Part 1 (written during flight from Houston to Guadalajara, Tuesday morning)
Zoey and I are on Continental flight 634 to Guadalajara. We are in different compartments of the plane. She is somewhere below in baggage – I saw staff boarding her just minutes before we took off. I am chatting with two restaurant managers who work for the Chuy’s restaurant chain – the woman next to me, Ashley, lives in Austin; the man on her left is the head of operations (I told them I long for my days of drinking Chuy’s margaritas in Austin!). They are part of a group visiting Guadalajara to familiarize themselves with tequila country! When I dropped Zoey off at 6am this morning, I realized I wasn't too upset that my flight on Mexicana had been canceled in late August (due to bankruptcy) because I ended up finding a more pet-friendly airline in the end. I finally chose Continental to bring Zoey back with me to Mexico from Illinois. Continental impressed me with their good behavior. First off, every time I called “Pet Safe” to get information, someone picked up the phone. Whenever I called, they answered each of my logistical questions, often giving me more information than I needed (i.e. worse case scenarios). When I went into Cargo yesterday to check on the size of the crate, they came out to the car to help me. Finally, when we arrived today, there was a full team of people prepared to check her in. They took care of taping her zip-locked bags of food to her crate, and filled her bowl with ice (because it melts and doesn’t jostle around during transport). Big bonus, when I asked whether there was a chance that Zoey wouldn’t make it onto the same flight as me (which was the worst case scenario), the woman working there assured me that she would definitely make it. The flight’s short, so we arrive in just 20 minutes.
Part 2 (written three days later)
I was grateful my friend S came to the airport to help navigate customs bureaucracy and keep me calm. Between our arrival at the Guadalajara airport at 11:20 and departure from there at 7:30, when Zoey was finally “liberated” (liberada) from the Customs warehouse (el almacén de la Aduana), we benefited from this complicated and annoying situation by learning important vocabulary for navigating customs (and often relied on the old standby, empathy and kindness to people who are trying help you out).
After fumbling around different warehouses, we stumbled upon Ricardo, who has worked at Continental for almost 30 years and helped us throughout the entire tramite (process, procedure, formality, step). Ricardo explained that customs procedures recently became more rigid, with the government stepping up its promise to make sure arms weren’t smuggled into the country (most guns here come from the US). While Zoey sat in her crate (jaula) on a pallet in a nearby warehouse, Ricardo drew an organizational diagram explaining what ought to be my tramite if I wanted to emancipate Zoey from puppy jail that day.
1) Find Lizet in the Sala Internacional, who would help me return to customs in the airport to redo the declaration form an employee had helped me fill out for the three computers I’d brought into the country – two for me, one for my friend S (I paid about $50 in taxes for the extra computer, but the customs agent had not declared the “live animal” I had also brought in…and declared on an earlier form).
2) Go to the SAGARPA office (sorta equivalent to USDA) to fill out the Registro Fitosanitario to declare my pet’s good health, along with other forms like the rabies vaccination certificate and general health certificate I had brought from the Animal Medical Center in Macomb.
3) Go to the Aduana or customs warehouse just outside the airport to get Zoey, and speak with Edith A. if I had any problems.
4) If all above fails, find a customs broker! (during the day, many people kept explaining that things were different in Mexico, but I have no idea how customs works in the US, never having tried to import a dog there. I imagine that customs brokers exist there too. Anyone know anything about this?).
Most the day was spent in confusion and discussion followed by periods of waiting and filling out forms. Around 4:30 we went to the warehouse, thinking we had all the right forms and information (and, I confess, a break for expensive food from Burger King). The first time we went, the warehouse employee refused us entry, saying we needed a customs broker to approval our tramite. At about 5:30 we decided to return to the complex of customs agents’ offices and shop around for a customs broker. Here, we found Luis, who said he wasn’t sure he could help us get Zoey out by 8pm (the time the warehouse closed), but that he would see what he could do. After assessing the situation, he called over to customs and discovered we just needed to go over there and talk with Edith (who works at SAT – Servicio de Administración Tributaria), who would give us entry approval and help us with the final steps. And there was a small fee - nominal.
After an hour and a half or so, a few men rolled out Zoey’s crate from the intimidating warehouse and opened the crate doors to let her out to see me. After this, S and I rolled her crate on a pallet over to the taxi area and hired a van to take us home (the regular size taxi would have fit the three of us except that the driver didn't want Zoey in the car. He preferred to tie her crate in on top of the car.)
On Tuesday night when we arrived, Lorena and Charlie’s five girls -- who live here in the house with me -- were extremely excited to see her – especially the youngest, Michelle, who has already been up to the rooftop a few times to play. They haven’t had a dog here before. Zoey herself seems well-adapted, making use of the entire rooftop to sun herself or run around, retrieve bones and bark at other rooftop dogs (she doesn’t do this much, because she can’t see them, only hear them from afar). Let’s not even mention her exploration of the streets and sidewalks of Guadalajara (bustling, noisy, populated), the markets (fragrant, greasy, irresistible) and cafés (yes, she sits at my feet while I sip coffee in hospitable cafés). Descriptions of these places will have to wait another day!
2 comments:
A touching canine commentary.
Merci, mon ami! I am reading a book you might enjoy, ZEITOUN by Dave Eggers.
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