Let it be known first off that bringing Anna to France sounded like an impossible undertaking. And that was before I even looked into how to do it. Once I did that, I realized just how crazy it could get.
First there are the requirements of the US government...Anna had to have a Health Certificate done by a sponsoring vet (and there is no list of said sponsoring vets). France requires the Health Certificate to be bilingual and Anna needed a micro-chip placed and afterwards a rabies shot. And those things needed to be done 21 days before she entered the country. And then Delta airlines required the Health Certificate to be no more than 10 days old when she flew with them. And she needed to be in a crate that had metal bolts and nuts (which is not available ANYWHERE to purchase so you have to but the crate and then outfit it yourself with the bolts). And Delta charges $200 one way for dogs to travel. And we were flying from Boston, to NY and then to Nice. So to save money and Anna's sanity, we rented a van...and drove to JFK airport and then put Anna on the plane. She was in airline hands for upwards of 13 hours before we saw her again.
Tired yet?
Needless to say...for the entire flight I was consumed with worry for Anna. The worse part is knowing that there is absolutely nothing I could do. They had her and I had to wait. And once we cleared passport control in Nice, we waited anxiously at the luggage belt...wondering if she would come through with our bags. One bag, then another..then another....and no Anna.
I happened to glance over at the far end of the huge room full of people and bags and conveyor belts to see Anna's huge crate sitting in the middle of everything. Running over, weaving through the people I made my way to her. As I approached the crate began to shift from side to side..Anna was just fine, wagging her tail and almost tipping the huge crate over.
And customs? There wasn't one single person there to even glance at our paperwork. We just walked right through. I wanted to ring a bell at the counter and say "Excuse me! Could you please look at my paperwork and scan my dog's micro-chip? I worked hard for it and I want to be inspected!" I know...I'm a crazy American. So without a hitch and with unimaginable simplicity, Anna is now with us in France.
How is she doing? Just fine. She enjoys being treated like a royal grandchild by my mother-in-law. She walks along the olive tree garden...she is pet by strange French people who coo to her in French and she just stares at them from the corner of her eye. Spending most of her time basking in the sun on the balcony and watching the traffic headed to Italy by our house. She chases the pigeons and naps in a tiny ball on her cushion by the TV while Denise watches the evening news.
Anna does seem sad at moments when I know she is thinking about my mother and father...Jen and Kathryn too. I know she wonders where they are, why they aren't here with us. It feels good to be together with Anna and Dennis again but I know (as Anna knows too) that we are missing some very important people and there is a hole in our lives and our hearts. That hole will only be filled when we are all together again.
First there are the requirements of the US government...Anna had to have a Health Certificate done by a sponsoring vet (and there is no list of said sponsoring vets). France requires the Health Certificate to be bilingual and Anna needed a micro-chip placed and afterwards a rabies shot. And those things needed to be done 21 days before she entered the country. And then Delta airlines required the Health Certificate to be no more than 10 days old when she flew with them. And she needed to be in a crate that had metal bolts and nuts (which is not available ANYWHERE to purchase so you have to but the crate and then outfit it yourself with the bolts). And Delta charges $200 one way for dogs to travel. And we were flying from Boston, to NY and then to Nice. So to save money and Anna's sanity, we rented a van...and drove to JFK airport and then put Anna on the plane. She was in airline hands for upwards of 13 hours before we saw her again.
Tired yet?
Needless to say...for the entire flight I was consumed with worry for Anna. The worse part is knowing that there is absolutely nothing I could do. They had her and I had to wait. And once we cleared passport control in Nice, we waited anxiously at the luggage belt...wondering if she would come through with our bags. One bag, then another..then another....and no Anna.
I happened to glance over at the far end of the huge room full of people and bags and conveyor belts to see Anna's huge crate sitting in the middle of everything. Running over, weaving through the people I made my way to her. As I approached the crate began to shift from side to side..Anna was just fine, wagging her tail and almost tipping the huge crate over.
And customs? There wasn't one single person there to even glance at our paperwork. We just walked right through. I wanted to ring a bell at the counter and say "Excuse me! Could you please look at my paperwork and scan my dog's micro-chip? I worked hard for it and I want to be inspected!" I know...I'm a crazy American. So without a hitch and with unimaginable simplicity, Anna is now with us in France.
Anna does seem sad at moments when I know she is thinking about my mother and father...Jen and Kathryn too. I know she wonders where they are, why they aren't here with us. It feels good to be together with Anna and Dennis again but I know (as Anna knows too) that we are missing some very important people and there is a hole in our lives and our hearts. That hole will only be filled when we are all together again.
