Chile Forum

Your comment about dogs led me to ask this question. How can i get my dog there. Clyde is a very healthy 11 year old lab. He is such a part of the family that I cannot see leaving him at home (esp. knowing that we could well stay past his life expectancy). He is a calm, sweet and smart dog. He tolerates childish pulls and tugs and pokes, being used as a chair and being fed by small fingers. The only thing he doe not tolerate is thunder and being caged while left alone. I cannot fly him down, the banana boats (freighters) I have checked with have said no pets. Surely there are other options. I refuse to give up until every angle has been exhausted. Anyone with ideas? Thanks...

are you crazy?
what's sane these days anyway?

Hi Berry,

You could try doing a Google search for Pet Carriers International (not a specific company, but a general category). Most of them put the animals in cargo, but there might be one which doesn't. But it would most likely be pricey.

I missed why he can,t fly?

He never has flown and he HATES...let me repeat that ...he HATES to be caged and left alone. I am actually afraid he could easily injure himself trying to get out of the cage (ie. break teeth, tear off nails etc...). Additionally I don't think he can be drugged with something that will last 12 hours and not kill him right off the bat. I am checking with the vet.

Berry

Hola,
Definitely not crazy!
You can always go back if things dont work out and you will have experienced something special and uncommon.
Your kids will benefit immensely either way.
Having said that I think integrating kids can be fairly challenging and stressful at first. They will obviously be a little apprehensive to make friends with the language barrier acting as a deterrent.
When we first arrived we hired a nanny/housekeeper to help out while we sorted out housing, taxes, internet, bills, etc. It was possibly the best move we made as she was one of those rare angels who absolutely adored kids and played all day long with our then 2 year old. She also never stopped talking so our son picked up Spanish very quickly as he didnt want to be left behind.
Good luck and if you make it as far south as Puerto Natales would be happy to show you around.

Ps

Berry wrote:He never has flown and he HATES...let me repeat that ...he HATES to be caged and left alone. I am actually afraid he could easily injure himself trying to get out of the cage (ie. break teeth, tear off nails etc...). Additionally I don't think he can be drugged with something that will last 12 hours and not kill him right off the bat. I am checking with the vet.

Berry

Max says to tell you that it was very easy for his owners to fill out the paperwork (details are in another thread here on the forum) and for him to fly in the cargo hold of the commercial airplane from Panama to Chile. But he also wants to tell you that there are certain times of the year when - because of cold weather - he would not be allowed. Check with your airline. It was easier for him to pass through "immigration and customs" than his owners. It was very, very scary, and although he was sedated, he was absolutely nuts by the time he got his first breath of Chilean air.

Vicki