arts & cultural experiences
Spike playing with my shoe about 3 weeks after I found him- you can see how scraggly he looks!
Bringing Spikey
One fine day, an almost completely hairless, funny looking and starving ten week-old puppy came up to me, sat down, wagged his pathetic tail and adopted me. What could I do? Since I was not allowed to keep a dog in my apartment, I found a home for him with Cara and Adam Bradbury, two MAK 15 PCV’ s who could keep him. They already had a dog in the States, so I promised to take the pup home with me when I left. If you have a pet you’ re planning on taking home, here are some things I learned.
Crates: Airlines have requirements for crates that can be found on its website. Generally, crates should meet IATA guidelines. Cara and Adam had found a crate that was pretty good, but even it needed some alterations, like having steel fittings and ventilation holes on all four sides. Several months before I left I ordered a travel kit from the Dry Fur website which included labels for the crate, pads to soak up any urine, address labels, steel fittings, etc. The kit cost me about $ 35, but shipping cost $ 39, so if possible, find someone to bring the crate accessories to MK for you. It’ s not very big or heavy. Truth be told, I flew back on Turkish Air and they didn’ t seem to be overly
worried about whether the crate met standards, although I would do it again, just for my peace of mind!
Veterinarian care: Vets in MK are used to preparing animals for entry into the EU, and the EU is much tougher than the States. The US requires a current rabies vaccination and that’ s about it. The first vet I went to vaccinated Spike and gave him a passport, and then a day before I left Gostivar, I had a vet there issue him a certificate of health.( I only connected with the Gostivar vet right before I left. When I had him neutered and vaccinated, I took him to Skopje via the train). When I brought Spike through immigration and customs in New York, the agent gave me a hard time because on my declarations form, I had checked the box declaring that I hadn’ t been in contact with any animals, yet I clearly had a dog. The agent gave Spike and all his hard earned paperwork a cursory glance, and waved us through.
Flying and Peace Corps: If you are taking a pet to the U. S., you must take cash in lieu from the Peace Corps to guarantee that you will be on an airplane that allows pets. That worked out fine for me. I asked
22 – Pauza Magazine