BootsnAll Travel Community

So I'm heading to CA in November with a campervan, my fiance (who will then be hubby) and my dog. I've read the posts about not bringing the dog, but it didn't sound like any of the naysayers had driven the trip with a pooch, just had opinions (appreciated opinions, nonetheless). Has anyone actually taken Fido to CA other than the authors of "99 Days to Panama"? I'd love to hear from ya! Thanks....

We did not drive down here to Costa Rica with our 2 ageing dogs - we flew. So I do not have that experience to share.

But as you probably heard - dogs are not viewed the same way they are in most of North America. CR has 10's of thousands of street dogs, On any given drive to San Jose for instance (35 miles) I can count 5 - 15 corpses on the side of the roads. A very hard thing for me to see . . .

Our dogs are confined to our property and are NEVER off leash outside of that. I say bring your dogs but mind them carefully. As you probably will if you are even asking this question!

Health care is another thing to think about. We had ours treated for everything the vet could think of before we came but we still came close to losing one to some mystery skin problem. We almost lost the same dog due to an encounter with a cane toad. A very large poisonous toad - an "invader" species to CR. He was just curious and had not learned that it was dangerous - nor had we!! It's always they things you don't expect.

Be aware, be careful, be responsible and I am sure you will all have a good time.

I meant to add - my opinion is particular to CR but I've done extensive travel throughout the region and I believe that what I say can be useful to inform your opinion and help you make up your mind.

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty worried about my dog - she's my baby...she's also 12 years old. But every year I leave her with my sister while I travel the world for 4 months and I really wanted to do something that I could bring her along. She gets terrible separation anxiety which makes me feel like shit.

She is a great traveler, though - she's been to all 50 states! But I would absolutely die if something happened to her because I took her down with us.

Sigh. Big decision....Thanks for the input!

Yes. Personal pets are treated differently than street dogs, marginally.

Its extremely necessary to make sure the dog has a both a collar and a tag at all times, and is never let loose. Little children and adults, both, like to throw stones at loose dogs if they dont walk over and give them a good swift kick.

Another practice you have to watch out for, common in Guatemala at least, is that there are few days a year known to the 'natives' where poisoned bait is put out, killing many of the wild dogs that normally breed like well, wild animals.

So, makes sure to have a few friends to tell you those days so you ENSURE that the dog doesn't get out in those days.

So, you probably can take him, if you keep a close watch and never let him off a leash.

Bringing a dog down here is a crap shoot. It just depends upon who is on the border when you try to cross with your dog.

Most countries in Central America have very strict regulations for bringing in a dog or cat. Sometimes they are enforced very strictly. I have heard of animals being put in a 6 week quarantine. At other times the border guards are only looking for a bribe.

We had one friend who jumped through all the hoops in the law to bring her dog into Guatemala in her truck. When she crossed the border no one even asked for her papers. We have another friend who travels with her Rottweiler sitting up in the passenger seat and says that guards just wave her through when they see the dog.

Personally, I would not take my dogs, as there is no way I would leave them in a Central American impound if the wrong officer was working at the border that day.

juan3 makes some really good points ! At border crossings lots of things can go wrong for you. You can elect to continue if they want to quarantine your dog or you can refuse and try again later or on a different day.

I also would never leave my dog in a CA officials "care'. Opens up some interesting questions for you regarding your schedule.

As for "jumping through hoops" I had to laugh. We did the same thing, in Texas, for our 2 furry friends. Cost a fortune for all the certs. In San Jose, CR, nobody even looked at a single document. They were all 2 busy admiring our Border Collie!! Waved us right on through . . .

Thanks for your advice - both of you. I wasn't even actually thinking about the border crossings! I was thinking about the bugs and skin diseases and stuff. I know some people that drive from San Diego down the Baja and take their dogs with no problems, but Central America is different - Baja is like a mini-US to me.

So, I think we're going to try it and if all else fails, we'll drive back up and try something else!

Again, thanks for the input!

We will taking our dog with us on our bikes when we cycle Central and South America and have been researching it quite a bit. From what we've heard, the border crossings shouldn't be a problem. We will make sure we have the appropriate papers, but we've never heard of people who actually needed them. There is a guy in Mexico right now with his dog on his bike and he seems to be doing well - we'll be keeping in contact with him to see if he has any issues. So - I think you should be just fine! Have fun!

Requirements for bringing dogs into Belize are online at http://www.baha.bz/animal_health.html. Cane toads (or 'poison toads' in Belize) are nasty creatures.. We lost one dog to a poison toad and very nearly lost a second, although we haven't seen any toads for a couple of years now.

Oooh, interesting you'll be traveling with your dog on bikes!!!! what kind of dog and how are you hauling her/him? My fiance and I were going to bike from AK to the lower 48 with our dog but couldn't quite find a carrier to house her (Lord knows she couldn't run that far). Any info you could send me on people who have actually taken their dogs overland through CA would be greatly appreciated or whatever info you've gathered for your own research for that matter. globalhobo@msn.com... Thanks Leah