Taking a dog to India?

robotvoice

I don't think it is a good idea. If you are worried about being apart from the dog, what will you do when it is quarantine time back home? That is something to think about. Perhaps the quarantine will be a longer period than your trip.
Also I'm in agreement that the street dogs could easily pose a threat to your dog.
There will also be lots of trivial problems, like finding lodging that accepts dogs, and he will be unwelcome at restaurants and general sightseeing, in rikshaws, taxis, buses, etc.

Noodle

robotvoice, are you answering to ravic15? Because he/she is relocating within India.

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anjuna mark

Ehrlichiosis [correct spelling is Ehrlichiosis] is a blood parasite [like malaria in humans] carried between mammals by ticks.
It kills horses [which made horse breeding in India so difficult that the animals were imported from Arabia for centuries before anyone figured it out] and can be [rarely] caught by humans.
Legend has it that Ehrlichiosis was first discovered by US army veterinarians in Vietnam who were trying to figure out what was killing their sniffer dogs.
Heartworm is a parasite of the heart, the spores are carried by mosquitoes. It’s well known in the US, and it is also present in India. As far as I know, very few people seem to be aware of it there.
Again, the local animals have evolved resistance to these diseases which imported dogs don’t have [as I explained to my European vet; ‘they still have natural selection there’]. However, for anyone reading this who keeps a local dog as a pet, it’s worth checking for these diseases if you want your animal to live as long and as healthily as they have the potential to.
It’s important to note that both of these conditions have hardly any symptoms in the beginning, and by the time there are symptoms your animal is in real danger.
Blood test every three months for residents, or prophylactic [preventive] 100mg Doxicycline per day for tourist dogs staying for shorter periods.
[Thanks to Peter J. Irwin, BVetMed, PhD, FACVSc, MRCVS Division of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia]
Doxicycline is a common antibiotic available at any pharmacy in India.
Go to the pharmacy with the big crowd waiting to be served. The ones with few customers are probably the ones the locals know carry counterfeit drugs.
This is important for your own medicines as well of course!
Quarantine is only for a few countries of origin, notable Britain and Australia.
I’ve very rarely had any trouble with “street” dogs, and I’ve traveled with my fuzzy little Tibetan terrier through a lot of India. They usually either fall at his feet in supplication or else run away. Of course you have to be vigilant like anywhere else you take your dog.
Now I will tell you what you do need to worry about; big cats. I strongly advise against taking your dog into any jungle areas. He really is likely to be eaten, leopards are so fond of dog that they will take him right from between your feet. An old sadhu with tears in his eyes told me of his “huge ferocious” dog being taken from him in Hampi.

All the best, Mark

Nick-H

Now we're going to have all the dogs starting threads about this! And a who load more asking if they really need to worry about Leopards!

But Seriously...

Thanks Mark, for the information.

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Noodle

Hi Mark!

If Doxicycline is an antibiotic how can it prevent either ehrlichiosis or heartworms (not sure which one it's supposed to help with)? Maybe a dumb question ... ?

I thought heartworms and parasites are usually treated with other meds, such as ivermectine?

birds

Recently in Goa there was a women who kept about thirty stray dogs, apparently much to the annoyance of her neighbours as they took her to court about it.

The court decided she had to get rid of (most) dogs so she placed adverts in the local newspaper to find homes for them.

Much to her surprise there was another women who rang and told her she would take all dogs.

On further investigation the 'stray-dog women' found out that the other women was living in a very rural area in South Goa were leopards kept eating her goats. To save her goats she started to feed the leopards stray dogs!
True story.

Nick-H

I would say, 'I wish I'd never asked', if I could!

Gruesome!

But then, so is loosing the goats --- although I suppose it could be said that they were probably destined to be eaten one day anyway.

Noodle

Jesus! How creepy!

I hope she didn't give them her dogs, did she?

birds

No she did not give the dogs but she is in lots of trouble now trying to find homes for them and even thinks about moving, although she bought her house.

What flipped me is the fact that the 'other women' is not a poor Indian farmer who tries to save her goats as these are her (only source of) income but an apparently very, very wealthy English women who has a massive house with huge grounds bordering the forest...

I have not met her but if I do she will sure get a piece of my mind

anjuna mark

Doxicycline is only for the Ehrlichiosis. I have wondered about it as well, and I can't tell you why it works, just that it is the standard treatment as well as the preventitive.
Heartworm is treated with something else, I don't remember what.
regards, Mark

Barryjames

This is true, I found it hard to believe. You will have to pay customs duty on the dog. My friend brought his dog to India and when he collected it from the customs department in Vasco, he was asked
"what is the value of the dog"
He told the officer that it was a mongrel and could be purchased for a few pounds in the UK.
"Ah, but what is it worth to you"? was the reply.

He may be exaggerating somewhat but, he told me that he ended up paying over £80- That was in addition to the ‘air cargo' cost.

The dog seems happy enough, and although it is a bitch, it still sees off the local muts.

** jeanneleez **

07/07/2007: I am planning to move my 65 lb. greyhound and a 14 lb. cat from Chicago IL to Kolkata in three weeks. Air India gave me the best advice.

1. NO SEDATIVES. Even if your dog is a bit on the anxious side, the potential for disaster is far greater with medication than without. Dogs really don't have an understanding of time so 15 minutes or 6 hours can feature the same reaction. Mine's a velcro dog with severe separation anxiety - our vet and several airlines said no to sedation, in fact many airlines will refuse an animal that even seems impaired/sedated.

2. There is a limit of two pet animals per person.

3. Make sure you have all the certificates for health including copies of all rabies vaccinations. There is a particular form on the consulate's web site that has to be signed and stamped by the vet. The vet certificate is good for 30 days. If you want added insurance, you can have the vet complete an Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals from United States Department of Agriculture. (If you need contact info, email me.) You can't make an appointment with the USDA until 14 days prior to departure.

Here's the tricky part. Air India asserts that the pet must have had their rabies shot 6 weeks prior to departure. The cat just got his latest on 6/28 and we plan to leave on 7/23. It's all up to the customs agent we deal with in Mumbai now.

4. Give them a light feeding before you leave for the airport, and try to keep the legs of the trip as short as possible. We changed our flight from one through London (which isn't allowed on Air India) to one through Frankfurt in order to keep the UK restrictions from being a possible glitch in the trip. We're doing 8 hours each to Mumbai, then we have a 2 hour flight to Kolkata.

5. I've never flown my animals to the other side of the planet just for a vacation and I don't think I would do it. I have family here that would gladly take them in; at the very least, the greyhound rescue group would find me and gut me if I wasn't being responsible. This travel is hard on everyone (including the humans), so moving there with the expectation of staying for at the very least the next five years, is the only reason I'd do it.

My pets are used to their carriers and do well in car trips. I expect most trips we take with the dog will be by road in our own car... I am also assuming that our cook/housekeeper/dogwalker will be able to watch the pets during vacations involving air flights. We typically do that here in the states and keeps us all sane.

I'm not bringing medications becuse they're cheaper there. I have already contacted a few pet hospitals and clinics to see what they offer. The care is expensive and like everywhere, you need to find one that understands your breed.

OF COURSE, ALL THIS IS CONJECTURE. All my planning may end up a disaster of the truly tragic kind, and I admit to a fear of leaving my pets in the care of faceless airline staff. But they really are family and deserve the best care I can provide.

Hope this is helpful...

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http://american-in-calcutta.blogspot.com/

"The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it."
Harry Emerson Fosdick

robotvoice

thanks noodle. i didn't realize how old the original thread posting was.

Noodle

Jeanne, I wish you and your two pets all the best!

Are you gonna take the cat with you in the cabin? I would strongly advice you do so. Or change to an airline that allows you to do so if Air India doesn't.

If that might be a problem I would postpone the flight. What will you do in Mumbai if they don't allow your cat in?

I would also advice you to leave a long pause between each leg (at least in Frankfurt), so you can all go to a hotel room and stretch, eat, sleep and relax. This is how an American friend of mine did it who took her two cats to India and back to the States. She spent a night in Zurich and that helped everybody with the stress. That way they don't have to sit in the carrier for 24 hours plus.

Please let us know how it went! Good luck and all the best!

** jeanneleez **

I thought about having longer stretches between each leg, but that would mean going through multiple customs situations, which could complicate the situation. Worst case scenario, if the cat is required to be quarantined in Mumbai, it's just a cross country trip to pick him up. Having to return to Frankfort would be much more complicated.

Air India strongly recommended getting the animals to India as quickly as possible. Their cages, while not luxurious are outfitted with thick pads on the bottom for comfort. (I am also adding a toilet training pad to the dog's carrier on top of the other pad - a little added insurance.) I will also be putting in their favorite blankets with their familiar smells. They have water dishes bolted to their doors and I'm looking into battery operated fans and perhaps recorded music, but both don't seem that practical (kinda over the top...).

-- Jeanne