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Travelling Mexico and Central America with a Dog

Need some advice - driving/flying? route? ect.

13 years ago, August 25th 2010 No: 1 Msg: #118198 Delete Edit

KellyTed Ari
Kelly Davis

N Posts: 1

Hi there,

My fiance and I are planning a trip to Mexico and Central America. Normally this would be straight forward but we are planning on bringing our 8 pound chihuahua/miniature pinscher named Ari with us as he is just as much a part of our (new) family.
We are from Halifax, NS, Canada. We have a budget of $10,000.00 Canadian or 9,435.59 USD.
We are in the beginning of our planning at the moment, and we are exploring our ideas. We would like to spend 1 month in Mexico, 1 week in Belize, 1 week in Guatamala, 2 weeks in Nicaragua, and 1 month in Costa Rica.

OPTION 1: Fly into Mexico and use bus transportation to our destinations and hide our dog, Ari. Our issues would be if Ari were discovered causing us to fall behind schedule or possibly get stranded in places.

OPTION 2: Fly into Mexico and buy a really cheap used car (is this possible for maybe $1000 US??) Our issues would be car insurance (how much??) car breaking down, gas money, possibly too expensive? How easy is it to buy a car in Mexico not being a citizen? Could we cross the borders to the other countries on our list and then drive all the way back to Canada? Importing car back to Canada. Is it worth it?

OPTION 3: Fly into Costa Rica and do our trip backwards. Same issues as above, only less driving as we wouldn't be driving from Mexico to Costa Rica then back to Canada.

OPTION 4: Driving from Halifax, NS, Canada all the way to Mexico then Costa Rica then all the way back again. Same issues as above!!

We really just want to know our best options! We have places we can stay that are pet friendly, so that isn't an issue, its mainly transportation from destination to destination with a dog.

I am aware of the health implications for our dog. He has made his first visit to the vet and has received about half of his vaccinations and will get the rest about 6 weeks before we leave. I know of all the documentation I would need either driving or flying. He is a lap dog so stays with us at all times, I will not be letting him near other dogs in the country as I am aware that many have diseases.

If anyone could offer information about visiting beaches and attractions with a dog (such as the mayan ruins) that would be great too.

Has anyone done this trip with a dog before??

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13 years ago, August 27th 2010 No: 2 Msg: #118245 Delete Edit

MusicinMind
MusicinMind

B Posts: 81

Before I answer any of your questions, My advice is to not bring your dog. I am an animal lover, so much so that most of my life now is dedicated to saving street dogs and animal rescues here in Costa Rica.

There is a tick born disease here and throughout Central America called Ehrlichia / (Ehrlichiosis). Frontline does not work here, Advantix does not work, the number of ticks in the tropics far outnumber the effectiveness of any and every product available. No vaccines currently exist and ticks are unavoidable.

We lose more dogs to this than anything else. The only treatment is 30 days of Doxicilina antibiotic but thats only if you catch it in time and is not 100% effective. It happens quickly and a healthy dog can die within a month if it is not caught in time. In the end the pup looses all its red blood cells and the blood turns the consistency of water, they bleed out.

I hate to talk like this but I am SO serious when I ask you to reconsider bringing your baby. I understand your wanting to do so but it could turn tragic and that is the last thing anybody wants.

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