Packoderm
Super Nomad
Posts: 2116
Registered: 11-7-2002
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What is the dope on traveling into Baja and back with a young puppy?
Our puppy is less than 3 months old, has the first two rounds of shots, but is not yet old enough for rabies vaccination. I have been reading on
various web sites about quarantines and all that. Does anybody have any information on the subject? It would be just too sad to have to leave our
young Rita behind for two weeks of Baja. We would be traveling straight to Camp Gecko, so I don't think that Parvo would be a problem, but I would not
want to have a problem coming back into the U.S.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64526
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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An International Health Cert. from the vet... says the dog is healthy...
Have fun Packo!
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mrchuck
Junior Nomad
Posts: 82
Registered: 11-6-2002
Location: Gun Barrel City, TX
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Here is the story:,,,,,, lots pf smuggling going on and the US Customs are on the look-out.
So, have all your vet records, etc,,,so you can bring back into the USA, your puppy you took out.
Saludos,,,,mc
Puppy sting nets 362 animals
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Smugglers often sell dogs with phony paperwork
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 21, 2005
When he was 12, Michael Goldstein of El Cajon worked odd jobs for a year to save enough money to buy a puppy.
DAVID BROOKS / Union-Tribune
Animal Control Officer Lori Brown held two puppies recovered during a two-week operation. The dogs didn't have proper veterinary paperwork.
When his mom saw a young bichon fris? for sale outside a Wal-Mart, her heart melted.
Four days later, the dog, Miles, lay in Michael's arms as his mom rushed to an animal hospital.
"Mom, he's still alive. His eyes are open," Michael said as they arrived.
It was too late.
"I'm sorry. He's dead," she told him.
Thinking back three years later, Judy Goldstein said she saw the signs at the Wal-Mart. The dog and its three siblings appeared lethargic. The
vaccination record from a Tijuana veterinarian looked fake. And, after all, a stranger approached her in a parking lot.
"I went against my better judgment because they were so cute," she said. "And the price was so good."
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A reputable breeder might have charged more than three times the $200 she paid. But then again, the puppy probably wouldn't have been infected with
deadly canine parvovirus.
The Goldsteins were victims of a dog smuggler who got the pups in Mexico and sold them on the streets and parking lots of San Diego County with little
regard for their health.
It's a situation that animal-welfare agencies throughout California have been seeing more frequently.
To get a handle on the problem, animal-control agents from 14 agencies worked alongside border inspectors in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa for the past two
weeks.
They found 362 puppies that appeared to be younger than 3 months headed for sale in swap meets and strip malls from Stockton to Los Angeles to
Oceanside and National City.
At up to $1,000 a pup, "it's better than selling drugs," said Zachary Shalit, chief of investigations for the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA.
Nine puppies were confiscated because they were ill and could barely stand. Two were returned to their owner. The others will be put up for adoption
once they're well.
No one was arrested. It's not illegal to import dogs from Mexico. Agents said the goal was to gather facts before deciding how to proceed with
enforcement.
Most of the 1,579 dogs checked in the two-week test were adults traveling with their owners.
But puppies destined for sale pose a special problem, experts said at a news conference in San Ysidro yesterday, because they may have been taken from
their mothers too soon, may have been improperly bred or may soon become sick with dehydration, parvo, distemper or parasites.
Buying a puppy
Animal-welfare agencies suggest pets be purchased at shelters, but if you're going to buy from a private party, here's how to protect yourself:
Make sure a veterinarian has seen the pet and get vaccination records.
Beware of sellers who want to meet in parking lots or street corners.
Ask questions about the animal's history and temperament.
Don't pay cash, and get a receipt with the seller's name, address and license number.
Ask for a health guarantee and whether the animal can be returned.
Don't buy ill, depressed or aggressive animals.
Don't buy on impulse.
SOURCE: San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, www.sdhumane.org
"There is definitely a problem," said Capt. Aaron Reyes of the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, who headed the project. The
authority provides animal services to 12 Los Angeles County cities.
In addition to the diseased puppies, agents discovered dogs with paperwork that didn't seem to match, and animals crammed into boxes, trunks and glove
compartments.
Some dogs weren't allowed into the country because of bad paperwork, such as no proof or inadequate proof of rabies vaccinations.
Many of the puppies were "designer mutts," including mixes of poodles with Labrador retrievers and c-cker spaniels.
"You can get puppies like this in a shelter," said Lt. Daniel DeSousa of the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.
Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty in Los Angeles, said animal-welfare agencies are hoping to stop
puppy smuggling by educating potential dog owners. But she also wants a change in the law.
"Something simple and easy to enforce," she said, calling a new National City ordinance against selling pets on the streets a model other communities
should adopt.
It's difficult to prosecute puppy peddlers, legal experts said.
The woman who sold Michael Goldstein the diseased puppy was charged with 10 misdemeanors and was convicted of two in a plea bargain with prosecutors.
Margarita Diaz pleaded guilty in February to keeping a dog without proper care and attention and peddling goods without having registered with the San
Diego Police Department. She was placed on three years' probation.
Sandy McConkey and her family bought two c-cker spaniel puppies from Diaz outside a pumpkin patch a few years ago. Within days, they were vomiting and
weak with parvo. Her teenage daughters were crying as they tried caring for them.
After one puppy died, a veterinarian recommended destroying its sick sibling.
Since then, McConkey worked to find Diaz and supported the National City ordinance against puppy peddling.
Her story, she said, should be a warning, especially this time of year.
"I don't want people to buy puppies for somebody for Christmas and then watch them die," she said. "It's a horrible death."
Onell Soto: (619) 293-1280; onell.soto@uniontrib.com
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8807
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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My inlaws just took a puppy 8 weeks old to Mulege in Oct....no problems at all...except potty training stuff.....
Everyone loves puppys...it's later when they grow up and get BIG teeth
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