bringing pets to thailand

[txlisa]

I plan to retire to thailand this fall. what must one do to bring a small dog?

[Curt]

We were thinking of bringing a dog back with us. But, after hours of talking with Thai customs officials, my wife, THai, couldn't get the same answers twice.

[paul_au]

I plan to retire to thailand this fall. what must one do to bring a small dog?

I would be calling one of the major airlines and they will probably email you some forms.

[Tod-Daniels]

When I moved here 7 years ago, I brought my two Somali cats with me. They'd been with me in several other countries I 'tried out' before moving here.

As I was already here and the cats were being boarded in the US; I contracted with a Pet expediting service who made sure they had the current required vaccination, picked 'em up, crated 'em, and arranged all the flights here. They guaranteed they could get 'em to the airport here, but getting 'em into the country was on me...

I got an email and a call about which flight the cats were on and went out to Don Muang Airport to the live animal import area. Actually I had a contact there who had already gotten the vet on duty to sign off on the cats paperwork. I was even allowed me to ride the luggage train out onto the tarmack where the plane was parked and pick up the cats. The luggage train even stopped by an exit on the way back so I could catch a taxi to my apartment.

I would imagine that Suvarnabhumi being the "new" airport has tightened their restrictions a little, but importing pets into the Kingdom isn't as hard as some people make it out to be. Use a search engine and see what you get.

Having a Thai call around for me to get information was totally worthless. I finally ended up going to Don Muang in person, walked into the Live Animal Import Office and waited until I found someone who spoke something which resembled English enough for me to understand the procedure. That's where I also got the contact who 'facilitated' things running smoothly.

This web site has some good information about it;
AngloInfoBangkok-Pets

While unrelated; sadly, as my cats were 16 y/o they died last year. I have the ashes from their cremations in little wooden boxes.
Good Luck,
Tod Daniels

[Marie]

I happened to read this interesting article a few minutes ago and I thought I'd share it here:

http://shine.yahoo.com/pets/more-pet...211100693.html

It's about a report on pets dying on a certain airline and the reasons for it. Interestingly, the pet owners are equally blamed as the airline. The tagline is, "Are pets really safe when they fly?"

As an offshoot, and learning from mistakes of the past, other airlines have adopted such safer measures as transporting pets only as cargo rather than checked luggage and having a dedicated staff and temperature-controlled vans instead of the uncomfortable baggage compartment.

Other tips that surfaced include:

- transporting pets by air unless absolutely necessary, and bringing small pets with you into the passenger section whenever possible.

- taking them to the vet for a complete physical first (airlines may require health certificates in order to allow your pet on board, and other countries may have quarantine and vaccination requirements to meet upon arrival);

- taking the time to familiarize your pet with the carrier before his or her first flight; and

- booking a direct flight to reduce the chances of a missed baggage connection and exposure to extreme temperatures.