I thought I’d catch you up quickly on the state of Astrid and Gizmo’s import to Australia….
After the USDA reopened at the end of October, we were able to proceed with the process:
5. Official Government Veterinarian must complete the Rabies Vaccination and RNAT Declaration: Turns out the girl at the vet’s office was wrong. I had to wait for the USDA to re-open at the end of October to get the RNAT Declaration from a USDA Vet; they charged me a ton to fill out a piece of paper with the information on my RNAT Laboratory results. They also informed me that they are not the ones responsible for the final step in the process, which caused a lot of stress since they could give me no information on who is responsible for this final step.
6. Apply and pay for the DAFF Import Permit: By the time we had all of the paperwork we needed, it was 3 Nov before we filed for the import permits. These were quite tedious and expensive, but we received a small discount for our second dog. I realized after I’d submitted the applications, that I accidentally included an extra “0” in Astrid’s microchip number. I immediately emailed DAFF and never heard anything back. Hopefully, they received my email and corrected my application. They do not have to respond to any emails about my import applications for 20 working days after I’ve submitted them. 29 November, I am waiting for you.
7. Book Tentative Quarantine Accommodation: they won’t even talk to me until I have an import permit, which is stressful since I did receive an email from DAFF stating that the Melbourne Quarantine Station is fully booked through early-January.
8. Commence Travel Arrangements: again, I cannot do this until I have received my import permit. 29 November, I am growing impatient for you…
9. Check General Vaccinations: Here again, I need to say that Dr. Karlin rocks. She has gone above and beyond to ensure that Astrid and Gizmo are set to go and ensure that this process is as safe and economically feasible as possible. Astrid and Gizmo are not due for DHPP yet at home, but the Australian government requires that they be vaccinated for this within 1 year of export. We’ll do this at our next appointment.
10. Check Canine Influenza Virus: CIV is not something that we have in the mid-west and is quite rare in the US in general, but my dogs must be vaccinated against it. We had to enlist Ben’s Vet Sister’s help to find this vaccination, since it was not available in MN. She located it and had it shipped to us, which is AMAZING.
This is all the further we can go in the steps until we know when Astrid and Gizmo can be exported. Again, 29 November, you cannot come soon enough!
