BajaNomad - Vet Certificate

Vet Certificate

Mexitron - 3-24-2012 at 01:26 PM

Went to the vet to get our dog a health certificate for travelling in Mexico and she said she needed an address in Mexico to put on the certificate---we said we're just going camping but she still needed an address. Does this sound right? I guess I could use any address if need be.

woody with a view - 3-24-2012 at 01:28 PM

look up the US Embassy address! :biggrin:

BajaBlanca - 3-24-2012 at 01:30 PM

incredible. put down the address of a hotel perhaps ???? or how about ours ??? or put down arroyo number 1 in whatever town you plan to camp in ?? challenging ....

DENNIS - 3-24-2012 at 01:38 PM

Just make one up. What would some control-freak Vet know about your address anyway?
Gawwwdammmm...some of these people just try so freakin' hard to emulate Mexico with their nebulous rules that sometimes it hard to know what side of the border you're on.

If I were you, I'd get your pet set up with a Mexican vet anyway. They make out the health certs, give the proper shots and keep good records for a small fraction of the cost of US vets. Just put an appointment with your new vet on your list of things to do while you're here. Get shots and certs all at the same time.

Let me know if you would like a recommendation for a good vet in the Ensenada area. They even have a phone.

address

captkw - 3-24-2012 at 01:41 PM

AS a nomad since I was 12 I have been asked that many times and I just wing it down here !!sliding between the crack's !!! gone mobile !! K&T :cool:

DianaT - 3-24-2012 at 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexitron
Went to the vet to get our dog a health certificate for travelling in Mexico and she said she needed an address in Mexico to put on the certificate---we said we're just going camping but she still needed an address. Does this sound right? I guess I could use any address if need be.

You are certainly welcome to use our address --- as our water bill has it - Conocido --- We don't have a real road yet and besides, many of the streets in BA are Sin Nombre and the numbers are Sin Numero.

Seriously, we just carry our dog's shot records and have had no problems. But if the vet insists, use any number you want, Benito Juarez, Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur.

Actually, Benito Juarez would work for whatever town you choose.

bufeo - 3-24-2012 at 02:17 PM

According to this WEB SITE Mexico* doesn't require a certificate.

In any case, over forty years of traveling by vehicle in Baja (also a few times on Mexico mainland) with our dog aboard, we were never asked for any veterinary health certification.

Allen R

*Just like our kind Canadian neighbors to the north.

We always carried a copy of our current veterinary information, i.e. shot records, just in case.

[Edited on 3-24-2012 by bufeo]

[Edited on 3-24-2012 by bufeo]

Use This Address

Gypsy Jan - 3-24-2012 at 02:22 PM

Av. Benito Juarez 266-1
Playas de Rosarito, BC 22710, Mexico (This is a real bricks & mortar address).

Tel: 52 661 613 1916

This is the address for the Clinica para Animales
The phone number is a land line, not a cell.

Dr. Silva is a qualified vet in the U.S., as well as Mexico.

DENNIS - 3-24-2012 at 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bufeo
According to this WEB SITE Mexico* doesn't require a certificate.

The cert is required, albeit seldom asked for, when returning to the states.
Be prepared.

bufeo - 3-24-2012 at 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS...The cert is required, albeit seldom asked for, when returning to the states.
Be prepared.

Valid point, Dennis. The only time the U.S. guys asked us anything about our dog the vaccination tag around his neck sufficed. No paperwork required.
Allen R

watizname - 3-24-2012 at 03:29 PM

So... what are the regulations regarding bringing dogs from Mexico. My wife wanted to adopt a particularly sweet puppy on our last trip, but I didn't know if we could get it across the border. Can anybody shed any light on this for me. :?:

Mexitron - 3-24-2012 at 03:33 PM

Thanks all for your answers!

DENNIS - 3-24-2012 at 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by watizname
So... what are the regulations regarding bringing dogs from Mexico. My wife wanted to adopt a particularly sweet puppy on our last trip, but I didn't know if we could get it across the border. Can anybody shed any light on this for me. :?:

The regs are the same for all pets. Shots and health cert required whether they ask for them or not. Vets in Mexico can do all of this and I'm sure you would want it done anyway.
Again I say, the savings having it done SOB are appreciable.

watizname - 3-24-2012 at 05:53 PM

Thanks for the info

Jack Swords - 3-24-2012 at 06:16 PM

This comes up time and again. The real issue is avoiding hassles (hassels?) at the border coming or going. We have been asked twice, by a check point and flying into Guaymas. Produce the certificate, on your way. No certificate, maybe a problem, maybe not. Our vet in La Paz charges $8 USD. Just insurance. We never leave an address in Mexico, but if required would make one up. Brought stray Baja dogs and cats up to loving homes in US, just had health certificate. Try to play by the rules and concentrate on the beaches, surf, and great people.

dogs

amigobaja - 3-24-2012 at 07:35 PM

my new one is they don't ask about my dog but are more interested in the dog food i'm trying to sneak across the border. do not try to sneak american dog food back across, force feed your dog so it won't be confiscated by the N-zi border guards

Jack Swords - 3-24-2012 at 08:08 PM

Again, the dog food issue has been discussed before. We crossed back a month ago at Tecate, declared our dog food and expected to be sent to secondary to be passed on as we had done in previous years (US manufactured dog food). The border official at the kiosk said they have changed their policy on dog food and it is not a problem and not confiscated. So, in the past 3 years we have not had our dog food taken going back to the US. Does this mean anything? Probably not, we just didn't have to buy food for our dog after returning to the US. Next year, who knows. A couple of years ago we had a discussion on the dog food policy with the Tecate Agriculture guy and he said it was the threat of mad cow and New Castle diseases being imported into the US. Who knows what changed the policy, or if it is indeed changed. Meanwhile we still are feeding our dog with food that has been to La Paz and back.

BajaBlanca - 3-24-2012 at 08:15 PM

welcome amigobaja !! first post and it is about dogs, right on

..... and yeah, bajaamigo is very right - don't try to take your left over bags of dog food back .. it does not matter that you bought it in in the States and that you even have a receipt for it. The border customs agents do NOT let it thru. ane will give you a hard time about it.

welcome to the playground, amigobaja.

mes1952 - 3-24-2012 at 09:08 PM

If the dog food is in a sealed unopened bag they will let it through; or at least mine went through with no problems.

nbacc - 3-24-2012 at 10:17 PM

Food? Depends on who is asking and what day......crazy! always had the health certif and the other papers for our dog........never been asked. Never been asked for an address for the health certif. from my vet. Murphys law says that if I don't have it they will ask. Nancy

dtbushpilot - 3-24-2012 at 10:21 PM

I guess I'm a rebel or something.....I usually cross the border with a small dog and 2 cats in carriers along with a cat box, cat food, dog food, cat and dog treats and all the related leashes, poop bags, cute outfits etc. and when they ask me what I'm bringing back from MX I say "nothing", when they ask me what I was doing there I say that I have a home there. They have never commented on the animals even though they are in plain sight.

In the past we always got health certificates coming and going. It became an expensive proposition ($110 each US and $30 each MX) for something that nobody asked for going in either direction so I quit getting them. I always carry current records for all the animals.

Flying is a different situation, you need the certificate both ways, they usually ask for it and be sure that it is the original, not a copy.

We travel back and forth often so it wouldn't be a big deal for us if we were turned back at the border either direction to obtain the required certificates, it would only take a few hours to get it done on either side of the border and it would make a good trip report for Nomads.

I'm not suggesting that anybody break the law, just telling my story. Next time I cross I might find myself face down, handcuffed in the parking lot of secondary for smuggling a pound of cat food into the US, it just hasn't been an issue yet.....dt

fandango - 3-24-2012 at 10:36 PM

dt:
i felt exactly that way about the health certificate for my cats. figured the US border agent would send me back and i would get a certificate in tijuana. i asked the agent if that is what would happen and she said no, they would impound the animal.
i would rather be handcuffed and face down in the parking lot than have the kitties impounded so i recently got the dang health certs for them, BUT no rabies.

goldhuntress - 3-24-2012 at 10:50 PM

We just went though secondary last week over the dog food. We had a little left and the border guy wasn't really clear on what was OK and what wasn't so onto secondary. The Agriculture guy in secondary said the policy JUST CHANGED. Under 50 lbs. in the original bag is OK. I'd keep the receipt too. This change is evidently so recent that he wasn't even sure and had to go check in the office.
I never get a health certificate.

DavidE - 3-25-2012 at 12:20 AM

Here's a tale from back in the eighties...

Young lady traveled with a German Shepherd. One day the friendly dog ran up to a little boy to sniff him. The tyke turned and tried to run, tripped and skinned his knee. Mother freaked, called the cops who then accused the dog of biting the boy. Of course it was B.S. But, there was a big hassle over whether the dog "may have rabies". It had to sit miserably at a vet for 10 days when a certificate could not be produced. Better to be prepared for bureaucratic Mexico than to get caught with shorts down to ankles.

[Edited on 3-25-2012 by DavidE]

Mula - 3-25-2012 at 06:49 AM

If you are flying, health certificates from both sides are necessary.

If you are driving, it's your choice, but I have never had a health certificate request from either side border people in 30+ years of driving back and forth with 1 to 3 dogs, so I don't bother with them anymore, but do carry the shot records with me.

Taking rescue Mexican dogs to the States or Canada is not a problem. People adopt here all the time and take their prize Mexican dogs back to their homes. Vaccinations necessary, but if driving, again, your option. No one really asks.

Jack Swords - 3-25-2012 at 07:47 AM

Fandango said " they would impound the animal." Our vet in La Paz charges $8 USD for the Health Certificate. I would rather carry the certificate and not use it than need it and not have it.

30 years ago we didn't need to bond our car going to Mex mainland, didn't need to import our boat to leave it, etc. Times are changing.

fandango

captkw - 3-25-2012 at 07:49 AM

do you accept anything someone says with a badge..get a grip !!! k&T :cool:

fandango - 3-25-2012 at 08:46 AM

no cap i don't.

but that agent has the power to cause problems for me when i travel with the cats and i wouldn't want my old cats traumitized by being taken.

DENNIS - 3-25-2012 at 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fandango
no cap i don't.

but that agent has the power to cause problems for me when i travel with the cats and i wouldn't want my old cats traumitized by being taken.

Wise decision. You never know what's going on inside an inspectors head. Sometimes, I think they're the ones who need the Rabies shots.

fandango

captkw - 3-25-2012 at 08:51 AM

HOLA, you are correct...K&T..... :cool:

nbacc - 3-25-2012 at 12:43 PM

Ah...so the law has changed. I know several people who have had trouble with dog food in an unopened bag (bought in the USA) when returning to the USA. The last year or so we have given ours away before we return and the first stop is Walmart for dog food. Hopefully each agent knows this...they have the last word. nancy

beddows - 3-29-2012 at 12:24 PM

The certificate requirement was introduced mid last year. for driving in as well. Not likely to be asked but I have met 2 people who were.