Travelling With Our Best Friend

In previous entries I have written about the requirements for sailing on a non-EU registered boat in Italy and Greece. This includes applying for and updating a travel log while sailing in each country. The process has been a bit exasperating at times, but doable. The frustration mainly comes from having to walk from one office to another in the heat, usually about one kilometre each way, and dealing with opening hours that are unpredictable and agents who seem to be uncertain about the requirements. For the most part, however, the port police, capitainerie du porto, and customs officials have been very friendly (but usually appear quite gruff and serious at first). One thing that both Neil and I feel has helped smooth the way is the presence of Finnegan. In every office we enter, the agents are all "official business" at first, but then part of the way through the process they, sometimes shyly, ask what his name is or if they can pet him. Finnegan, being hot and tired from the walk over, usually responds in a rather aloof manner. They probably do not notice it, but I do. He is certainly not his most friendly self, but it is enough to generate a bit of conversation and to receive best wishes on our journey.

Finnegan and I in Agropoli, Italy with the marina in the background

In order to bring Finnegan along, there has been oodles of paperwork. It all begins in Canada with the Canadian Food and Drug Administration’s (CFDA) seven page “Non-commercial movement of five or less dogs, cat or ferrets” form to be filled out, stamped and signed by his veterinarian, no more than four days before leaving the country. Rabies vaccination is required, of course, but some countries like Turkey do not recognize the three year rabies vaccine used in Canada, so we get Finnegan another shot so that he is within the acceptable one year time limit. The vet also provides us with his external parasite medication for fleas and ticks, which the vet must administer to be “officially” entered on the form. This paperwork is then taken to the office of the CFDA for official stamps and signatures (and the required fees, of course!). At the airport in Montreal, this paperwork is all “officially” reviewed before we are permitted to check Finnegan in for the flight. It is then to be “officially” checked, signed and stamped upon arrival in Marseille.

Upon arrival in Marseille, we try to do just that! At the customs kiosk where we get our passports stamped, I mention that we are travelling with a dog and I have his paperwork to be signed. The agent waves me away saying she does not need to see it. Okay, I think, was this not supposed to be all official? We retrieve the dog and make our way past the second customs desk (where there is no one present) and I wait until the agent in the back office reluctantly comes forward to see what this irritating traveller may want. I explain that I need to have my dog's paperwork signed to show that he has “officially” entered the EU since we will be traveling further in the EU and then on to Turkey by boat. I really do not want further problems along the way. The agent obviously has not seen this type of paperwork before and even though it is in both English and French, he does not know what to do, so he gets his supervisor to come out. After I explain it all to him again, he says he will not sign the Canadian documents in the space provided because he is not a veterinarian and they do not have one in the airport (it is just a small airport after all). I am politely insistent that I do require some documentation to show the dog entered the country legally (because I do not want problems further along our journey) and the agent asks me to wait as he proceeds to search through filing cabinets in the back office. After a short time, he emerges with a form that will basically serve the purpose and he fills it out, checks that Finnegan’s microchip is active and signs and stamps it “officially”. I thank him profusely. We are good to go!!!

Once we are settled in France, my plan is to seek out a vet to obtain an EU pet passport (yes, they exist!) so that we can “officially” track our journey because the rules for Turkey appear to be more strict than those in the EU, at least according to the official Turkish government website. I do not seek out the vet, mainly because we have too many other things to organize and it completely slips my mind. Of course, panic then sets in when I realize my error, so I scan website after website to ensure that my understanding of the requirements for Turkey are correct. They appear to be so. My next plan of action then is to have Finnegan see a vet in Italy 30 days prior to entry into Turkey so that we can obtain the required “titer” test to prove that Finnegan carries the rabies antibody. All the information I read states that the dog may be subject to 21 days quarantine if the requirements are not met. Since this is the last thing I want to happen, I must find a place to secure the test. Scouring the web leads me eventually to a “verterinario” in a place called Agropoli, which is just east of the Amalfi coast. I try repeatedly to call for an appointment, but the office is not going to be open until the following Monday (May 20th), so I have to wait anxiously until then.

In Agropoli, we embark on the 25 minute walk to see the vet at the private (not government) clinic and they are super friendly, willing to see us even though we do not have an appointment and they are clearly very busy. The vet who speaks English spends about an hour on our case and is able to provide an internal parasite test, vaccinations for the four diseases (required for Turkey), and to give him his flea and tick medication for me (so that it is “official”). They can do the titer test, but do not have a way to send it to the government lab because the blood sample has to be kept cold. The suggestion they have is that I find a way to send it. One would think this would be easy, but after about an hour frantically searching the web and the various shipping companies, no good option emerges. In the meantime, I am directed to the government vet office (thankfully just a 10 minute walk away - it is extremely hot out for May!) where I am told I will be able to secure the EU pet passport. Once the building has been located and after walking into two or three offices to see if I am in the right one (I am not), I am directed to the fourth floor where I walk into yet another office and this time I am successful, and yes, Finnegan is in tow. Neil is not as he has to walk back to the port police to “officially” check us out of the port. 

The government veterinarian, Carmela, could not be more helpful. She immediately begins the process for the passport and we can communicate quite well with a little help from Google Translate. I then must walk 20 minutes to the post office (yes, in the stinking heat) and pay for the passport (54 euro) and then walk back again to the office where she has assured me she will be waiting so that we can continue the process. So, I do all that, but I get back to the office and her assistant tells me Carmela has left for lunch and to come back in the morning by 8:30 to finish it up. What can I do? I reluctantly agree.

Walking back towards the port, we meet up with Neil who informs me that this will not work because we are leaving at 7 a.m. I am so close to getting the passport, but still no progress on the shipping for the titer test. Sigh! I suggest we just go back to the government office and wait until she is back from lunch, so this is what we do. Her assistant tells us Carmela will be back in 30 minutes. She is not. After another 5 minutes, a different vet asks us if she can help us and she does, finishing the passport. Carmela returns and we begin the discussion again for the titer test and my dilemma over the shipping. A company will not allow me to ship blood for medical purposes unless I am a company, like a medical facility. After what feels like an eternity and many phone calls to I don’t know who, they agree that they can take the required blood sample and have it sent to the lab in Milan for me. Thank goodness! Poor Finnegan is exhausted by now, but he is a trooper and has his front leg shaved and a sample taken with nothing more than a little yelp. He really is the perfect puppy! Finnegan is given a nice treat when we are finished. I am given a form for paying the fee of nine euro for the blood test. Yes, nine euro! In Canada, I would have probably had to pay at least $100. Also, the private vet charges me only 50 euro for the parasite test, vaccines for 4 diseases, and a wellness check. Again, in Canada this would be much more expensive. 

Official Pet Passport

Even though this entire process has taken us four hours with a lot of walking back and forth in the heat, the vets are extremely helpful and go out of their way to be of assistance to us and we are not even Italian tax payers! We are grateful to say the least. So, passport in hand, titer test in process, things are looking good for our eventual entry into Turkey at the end of June. 

True to their word, I have the titer test results within the 20 days promised and I receive them by email after a payment of 54 euro. Finnegan has the necessary rabies antibody in his system, as expected. The last remaining piece, according to the “official” Turkish government site is to have a vet perform a “wellness” check no more than 48 hours prior to entry into Turkey and have this “officially” entered into this passport. So, this is what we do before we leave Kos, our last port in Greece.

On June 25th, I call the veterinarian in Kos (there are three on the island and I choose the one with the best Google reviews) and they tell me to come any day between 5 and 7 p.m., no appointment needed. The next day we are at the office as it is opening for the evening hours. The veterinarian has not yet arrived, so we wait patiently, again in the heat. He is there in short order and the receptionist explains what is needed. With barely a glance at Finnegan, he signs the passport and wishes us a safe journey. No payment required! Everything is now finally in order! On to Turkey and hopefully no quarantine needed. 

On June 27th, we enter Turkish waters at the port in Bodrum. With our hired agent, Ozgur, waiting at the customs dock, we tie up the boat and wait until we are requested to enter the building. We have the boat documents, our personal passports, and Finnegan’s paperwork in hand. Ozgur comes out to get us and we proceed to disembark from the boat with the dog. He tells us not to bring the dog or his paperwork. We are a bit confused, so ask him to clarify. Apparently they do not want to see the dog or his “official” documents.  So we leave Finnegan in the boat below, much to his dismay, and go into the customs office where we and the boat are welcomed into Turkey for the next 90 days. 

Back on the boat we ask Ozgur why they do not need to see the dog’s paperwork. He shrugs and explains that they have rules and they expect you to follow the rules. If there is a problem further down the road (or bay) then you make sure you have the proof that you have followed the rules. 

So, all that running around and a file full of “officially” stamped and signed documents for no one to see. I must say I am a little disappointed that no one will “officially” appreciate that I have everything in order. Sigh!

In the end, it is all worth it to have Finnegan along on the journey with us. I couldn't have it any other way : )

We anchored beside Bodrum Castle