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Why Expats Should Consider A Move To Chile: Part I |
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Page 7 of 8
We researched and spoke to others who
have brought animals into Chile and received conflicting information.
The Chilean embassy's web site stated that a health certificate
from the veterinarian, no older than 15 days, certifying the animal
to have rabies vaccinations no older than 6 months and no newer than
30 days as well as being free from parasites, both internal and
external was sufficient. It clearly stated that "no other
government certifications were necessary." A friend, who brought
her dog here, told me that she required a certificate from a USDA
veterinarian. When I contacted the USDA veterinarian in our area, he
told me he could not issue one for Chile because it was not required.
This certification is required. Please,
be very insistent and get one. I almost had my cat deported because
of it. It is not optional. You may not be as lucky as I was.
The other thing we did was make sure
our cat had in-cabin privileges. This is not an easy thing to
arrange, because most airlines in the US only allow one animal of any
type in the cabin on each flight. If you have connecting flights
either in the States or elsewhere, the originating carrier has no
authority. What this means is: If you start out on Continental and
transfer to Delta or some other airlines, you must book the animal
with each airlines individually. In Chile, if you come to Arica, you
must fly LAN Chile. On this airline, they allow more than one animal
in the cabin--but they cannot be of the same type. I also found that
just because they "confirm" your pet, you won't necessarily be
able to take it on board. Our cat was confirmed, but a puppy was
confirmed first, so the puppy got to go. I had to wait for another
flight.
Traveling with a pet is extremely
stressful--for both you and the pet. Knowing what I know now, I would
have handled the whole thing differently. First, I would have had the
cat sent as cargo. I know--you think this is cruel. Trust me, it is
less cruel than dragging this cat around all over the place; being
jostled about like mad as you try to make your flight; being squished
under the seat in front of you; being jostled some more as you leave
the plane, etc. At least, when they travel as cargo, you have some
food and feeding instructions for the animal cargo folks; the animal
is loaded and left alone for the duration, except in the case where
there are unexpected delays, in which case the animals are fed,
watered, and allowed to use a potty. The environment is less
stressful all around. You also don't have to worry if they are
going to get to travel.
The last thing I will say about
traveling is this: Try to get a direct, overnight flight with Latin
American Airlines to Santiago. Not all cities offer this, but if you
can make part of the distance by train or car, do so. Why? Latin
American Airlines has the roomiest seats and most leg room in their
coach class than any airlines that fly into Chile. If you are
traveling with your pet, they really do take good care of them for
you. Also, if you don't have a direct flight to Santiago on LAN,
you will most likely have to fly out of Atlanta on Delta airlines and
they have only one flight each day, which leaves at 10:05 pm. That is
not necessarily a bad thing, unless the flight is canceled (like ours
was) or your incoming flight is late. If either of those things
happens, you could add another day to an already very long trip. You
will be under enough stress as it is--don't add to it if at all
necessary.
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Arica 
