The day after we arrived in Brussels, I had the pleasure of experiencing the first of many bureaucratic moments in Belgium. Since we needed to visit family in Florida and Canada before heading to Brussels and had a flight with multiple stops, we decided it was best if the dogs, one shih tzu and one shih tzu/poodle mix, were shipped to us after our arrival. BIG MISTAKE!!
We left the dogs with my sister in Florida as we had found an airline that had air controlled cargo holds who said they could ship the dogs during the summer. There are restrictions in the states on shipping dogs separately as many cargo planes do not accommodate animals in hot summer months. So step one of the trip, going from New York to Florida, was a smooth transition. We had already had the pets checked out at our vet, made sure all shots were up to date and that the correct microchips were implanted (a requirement in Brussels). We left the dogs and the required paper work from the Belgian Embassy in the care of my sister. Thankfully, she had agreed to care for them until they could be shipped to us.
Then the real adventure began. My sister made flight reservations for August 12th. Even though the dogs had just had a complete check-up and update on shots, they had to have another check-up and booster shots within 10 days of departure. The paper work from this check-up, as well as the required travel documents, had to be sent to the USDA to be approved and signed off. Since there is only one USDA office in Florida, it was a tight squeeze trying to get the check-up and paper work through in ten days. There were a few hic-ups in the process as the vet had not sign off on a certain page. Since all of the paper work was in French or Flemish, and the vet spoke neither language, it is easy to see how she could over look one of the places she needed to sign.
Finally, paperwork in order and flight reservations in hand, my sister headed off to the airport with the dogs. The cost of the flight - $1150! That is as much as flying a person. Had we flown them with us, the cost would have been around $150. What a difference!
Then came the truly fun part - getting them through customs in Belgium. I had a driver who agreed to help drive me and pick up the dogs. (Driving here is a whole new blog post) We arrived at the airline at 7:30, when the dogs were scheduled to arrive and were told we could not get the dogs until 10:00 and that we had to hire an agent to do the paper work. They gave us directions to the agents office and sent us on our way. We had been told by other people who brought in their pets this way that it would only cost around 50 euros if you did the leg work yourself. Hiring an agent cost us another 525 euros ($650)! We left to get the money (they would only accept cash). When we got back to the agents office, he said he would call us when the dogs were cleared. Hours passed, and still no call. It was getting late in the day so I called the agent asking why it was taking so long. Apparently, when the agent tried to get the dogs, the vet gave him all kinds of problems and charged extra because he said the airline had not informed him 24 hours in advance that the dogs were coming. The vet said it bogged down his work and he was too busy to get to the dogs. The agent told us the vet was just sitting around doing nothing all day, but refused to clear the dogs until the end of the day. When the agent finally called back to say the paper work was completed, we stopped at the his office, got the papers and were pointed to the building where the dogs were being held. We headed off to get them
... but ...
the building he had sent us to was a wide open warehouse/hanger with what looked like two small offices, one off to the right with a sign that said customs and the other to the left unmarked. We stopped in one office, and the service people wouldn't even talk to us. The driver tried talking to them in French and Flemish and they acted as if they could not understand a word we said. So we wandered around until we found someone else who was there to pick something up. They pointed us to another office, but of course no one was at the service window, even though we could hear lots of people talking behind walls. Finally, we found a someone who told us we needed to go to yet another office. Though it still took another half hour to get the dogs, at least this third office was the last one we had to visit. After arriving at the airport to get the dogs at 7:30 am, we were finally heading home with them at 4:30 in the afternoon.
Welcome to Belgium!
