Bringing Pets to Ecuador (2019): Daisy & Alicia's Excellent Adventure

I'm Amelia and I'm JP and this is Daisy and this is Leisha and we all say hola from Ecuador. Hola from Ecuador. We wanted to share the story about how we got them here to Ecuador because we've had a lot of people asking us questions about transporting our pets, what it's like to have your pets here in Ecuador in Cuenca, if there's places we could take them, talking about how to transport them. Yeah, all sorts of questions. All right, so what do we want to talk about first? We want to talk about how we went through the USDA process to get all the certifications. Well, I think we should. That's kind of how it all starts. Let me get our notes here so we don't forget anything. While JP's looking at notes, I will tell you that the dogs are wondering what in the heck we are doing. Yeah, they're not quite sure what to make of this. Leisha doesn't care because she's happy to be held, but Daisy, she's like, she's down here still. Although she looks like she's about to fall asleep. All right, the best advice we can give you to start out, the very first thing you need to do is to find a USDA accredited veterinarian. Yes. And we'll put a link to their, they have a finder, a little locator on their website. We'll put a link to that in the description and on the blog post as well. You need to find an accredited veterinarian and they'll know how to work with the USDA to ensure all the paperwork is correct and that you get all the shots on the right schedule and because there is a schedule that we didn't really understand. There is a schedule, there's requirements as far as certain vaccines that you have to get and then you have to go to the USDA's office or the APHIS office. APHIS is part of the USDA and get all of that notarized. So it's really important you do your due diligence and check out that website, familiarize yourself, find your vet, give yourself plenty of time. We ended up making, had to go back because we had to get a booster for the Parvo virus. Yeah, we had to go back to the vet and the vet, they filled out all of the paperwork for us and then they actually sent it over to the USDA office for approval before we even had our appointment. Right. So by the time we, because the USDA office was about an hour and a half drive from where we were staying with Amelia's parents in Atlanta and so we didn't, we certainly didn't want to waste a trip. It'd be three hours round trip. So everything was already ready to go when we got there. The timing on the shots is really important. You need to make sure you get that schedule laid out on a calendar because we were late on one of the shots. Was it rabies? I think it was rabies. I think it was rabies and so we actually had to delay our trip to Ecuador by two weeks so that we could get the shot and luckily, I mean for us, not for millions of other people, there was a massive hurricane. Hurricane Irma, one of the biggest in years, delayed, you know, shut down the airports and so we were able to change our flights for that trip without paying any fees. Right. But we already had our flights booked and everything and we couldn't leave. Yeah, we didn't totally understand that. This is Leisha's doggie passport, officially called the Veterinary Health Certificate for Export of Dogs. From the United States to Ecuador. Yes, it's very specific. This paperwork is very important. This is what's filled out by your vet, the accredited vet and the USDA and it's notarized and you have to have that with you at all times. Yes, and if you don't have it, your dog is not getting into the country. Yeah, and they, yeah, go ahead tell them what we saw in Guayaquil. Oh yes, oh my gosh, this poor woman, she was so upset. She was trying desperately to get her dog actually into the United States and she was, she got the timing wrong on one of her vaccines and they were not going to let her on the plane. They would not let her on the plane. Well, her dog on the plane to go back. They would not let her dog on because they said what would happen was then when she got to wherever she was going in the U.S. they would have refused the dog and they would have sent the dog back. We took Leisha first, so we took our dog separately. Leisha, being a little tiny poodle, was able to be carried on so we got a soft side little kennel for her and I was able to put it underneath the seat. She did not like that at all. Not at all. She was like a caged tiger and the vet had given his doggy Xanax and it did not work. It made her worse. It just made her really hyper and fearful and so on, when we got to Miami, the woman behind us told us that we should try Benadryl and so when we went into the Miami airport and got some Benadryl and gave a little half a tiny pill to her and that knocked her out for the trip and she was fine between Miami and Guayaquil. That was a relief. Yeah, it was, man, she was really bad on that short flight from Atlanta to Miami. And that was partially our fault. I've never kenneled her. Yeah, she's never been in a kennel. Yeah, she's not used to that so if you're if you've got time and definitely get your dog adjusted it'll make your life a lot easier and do not assume that this Xanax is gonna cut it. Yeah, so the reason why we took them separately is because we came down here first in September and it was too warm to fly Daisy at that time because Daisy was too big to carry on and the airlines had recently made their policies for support animals more strict and we couldn't get a certificate. Well, we didn't even try. We didn't try. But they had changed the rules to require a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist to basically sign off that she was it was for she's for a legitimate mental health reason and we didn't have that and so we just opted to check her but we couldn't because it was too hot. Yes. And also it's it's important to check that with the airline because the airlines have different requirements for different breeds of dogs, different sizes of dogs like pugs. They don't they don't want to fly pugs even as a carry on and then check dogs they have to be a certain size. The kennel has to be a certain size. They have to be able to turn around in the kennel. There's all kinds of requirements. The kennel has to have a specific type of screws to connect it so I had to order those separately. So we went back three months later in December to get Daisy and it was too cold. I know. There was a freak storm that came in. The temperatures plummeted. We had a blizzard in Atlanta. It was eight inches of snow in Atlanta. We had eight inches of snow in Atlanta and it was too cold for Daisy to fly from Atlanta to Miami and additionally the airplane that they had us booked on from Atlanta to Miami was too small and wouldn't allow a pet carrier. Right. Not one Daisy size. Not one Daisy size. So we had two things that kept us from actually flying from Atlanta to Miami so we rented a car and drove and we called the airline. We had to change the tickets and we told them we just don't want to take the leg from Atlanta to Miami. We just want to keep the other one and we had to keep calling back. Oh they were so unhelpful. Unhelpful and because they wanted to charge us. Yeah they were going to charge us an extra thousand dollars just to not take one of the flights. Yeah. And they said we have to change everything. The whole itinerary. Yeah it was stupid. It was stupid and we finally called back and we got a wonderful woman who was from Quito. I know. And she got us $600 back. Yeah we got travel vouchers. She fixed it all and gave us travel vouchers for $600. So not only did it not cost us more it saved us a bunch of money. She was so nice and understanding and she's a dog lover and she was so happy that we were moving to her country. Oh yeah that was really excited to help us. When we arrived at the Guayaquil airport the first time with Leisha the customs people I don't even think they saw her. They weren't paying any attention. They didn't ask for her doggy passport. We just went on through and on with our lives. That was not the case when we landed in Guayaquil with Daisy. Daisy came off the luggage conveyor belt. We kept Amelia kept around frantically asking. I know I was so stressed. Where do we find Daisy? Where do we find her? And they kept pointing over to where the luggage comes out. We're like where? We don't see where. It never occurred to me that they would have put her on the conveyor belt but they did. And then we as we were frantically searching for her she came out on the conveyor belt and everybody was like oh oh so cute and Daisy was not happy. She was not very happy with us. No she wasn't but we got her off the conveyor belt and we had to go through and they checked all of her paperwork and clippers because they zip tied the kennel shut. Oh right. And so they had clippers for us to get the zip ties off. Yeah and so you had to go in a separate room. It's still in the same area and get all that done. It didn't take that long. No it was only a few minutes. It was pretty quick. Yeah and then we went over and we got a cab and they took us over to this hotel we had reserved. We'd stayed there before and it's a tiny tiny room hotel. Barely big enough for the bed. It's all about convenience. It was close to the airport and only 35 bucks a night. Nice and clean but when Daisy got in there she would not even look at us. Oh my gosh she was mad. I don't think I've ever actually seen her mad like that before. It was funny. I wish we had a picture. I know I wish we had a picture now because she was laying with her back to us and her face in the corner and we like Daisy what's the matter and she gave us the slow motion head turn and man the look on her face. It was like you ripped me away from grandma and grandpa's house for this place. After everything too and getting you know driving to Miami and having to take her into the airport and she was afraid of course. Yeah and we were gosh I was we were both nervous Rex knowing our baby was in the you know the baggage compartment of an airplane and is she afraid? Is she cold? Well it's not really the baggage department the baggage compartment in the airplane. They do put them in a pressurized heat and temperature controlled section. Yeah you're right. Of the air of the underneath of the airplane. But I was still scared. Yeah and it's still you know a lot of people say it's really dangerous to fly. It's actually more dangerous to ride in the car from the airport or to the airport. Your dog is much more likely to die in a car wreck on the way to the airport than in an airplane and there is no other it's the safest way to transport them. Yeah we did remember we looked into an air I'd forgotten we totally looked into an air travel pet service and that was going to cost like three thousand dollars. It was three thousand dollars to get her here. The cost to bring her was like 150 bucks on the airplane. Yeah two hundred dollars something like that. Yeah and it's and they were going to fly her. It's not like they were going to walk her here. They were going to put her on an airplane and fly her. We're like well we don't want somebody her with some stranger. We want her to be with us. Yeah so we just did it on you know did it ourselves. So anyway Edwin picked us up. We got to our house and then as soon as we came in she knew she was home. She did. She was like all was forgiven. So happy she ran around and the whole courtyard the whole house sniffing everything. And of course Leisha was already here so she was you know had Leisha's smell and her sister. She knew she was home and she loves it. Yes. In our rental house tour video we talked about how we had to find a house that would allow a large dog because Daisy at her 30 pounds is considered a large dog here. And so we we talked about that in detail so we're not going to go into that again here. But suffice it to say we did have to find a house that would allow her. Yep keep that in mind. Yep and as far as Cuenca being dog friendly I would say it's very dog friendly. Lots of people have have dogs and they take them everywhere. You can if if you want to take your dog to like the pub or coffee shop any place with a patio pretty much will allow a pet. So we we like to go to Inca. That's one that has a nice patio. Fratello has one. Goza. Lots of places will allow you to bring your dog and some of them even have water bowls out for them. As far as hiking goes we you can hike with them all over town. There are trails along the river. There's parks and you can take take your babies with you on any of those places. The national parks don't allow pets at least not the ones that we've been to and that's mainly because there's so much wildlife that you know it's the same in the states. Like you can't take your dog to Rocky Mountain National Park. Right exactly. So one of our subscribers asked why Leisha doesn't go for walks. Well let me tell you. Leisha is 17 years old. I adopted her when she was eight. She was a puppy mill dog that was used as a breeder dog and she never was least least trained and she just didn't really like going for a walk and I would try her to walk her and she'd go for a couple steps and as soon as she figured out what was happening she would just put on her little brakes and all four legs would go out and you know this little nine pound dog can be pretty strong. So I just gave up. And then she would eventually just go all four out like that and so you'd be dragging her like a rug. Yeah I would end up carrying her. Neither of us wanted to do that and she doesn't want to go. She just doesn't want to go. She wants to stay home. She's old and tired and she's content being carried or held. Probably just held. And Daisy doesn't go on a lot of walks with us anymore because she's 13 and she just can't go for very far anymore unfortunately. So we we don't take her on our longer walks but we walk her every day around our neighborhood and along the river sometimes. Yep and they get their play dates. As far as dog parks go, we haven't heard or seen a single dog park in Ecuador. I don't think they have the traditional dog parks that we think about when we are in the United States. I did see a thing in Gringo Post that Parque Paraiso was voted the best dog park. The thing is most people here they keep their dogs off leash. They don't have leash laws in Ecuador or at least in Cuenca. And like you were saying JP, where we had Maxi's birthday party. Isn't that the area? Yeah the island. Yeah there's an island in Parque Paraiso with two bridges on and off of it. And so a lot of people take their dogs there and let them off leash to run because the only way out off the island is across the bridge unless they're swimmers. If you have a water dog there's lots of ducks and geese then they might have a ball. Maybe too much fun. So that's a good place to go if you want to take your dog off leash and they're well behaved and come back to you. Daisy is a flight risk. The only time I took her off the leash she ran all the way home through traffic and everything just at full speed. We couldn't even catch her. As far as transporting your animals here in Ecuador a lot of the cabs will transport dogs. You can just wave them down and if they stop they'll take them and if they don't they won't stop. Right exactly. Yeah we haven't we couldn't find anything about taking them on buses. I doubt that you could take them on a bus though but I don't know. Edwin takes dogs. Jessica our groomer and doggy sitter comes and picks the dogs up and drops them off for us and a lot of people do offer that type of service. We're going to record another video talking about our vet here which is Cuenca Animal Clinic. If you need a vet they're fantastic. They speak English and they love animals. Maxi's Pet Care. You met Jessica in the Maxi's birthday party video. She does our grooming and our doggy sitting when we're gone. The girls love her. Yeah and we'll put this links to all their information in the description below but we're going to talk about them in more detail and do some interviews with them in a future video. Yeah. If you have any more questions about pets here or bringing them here or living with them here just let us know and we'll hopefully be able to answer that in that video. Hopefully so. Yes. Is that it? I think that's good. My back's killing me sitting here so we gotta go. Leisha and I are quite content. I know they're happy. All right thank you again for watching and please remember to subscribe and ring that bell so you notified of our future videos and we'll see you next time. Thank you. Ciao. Ciao. Say ciao Leisha.