Travels with Asuna Part 5

Back to John this week, in an exciting play-by-play of getting Asuna ready to go to France with us:

It occurred to me the other day that when we first took a European trip (the Netherlands) as a married couple, we had a baby, our youngest, in tow; and now, decades later, it’s happening again. We are going to France, and we’re bringing our baby. Our canine baby, that is. Asuna is set to get on a plane!

(*Note from Stephanie: The human baby was actually a lot less complicated. We had to get him a baby passport, but that was about it. He was nestled peacefully in his carseat beside me and slept the whole way. Ah, blissful memories. It was also the one and only time he ever slept for us on a plane, but that’s a whole other story).

This has been the plan since last summer, and we took a big step forward this past Monday. We had our crucial official visit with the veterinary practice we are using for this situation: Hillcrest Animal Hospital in Little Rock, a practice I wrote about last time. On Monday, Asuna was not only checked over again by the doctor there, but we met with Jillian, the staff member who handles all international travel situations. I have talked with Jillian several times on the phone, so it was nice to finally put a face to a voice. She’s the one who fills out the form and submits it electronically to the USDA. The USDA is then supposed to review it, approve it, and send it back to them as a hard copy via overnight mail. Then it’s up to the client (us) to drive down to Little Rock, pick up the hard copy, and make sure to bring it with them to the airport.

There’s obviously a frightfully tight turnaround on these forms, but that is in the nature of the regulations. The official vet visit cannot happen any earlier than ten days prior to your arriving in-country. As I reported previously, we were debating between an appointment on April 25–thus giving the USDA the most time possible; and one on the 28th–which provides us wiggle room if the flight is delayed by a day or two. Jilllian felt strongly that the 28th was the more sensible date, that the USDA should be able to get the form back to us in the timeframe required. And she ought to know. She previously had communicated with the practice where Asuna gets vaccinated–the Companions Clinic in Springhill, Arkansas–to have them submit a Vaccine Certificate, which proves Asuna is current on her required shots. This must accompany the International Travel form when it goes to the USDA. Thankfully, Companions Clinic sent Jillian the certificate in short order. What came next was Monday’s visit.

We provided our destination address in Quillan–our new French home away from home!--and Jillian did a scan with her pet chip reader, because the exact number of Asuna’s chip must be added to the Vaccination Certificate. After getting Asuna’s chip number and our French address, and discussing when we should expect the form to come back, we were done with the appointment. Surprisingly, no other vaccinations were required. We were in and out of Hillcrest Animal Hospital in a mere half-hour.

Then, what a miracle to get a happy call from Jillian the very next day that our form had been approved and it would get back to them by Wednesday. Wow! Thursday morning, a mere three days after the appointment, we scooted down to Little Rock and picked up our treasured, government-approved form. Whew!

Now for the other hurdles . . .

When we get to the airport this weekend, Asuna will need to be inside an airline approved crate, which we’ve already ordered and assembled. The airline does not want her to eat on the day of the flight, which sounds a bit extreme, I know, but Air France does not want to have to deal with dog poop or vomit. I don’t blame them. (We are told they do give them water during the flight.) Also, even though her pet chip information was submitted with her forms, at the advice of the doctor at Hillcrest, we ordered a home pet chip scanner, as I mentioned in my previous Asuna write-up. The idea here is that despite having the required USDA travel form, at the airport (either one) they will likely want to scan her to make sure she is chipped. Just in case the airport scanner doesn’t pick up her chip, you want to have a scanner available that does.

It took us two tries to find a scanner that worked. We went first for one of the cheaper options on Amazon. A mere $30. It should have worked fine, based on the product description. But what it did was labor for a while and then tell us “No Chip Detected.” So much for the $30 option. So what we ended up doing is purchasing the $80 Pocket Hero scanner. We found it recommended in a “Best Pet Chip Scanners” article, and indeed it worked like a charm. Turned it on, held it over Asuna, and it immediately provided a readout of her number. Hallelujah!

So, in short, dear reader, as of this writing we are all set as far as Asuna goes. On Saturday, we are off to Dallas; then, Sunday morning, to Dallas-Fort Worth International; and then, many hours later, to our lovely abode in Quillan, accompanied by our baby.

Stephanie: We’ll let you know how it goes, of course. We’re doing our best to make Asuna as comfortable as possible, with a small blanket in the crate and a many-times slept-in t-shirt of John’s in there as well, all according to regulation. Send us good traveling vibes!