The incredible pet passport

• bentehaarstad
Hundepass, pet passport in Norway.

Hundepass, pet passport in Norway.

My dog needs his own passport if we are visiting the nearest town in Sweden, which takes a 1-2 hours drive. Not only a pet passport, by the way. We also have to go to the veterinary to get a prescription. Drive to the pharmacy to buy the medicine, then back to the vet, because he or she has to witness the dog getting the pills. Otherwise the dog will not get the confirmation needed in his passport to legally get back to Norway. Withour this paperwork I would have to leave him behind when I go home. The reason: a parasite, Echinococcus multilocularis, detected on a fox or two in Southers Sweden a few years ago.

left_alone_cw

I usually stay just an hour or so when I visitt this small town in Sweden. So most of the time I can leave the dog behind when I og to Sweden, since it takes so much fuss and so many expences to bring him with me. But these days I must say I feel kind of betrayed with all these regulations concerning my dog. Because at the same time any person, from almost any country in the Middle East, Northern Africa and beyond can just cross the border without any ID, without any medicinal requirements at all, and in any kind of numbers.

There are now new borders restrictions, making it harder to cross, maybe by the day. Now some migrants are even returned to their home countries. And there are some medical examination even for asylum seekers, like tuberculosis screening (about 50 cases detected this year). But all in all, I find it hard to believe that there have to be all this strict rules for a dog crossing the border just for a moment, but for thousands of people from faraway countries that intend to stay, there is almost no such things. Even if their intent is to stay, and probably don’t cross the border just for a visit. As I wrote about a couple of days ago.

Some more dog photos if interested on this link.

Going to Sweden.

Going to Sweden.

42 thoughts on “The incredible pet passport”

  3. A pet passport! Here we don’t have that, but we need a lot of paperwork to take a dog into Mexico and be able to bring her back. I,have a friend wh lives in my house, so I just leave y dog here with her when I travel. It is so much easier (and she is not a very good dog!).

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    1. We had quarantine rules before, Yoshizen, before we got connected to the European Union and the Schengen. Norway, Sweden and UK were the only (I believe) countries in Europe without rabies, and it was no problem to go to Sweden from here. Then we got open borders, and this new parasite. The parasite is serious of course, and when will we get rabies? I am a bit irritated because I guess many travellers don’t know our pet health situation (which is very good), and some maybe don’t care. And also because all that fuss for a dog that maybe don’t even leave the car the hour I am there, but people from all ove rthe wolrd can just march in, no fuss at all. But this last situation is changing now. By the way, our pet passport and these rules also goes for cats and polecat.

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  6. Hi Bente, it does seem ridiculous really. I hope your dog does travel safe with you, and that you have a good trip with more adventures.

    ps – as you know this is a point of contention for me, that is why in our area I fight and work hard to have these types of things changed, hence TITERS in our city now…

    Happy Holidays to you my friend! Nancy

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    1. I guess you know a lot about these things in the IS, Nancy, where it maybe is more complicated? I in fact, I both find these new rules ridicilous (as long as you don’t stay a long time in Southern Sweden or another country), and at the same time I wish we had the old rules: free to go to Sweden with your dog, and, but very hard to travel to other countries. We had quarantine rules before, before we got connected to the European Union and Schengen. Norway, Sweden and UK were the only (I believe) countries in Europe without rabies, Then we got open borders, and this new parasite. The parasite is serious of course, and when will we get rabies? I am a bit irritated because I guess many travellers don’t know our pet health situation (which is very good), and some maybe don’t care. And also because all that fuss for a dog that maybe don’t even leave the car the hour I am there. By the way, our pet passport and these rules also goes for cats and polecat.

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  7. If we leave the country, we have to have papers showing the dog’s ownership and the medical history and an up-to-date (once a year) record of vaccinations for rabies and anything else that may be going around (but mainly they’re concerned about rabies). You have even stricter rules it seems, for more recent vet visits. It’s ironic that you have such strict pet regulations while almost anything goes for a new immigrant. There are no common sense rules anymore!

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    1. Our pet passport also shows his medical history, but as it is we don’t have rabies yet. These new rules are very strict. The dog have to get his pills within 24 to 120 hours before entering or reentering Norway, and the exact time must be in his passport. You are right, I see all these regulations, which in my case have absolutely no effects, as very odd these days. Even if I agree with rules in this respect, I don’t think they are there when we needs them. Thank you Anneli.

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  8. Yes, its amazing what pets have to go through to move between countries. But I have to say your dog is absolutely gorgeous and your photo really shows that wonderful personality.

    I think I read somewhere that animals have to be quarantined for many weeks to get into Australia (and certainly have to have several inoculations/disease checks).

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    1. I guess there are very strickt rules for taking a pet to Australia, since it can be hard enough to bring a cheese. 😉 Because they are very careful not to get new diseases. As I understand very well. Thank you for beeing so kind, Vicki.

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  10. I never heard about pet passport until my cousin and her husband moved from Brussels to Birmingham, UK, a few years ago. Their cat’s name is Jacques, and he has my cousin’s husband’s surname now. 🙂 Anyway, concerning the crisis, I believe there’s a better way to handle this problem, as you said.

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  12. About pet passport I don’t have any idea… But we have too. Your dog is so lovely and so adorable… how looking at you, as if asking, am I coming with you? It seemed to me too, strange and interesting, what you made an important point, about the rules, crossing, entert of dogs and people. Have a nice and enjoyable time, Thank you, love, nia

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  14. What a beautiful dog. I can understand not wanting to leave him behind. When I travel, I leave my cat at home, rather than putting her in a kennel (or “pet hotel,” as they’re sometimes called). Then, I have a person come in to tend to her. If she were to stay in any sort of facility, she would have to have up-to-date vaccinations, but that’s understandable. So many animals together could easily pass diseases among themselves.

    But to cross borders is complicated. I understand the health concerns, of course — even for people. When my grandparents came to this country from Sweden, both had to spend some time in a quarantine station, until receiving a health clearance. Today, new diseases are crossing our borders, and old diseases that have been controlled or eradicated. The answer, of course, is reasonable regulations for both humans and animals.

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  15. Have you tried classifying him as a refugee? Yes, I kid. Some places, however, have similar rules even for plants. I have a Bonzai tree/plant that I purchased in Hawaii in the 1990’s . . . if I wanted to move to Hawaii, I have to leave the plant behind . . . even if it originally came from there. I don’t know if I can get a passport for it.

    The disease thing is going to be interesting since there are different strains of diseases affecting different parts of the world. We’ve already seen some diseases travel easily around the world but, as you say, many of the immigrants/refugees don’t go through health screening. We see that here with the people who cross the southern border coming up from South America.

    As usual, nothing will ever get done until something bad happens (as we are beginning to see in Europe right now).

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  16. We’ve been crossing to France from the UK with our dogs for the last 6 years and going to the vet before returning home has become part of the travelling routine. In France, the vet gives you the tablet, you don’t have to go to the pharmacy.

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  23. Travel with dogs its not easy. I had to take for 6 months my dog waiting after blood test to get the permission to go to Norge for the summer. It was because of rabie was long time ago in Spain. But once we prepared the trip with time, we had a greit sommer in Sjoa

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  24. With things like this I always wonder if it is truly concern for the animals or just about money for the government. Oh well, we do what they tell us. Have a nice visit.

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  26. He is a real cutie (or is it a she?) I hid my dog once in a cabinet inside my van when crossing the Canadian border. But he was just a little thing. I didn’t have any vaccination records for him. I don’t know why a dog would need an actual passport, as opposed to just vet records.

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  30. It’s exactly the same for our dog travelling from Germany to the U.K, we have to take him to the vet to every time so the vet sees that he’s eaten the pills but that’s not enough apparently, because the vet feels it necessary to feed it to him himself. Our dog definitely doesn’t appreciate a random man sticking his fingers down his throat. All for a week in Germany to see grandparents.

    Great photos by the way, and your dog is very beautiful!

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    1. Thank you. I can’t understand why a vet needs to stick fingers down a dogs throat to be sure about the medication, but I absolutely agree with the strickt rules. Norway, Sweden and UK used to be countries with closed borders for pets, not to harass dog owners, but because these countries didn’t have dangerous animal sicknes, like rabies. The borders opened, and even with some rules, different new dangers are comming. Southern Sweden have seen two new ones lately, and it is so sad.

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      1. It is quite frustrating but I do agree with it in the long run, as it prevents some very scary diseases, very sad that they’re spreading, but hopefully rabies will never get to the U.K, Sweden, Norway etc.

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