are funnier went they get scared, but three of the ladies were black, and when we were walking in there, they all were trying to get a look at what was in the box,

I sat the box on the table and stepped back, they looked worried, I said go ahead open it, still moving to the far back wall.  One lady peaked in and he let out a one of the deepest and loudess gut screams I have ever heard him make.  O SWEET LORD ALL MIGHTY, O NO, HELL NO, MOVE SISTER GET OUT OF THE WAY, THEY DON'T PAY ME NUFF MONEY TO MESS AROUND AND GET ATTACKED UP IN HERE, MISTER YOU TAKE YOUR CAT AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE WITH IT.  by the time she spoke those words all four ladies were outside the room looking in at me. 

so I guess we cleared all the checks they needed. so off we went. we got to panama and the pet people were there with everything, the vet didn't show up but they talked the people into letting us take them home anyway.  my dog never make the plane because I had given my dad copies of the paperwork and they would not allow him to fly, so all that driving was for nothing, and my dad had to take him back to memphis.

our flight was delayed and the driver I had hired to take us in a nice big van for the two hour drive didn't show. so it was late and I knew my wife was beat, so I asked the pet lady where would be a good hotel to spend the night, she informed us that it is not legal for any hotel to allow pets in panama.

o lord its just getting better and better.. she said you guys wait here and let me go get my truck, she pulled up and loaded us in her truck and took us to a B&B she knew of in town that could and did allow pets. 60.00 per night with meals and it is run by a mother and daughter who have pets and opened this place for people like us with pets. being a B&B they don't fall under the pet laws.

wonderful american people. made us feel super welcome. helped get all our stuff in our room, food and water for the cats and cooked us a fine meal. I can't remember the name of the place sorry. the pet lady will know tho.

now again I don't make a dime off of any place or anyone I write about, you can use them or not thats up to you. I can only tell you what I felt about their service.

both cats had to be locked up in my home for 30 days, I thought someone would come by to check but that never happen.  knowing what I know now I would ahve known that no one would come by to check on anything.