customs clearance charges - Page 3

I am importing a female TODAY, and since my customs office closes at 5:00pm, I also had to use an Agent. I chose Barthco, and Mike Andrel has been nothing but helpful, as has his co-worker, Kari, who even called me to let me know the dog had cleared customs and what flight it would be on. The charge is $250, and they do all paperwork, and I just grab my dog and go when I get to the airport and she's there. There is typically a kennel fee of $100-$150 overnight for your dog, so it only ends up saving you $100-$150, and a night of your dog in some kennel where WHO KNOWS WHAT the dogs there might be carrying, who knows what food the dog will receive, etc. Some carriers at the final destination also don't want the liability of letting your dog out (what happens if Fido runs off???? or bites someone????), so the dog sits inside it's crate until the next day. Me personally, I feel that it is better to have paid this $250 than to leave my dog in a kennel overnight without her proper food and MY care. One thought is having them send the dog on a different flight that the dog will arrive BEFORE your customs office closes, and then you can avoid the hassle and cost, and clear customs yourself. As far as the rabies vaccination, Hodie is correct. If the dog is older than 4 months, it is okay. The US CDC only recognizes rabies vaccinations on dogs over 4 months of age, so getting them done earlier will not save you a hassle. The only thing the "quarantine" says is that it gives the address where the puppy will be located for the next 30 days. This only makes things difficult if you import and then sell puppies. If you are keeping your pup, this should be no problem for you. :) Good luck, and congratulations on your import!

All you will have to pay is $30 to cargo and nothing to customs, it's a pet right? nothing to customs they will stamp your papers and send you on the way. I'm at work and this info is coming to you from a Fed . Agency.

The main broker is about $250 to clear the dog....dog has to clear at point of entrance to US...airlines do not clear the dog for consignees any longer due apparently....If you can get a direct flight to another airport, landing in normal hours [and hey - if it is direct - PEOPLE have to clear customs, so they are there!] Talk to customs officers yourself PRIOR to the flight arrival...like the day before, and find out how they want it done...otherwise pay the broker! I was getting a dog in from Belgium that I bought several years ago but only just brought over, kept getting cancelled due to weather....I had no choice but to use a broker as she was coming in via Atlanta....finally, we shipped into Canada and picked her up with no hassels...a couple of small fees but an American picked her up in Canada and came back into the States with very little hassel.. I have a friend wiht Rotts, and he always has to use a broker sending dogs back and forth for titles and breeding, as "frequent shippers" ie commercial owners/trainers/breeders may be scrutinized more.. Lee

Seems I'm lucky that I'm in Massachusetts and Lufthansa has a direct Frankfurt flight that lands in Boston at 12:45 pm - that gave me plenty of time to get to the airport, run over to Customs and then back to the airport again and avoid having to kennel the pup or use a broker. The only drawback was that the Customs office is on the other side of the harbor from the airport, which necessitated two trips through the tunnel that collapsed two weeks later and killed a woman. So I guess I was REALLY lucky!

Canada does not have the same customs Law as the US , If your name is on the receiving end , you should have no problems getting this pup. Call the Customs office in your town/state and you will see that it is very simple and no fees will be asked of you by customs. Unless I'm not getting the story right.

DO NOT LIE TO CUSTOMS ABOUT THE PRICE OF YOUR DOG!!!!!! They are getting VERY strict about dogs coming in (since so many have begun to FLOOD into our country) and are beginning to AUDIT people. You must provide PROOF of purchase price via receipt (wire, check, however you paid). The charge is only .21%, according to Barthco, so say you bought a $10,000 dog, the import charge is still only $21 (there is a minimum charge of $25, which is what you're reading $25-$30 about.). SO DO NOT LIE TO THEM. If they CATCH you lying, you will likely be out your dog AND be up on federal charges. Give the government it's money and be on your way. Might as well be legitimate. Good luck!

Hmmm...Customs never asked me about the price of the pup. Maybe it was listed on the paperwork that came over with him.

p59teitel, Could you please post the link address for that cut and paste post, so I can review other items on that site. I passed up an opportunity to bring home a puppy 3 weeks ago, because I did not want to deal with "quarentine issuses". I thought that quarentine meant being held someplace with a lot of other dogs and I did not want to do that. Thanks a lot for the info.

SGBH, The dog must be "quarantined" but that means in your own home, assuming you are importing the pup for yourself. If you are importing to sell, it better not be before those 30 days required on the rabies certification unless you KNOW where the pup is going to be. Email me directly and I will send you the rabies form and the link. And yes, you are correct. You do NOT want the pup held at the Atlanta airport or their places they send dogs to (and a customs officer told me how many dogs are being imported and dying or are seriously ill). This is why it behooves everyone to do as much as possible to get the dog directly, and without a broker. If you can not get the dog imported directly through to a large airport where there will be customs officers on duty at the time the dog arrives, then you have little choice but to pay a broker unless you want the dog sent to a kennel overnight. I never want that because some of the kennels are not very healthy places.

I imported 6 puppies on August 14th of this year into Denver on a direct flight from Germany. The dogs cleared customs, and I paid $25 to the airfrieght terminal. That was it, nothing else, no hassles. The Air Freight terminal even told me to show up about an hour after the flight gets in to give them time to clear customs. The dogs came with a individual International Certificate of Vacination for Dogs (basically a shot record). Dogs were 8 weeks old. Over the past year I have imported in addition to these puppies 10 other full grown dogs. Same story paid the fee $25 to the airfrieght terminal, loaded up the dog and on my way. GK Air does the shipping in Germany On Lufthansa and when they arrive in Denver I have never had a problem or hassle even when the airport has been on high alert.