AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Flying To BZ With Dog?

Couldn't agree more! He said it.
Both comments are so true.

Sorry, just had to agree with yet another brilliant post. Absolutely agree from experience.

My dog drank any water she wanted. Absolutely the opposite of tough for my dog and most others there... and my eyes were wide open watching her swim the ocean each morning, run the beach each night, play with children and friends, chase birds, and go to bars and restaurants with me. It's way tougher the way dogs have to live in the states and I can't wait to get Karmin back to paradise.

I was a bit put off by the post that hinted I did not understand that dogs are family routine, and for sure their is the other side of a dogs life here. We on Caye Caulker may have things a bit tougher, I dont know. KRA Z K When it rains our puddles have ground sewage, parasites, lots of animals get sick, if you were informed you would not have made such a silly comment that you dog drinks all the water he wants. not that you would ever know. I think the poster was coming here. Dogs get machette, poisoned, this has stopped mostly in the last year thank god. 2 Christmases ago we lost 14 dogs in one week. My dog swims at the split most everyday, he has a great time. mostly your pet can have a great time, but it only takes one bad time. The lady down the street has had her dogs poisoned several times, they survive.Most all dog lovers that have been here fo awhile have had a bad situation. now we have a dog pac killing cats, and after small dogs, biting children. a person could come and visit and just never know. I lost the first 2 dogs because I wanted them to have some freedom, all seemed safe enough. Now my dog stays on our deck, sadly no freedom, but he gets out at least 3 times a day, and always gets his swimming in. I wish somone had informed me more on how to keep your pet safe here, I would not have lost 2 dogs. Sometimes I just over react and take the dogs side, not the persons, My dogs had their freedom in the Sates, Montana was great for that.

Debbie, as a pet owner I'm truly sorry for all that you have gone through but it's just not a common experience for immigrant pet owners on AC. Yes, there are issues with certain agencies but they are kept in check by public pressure. There are many happy pets that have emigrated to AC without any problems; I can't speak for CC as I don't have the experience that you have.

Veterinary care continues to be a growing enterprise throughout Belize and the quality of care is improving rapidly. As with any health care issue preventative care is the answer to many problems.

I too am sorry for your loss, absolutely am and know it would be very hard. Your comment stating "not that I would ever know" however makes little sense as my dog was there for 2 years and did not get sick from water. Agree with you, however, that it only takes one time. My dog fortunately moved to AC without any problems that you stated and adapted fine. Fortunately in another situation had wonderful veterinary care on the island.

Preventative care is absolutely the answer to a good portion of issues.

I appreciate all comments concerning our beloved pets. I don't think if you have a soul, you can own an animal without loving it. Everyone loves at a different capacity, tho. My dogs are pretty well trained, do not go without being on either a leash or under our control. To let your pet wander the streets without supervision is irresponsible. You never know what they will encounter. As a pet owner, we are duty bound to keep their world as safe as we can. Just like toddlers, they will taste most anything, whether it is good or bad for them. We are also responsible for making sure their vaccines and meds are current. I hate to hear of anyone losing a pet....I've lost three in the last two years, and although time helps heal, you never forget. The two I have left are never out of my sight. I intend to keep it that way. One is very aggressive, so will be muzzled, to keep the others safe, and the other is very old, on medications, and not much longer for this world. When he goes to glory, I'll get a potlicker, and save another life...and so the cycle continues.

Yeah Roscoe generally won't let us out of his sights. I heard about the pack of dogs and that's probably our greatest fear. When dog's pack up they're unpredictable. I've already had to save Roscoe's life once from two "wandering" dogs, one pit bull one chow mixed. As they charged and tried to grab him by his neck. I charged back and luckily they saw me as threat. Come to find out those dogs had killed three other dogs in the neighborhood who were left outside on a chain.

As far as flea and ticks we plan to come fully loaded with frontline. Any other concerns will be addressed by the fact Roscoe is nearly inseparable from us. So, while we're aware of some of the troubles Island life will present our greatest and most immediate concern is getting him there.

Cooper I greatly appreciate your comments because if there's anything that we haven't thought of it's better to have them exposed now so we're blindsided. While we're aware of most of what you stated it's alway good to be reminded, it helps to increase an owners vigilance.

Cooper what types and sizes of dogs did you take down and did you have them carry on or cargo? Also what airline/airlines?

We brought our dog from the UK. She is a small to medium sized dog. She flew to the USA, where we had a short break and then from Atlanta to Belize. We again had a short break on the mainland for 3 days before flying to San Pedro. She traveled in cargo all the way except the local flight. For that, we were required to pay for three seats . In fact, the local flight was the most expensive leg of the journey for our dog.

We got all the paperwork from BAHA ahead of time and had no problems. They were extremely helpful and clear with their instructions.

Our dog was absolutely fine. We didn't sedate her as the advice of both vetinary surgeons and the airlines in the UK was strongly against medicating.

She thoroughly enjoys her life here. She jumps off of docks, swims and catches crabs and fish every day. Her quality of life is far superior to anything we were able to give her in London. We believe in responsible dog ownership and we didn't see any reason for our responsibility to our pet to be reduced just because we'd moved to San Pedro. Therefore, she is never anywhere unenclosed without supervision. We make sure she gets daily walks and pick up her poop. She has never been attacked or hurt by another dog here. She has caught tick fever. I do warn people about tick fever because I know a few people who have neglected the symptoms for so long that an easily treatable disease became fatal. The symptoms are rather subtle but quite simply if your dog goes a little bit off it's food for more than one day, you should see a vet. This is often one of the only early symptoms of tick fever. If you catch it early, a simple course of antibiotics will sort it out.

We wash our dog, groom her and examine her thoroughly every day. We'll get days where she'll have a tick every day for week and then long periods without. Also be aware of your home environment as you can get tick infestations indoors.

OK..this is a stupid question, but I've not seen it in my travels. If you bring a dog in the cabin with you, in a carrier, how does it get through security? Do they have to ride through the XRay machine? I don't think it would hurt them, but is it necessary? OK..stop laughing....what's the answer?