Vets, Pets, and USDA for travel to Argentina

So the date and appointment for the pets are confirmed. I visited the my vets office 28 days before D-Day (March 29th) to get all the specifics on what I needed to do.

On March 20th, which is no more than ten days before travel, I'll be taking all four pets to the vet for their health certificates; afterwards, I'll need to take the certificates to the USDA office to be stamped. My vet recommended going the same day if possible just in case there was something that was missing, wise advice I believe. They also had the contact information for the local USDA office handy which saved me some time.

Make sure you call the USDA office well in advance to make an appointment. My vet also expects me on that day as well.

Although at this time of writing, Argentina only requires rabies shots from pets originating in the U.S. which your vet can confirm with the USDA office; I am updating all of their boosters as well. For those of you from other countries, you should be able to check your local Argentine embassy website.

USDA requires no more than one SPECIES per health certificate which means that if you have two cats and two dogs (like us) then you'll only need two certificates - one for the cats and another for the dogs. The cost will be $24.00 per certificate.

Once this process is done I'll just have to find some Valium, but not for the pets...because I'll be stressing so much for them during the flight!

Feel free to email me as usual with any questions.

It's amazing how quickly the days are passing now and while I wish I had more time to prepare, I'm also looking forward to the end of the month!

Chau!

Comments

[moving to argentina]

Mike and Blanca, yes you must get your veterinary health certificate done by your vet no more than 10 days before your flight, and then you must have your USDA office certify that certificate. If you call your local office they will tell you how you can have it done if you are not close to an office. They will stamp everything, including your rabies certificate.

Also, try to get on a flight with Delta if possible because you can carry your pet in the cabin if there is space available (it would be less stressful for your dog because you can bring them with you) but you would have to check this at the time you try to book your flight. Remember there is a pet embargo from mid-May to mid-September on many flights for putting your pet in the luggage compartment.

Feel free to email me directly if you would like.
Laura

[Mike and Blanca]

We will be moving to Argentina in a month and our little 2.4pnd chiquaqua will be coming with us. We just got 2 of the 5 vacinations he will need and we plan on getting the rest in 2 weeks. Are you saying we need to go get those documents stamped by the USDA before leaving? Is there anything else we need to consider?

Thanks,
Mike and Blanca