Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Intrepid]

It is remarkably easy to take your dog home with you. In the summer of 2002 my wife and I took our one year-old c-cker spaniel to the US. We returned to Korea last March, dog in tow.
The steps:
--Buy a dog carrier with a secure door. Err toward large, as the dog will be spending some serious time in it--three hours before the flight and three hours after, to say nothing of Seoul/ORD, etc. Make sure to get one with wheels--makes for easy airport hallway naviagation, especially if your dog is heavy. Assemble the carrier in the house about a month before you leave. Put the dog's food and water in the carrier, with the door open, along with toys, etc., so s/he'll get used to it.
--Make a plane reservation far in advance, tell them that you're bringing your pet (I know, duh, but they can only take a very limited number of pets per flight). In the summer of 2002 no US airline would accept a dog in the cargo hold due to overheating concerns. We flew Korean air direct to Chicago in order to save the dog a transfer. Korean air was fantastic: reasonable fee, knowledgable staff, helpful person at Incheon who took pains to assure us that the a/cventilation would be turned on in the cargo hold, etc. NB: only very tiny dogs can fly in the cabin with passengers.
-Obtain a health certificate from a local vet. It is in Korean. The Incheon airport authorities certified and translated this for use in the US. This certificate covers the rabies vaccination required for US entry.
--Get to the airport early. We took a "call van." Assemble the carrier on the sidewalk. Insert one (super sad, in our case) dog. Make sure dog has water, food, toys, something that smells like you, etc.
--Go to Incheon Quarantine. We found an official porter who knew exactly where this was. One floor down from the main area, but I can't remember exactly where. Our porter asked for 2000 Won; we ended up giving him 10,000. Find a porter! The IQ officials took about 20 minutes to process the forms. They gave us what we needed to return to check-in.
--Check in. The dog can approach the counter with you. Lots of people interested in the whole thing.
--The dog has to go through the large baggage area. You'll have to drop him off there before you go through Immigration.
--You go through immigration and embark.
--Arrive in US and go through Immigration.
--Show forms from Incheon at US Quarantine and retrieve dog. This was remarkably easy, almost nothing to it.
--Take dog out for potty break! I've heard that most dogs don't want to "foul their nest," and this was certainly the case--our dog really, really had to go.
Returning to Korea.
--Vets in the US know about this. Rabies vaccination is the main thing. It also has to be certified by the FDA, separate from the vet and possibly far from your location.
--Dogs depart in carrier from the check-in counter. Ours went right up to the KAL desk in Chicago, where we had to pay the fee on site ($250). Tom Ridge's boys tossed his carrier for good measure, and put the detachable wheels through the scanner.
--Pickup in Korea was the same as in Chicago.
pm me for any further information.

[justagirl]

What's the $250 fee for? Is that the total cost for flying your dog home?

[Intrepid]

Yes, the dog's fare. It was 270,000 Won from Korea (there are several weight/carrier size categories); $300 from the US.

[justagirl]

Great info--thanks!

Do you have any links to the size/weight classifications? I really appreciate your post. We're trying to figure out how to get our cat home to the U.S., and though I've looked a lot on the Internet, this is the first time I've seen a price attached to the process.

[Intrepid]

I don't have any links. Korean Air provided all the info.
btw. I've heard of cats flying in the cabin, and it might be the lowest of the rates, which was around 90,000 won.

[rapier]

[justagirl]

Wow! $90 would be really nice...I was thinking it would cost hundreds to get our kitty home....though I don't think it would be fair the the other passengers to have the kitty in the cabin.

I imagine she'd be yowling until she lost her voice, and we all know how much Koreans love cats to begin with.

I did hear that you can give your pet some kind of relaxant shot that doesn't quite put them to sleep, but makes them drowsy. I'll have to look more into that.

[azjen]

did you have to hire an agent to bring your pet through the quarantine and customs procedure?

[chiaa]

I would like to add a couple of things.

--In the US, the State Vet is located in numerous areas. I was living in Tampa Florida at the time. When your Vet signs the paper, you have few days to get it to the state Vet and then they get it back to you. In the time getting it back to you, you have few days to fly out. You have to plan carefully. In my case, the state Vet was 250 miles away so I was not going to have the time to do all of that except for driving up there. But, I was going to New York for a few days for a wedding on my way back here, I I had the NY state Vet sign it. He is located right at JFK airport, in a far away terminal though. The whole state vet thing is a total crock, but something you have to do. The state vet never saw the animal and just put his stamp on it. He told me that he is at the airport mostly for horses and doesnt get too many international flying pets.

--The time of year is important. If it is too hot or too cold, they will not allow your pet to fly. This includes all areas that you will do a plane change. I just beat the temp in Japan my 2 degrees.

--When I got to Korea with Paco, I headed over to the quarantine area, once I picked him up in the baggage area (this was Kimpo and it was close by). Presented my papers, dude asked me to show him the dog (lift up the cage) and then said, OK you can go. I think the animal officer was scared of animals


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[SuperFly]