Friday, November 26, 2010

MOVING WITH YOUR FURBABIES TO BELIZE

Benjamin, Barney, Alina and Snowy
  

We plan on bringing our 3 furbabies with us to Belize, we could not imagine leaving them behind.  They are 3 Siberian Huskies, Alina Moon, Snowy Moon and Barney Moon...and no Moon is not our last name.  Our daughter wanted Alina, our very first one's name to be Moon..so we just gave them all the middle name of Moon to make them all feel connected with each other.  We also had Benjamin Moon, but he past away last year, he was the most gorgeous of them all. 




They have some beautiful thick fur and they can stop traffic with their looks.  Everyone just goes crazy over them..and wants to stop and pet them.  They are friendly with other people..but they do not like other dogs or animals...They love going for rides on our golf cart, so they will feel right at home in Belize riding a golf cart through town.



Most people always think where we live in Mississippi is too hot for our huskies, but they have adjusted to the heat.  They are mostly inside dogs, staying inside where it is nice and cool.  I am sure they will miss what little bit of cool weather we do have here in MS. but they love the water, so they will be taking lots of swims to cool off in Belize. 



Dogs and cats can be brought into Belize without quarantine, unlike most other foreign countries which require at least a 30 day quarantine.  You must have a certificate from their veterinarian stating that your pet is free from any infectious diseases and has been vaccinated for rabies.




The Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) handles this process, you would need to contact them and request an application form from their permit department in order to bring in any domestic animals to Belize.  Domestic pets are allowed in the country once you have an import certificate, recent veterinary certificate (14 days), rabies certificate and your pet would have to be inspected by a quarantine officer, for a small fee of course.  You must notify the Director of animal health 2 days in advance of date and time of arrival and point of entry.  Make sure and check with director on times that they are open as well or you will be sitting at the border with your pet.








American and Continental are 2 airlines that I know will fly larger pets like ours into Belize.  Lots of people I know have driven to Belize in order to carry their pets with them..but we do not plan on driving, therefore our pets will be getting their first ride on an airplane..I am not so sure how much they are going to like it..but it will be much quicker than the drive would be.



Belizeans generally do not view pets as most Americans do, considering them a main part of the family..our children.  They consider them mostly for watchdogs..but we were told that most have no problem with pets and many people moving to Belize bring their pets with them to live in Belize. 

Here is the info for the BAHA's permit department.

Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA)
Belmopan Showgrounds
Belmopan City
Telephone 501/822-0197
Fax 501/822-3084
Email address  baha@btl.net


4 comments:

  1. Your dogs are beautiful, and yes Benjamin was the star. You are right about how Belizeans view dogs, but things are changing. Many people are now adopting the American view on pets-as a part of the family-and not just as guards.

    When in Belize City you can check out Animal Medical Center for care of your dogs. My sister is the Vet and she is very loving and caring towards her patients. She also sees patients on Caye Caulker Island once a month.

    I enjoyed this post!!

    Linda

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  2. Thanks Linda for stopping by and reading my post, I am glad you enjoyed..They are our beautiful babies.

    That is great to know that your sister is a vet in Belize...and we are glad to know that more and more people in Belize are realizing what great companions animals can be.

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  3. Thank you for this helpful post! We are also going to be bringing our dear furbaby Paisley (a Boston Terrier) with us to Belize. Are you worried about flying your sweeties in cargo? I am hoping to get Paisley into the cabin with us, but she's right on the border on size.

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  4. Thanks Emily..I am glad it was helpful. If they are small enough..they can go in the cabin of the plane. I am worried some, we will probably drive them to Houston and then from there they can get on a plane. It will be a short flight to Belize City from there. I know it will be stressful for them, but I am NOT driving through Mexico.

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