I am posting not to scare, but to warn. We did not know how dogs are treated in different
parts of Indonesia and the result is that one dog was a week away from her
death bed. She had:
- Pneumonia
- Lips had open sores from being fed on the floor, no bowl
- Ringworm
- Ear infection
- Sores,hotspots
- Fly bits
- Jumpy, afraid of a lot of things
- She smelled so bad, no baths.
- Couldn’t eat for two days because of feeling so dizzy from ear infection. She would spin her own head trying to chase the dizziness.
- Nails so long from not being trimmed or walked.
- Concrete sores from laying on wet concrete a long time.
It took a full 38 day to receive Boris. It took 55 day to receive Natasha.
Where it went wrong is when Boris and Natasha were shipped
from Jakarta to Pekanbaru. First is that
we did not, and were not told until the dogs were in Jakarta , that the import
of dogs is not accepted to Batam Island.
We found out the hard way. We had
asked the handler in Jakarta of any advice that he could give us to transport
them out to Batam, he looked at us wide eyed and told us that dogs are not allowed
to be imported in to Batam if they came from a ‘rabies’ country. He said he can drive them to Pekanbaru, and
there we would have to work it out .
After their quarantine stent of 14 days in Jakarta, they
were shipped to Pekanbaru, and this is where they were mistreated. We were told
from some one that was interrupting and acting as a middle-woman that they were
all right and they were being boarded with a “veterinarian”. This interrupter
is person works for my partner’s company, so we had no reason not to trust her,
and she handled all the travel arrangements for the ex-pats. We
were told that they could be shipped by boat to Batam. Well, while kept there, this is where we were
given so many excuses of why the delays that would take them a full 24 days to
ship out Natasha. They shipped out Boris in seven days. We cannot report them to the authorities because
this of having dogs imported to Batam is frowned upon.
Another problem for them was the fact that we moved out her before their major holiday. Laylat al-Qadr, where most of the country takes two weeks off, and most go back home to visit family. So when we were looking to have the dogs moved from Jakarta to Pekanbaru, it was hard to contact the handler at the time because of this holiday and because most Indonesians don’t always have the best transportation system, they have +/- a day or so when they tell you something is going to be done.
The other factor is that Indonesia do not see pet the same as Americans* and other cultures do.
When they had their quarantine period of 14 days in Jakarta, they were treated pretty good. In the quarantine facility, they had clean, separate quarters that were tiled, with a grate in the middle and a back doggie door to go outside. They were fed well, and had clean water. Even during they major holiday, someone was on staff and we were able to visit. So there are no problems there. I wish that we shipped them directly from there, but we were talked out of it because of cost.
The lesson we have learned is when it unknown territory, go with the professionals. It is better safe, than sorry. They know, and if they don’t, they know someone who does. Or live there for a while, and learn.
What we did right:
- · Did research on the internet and with vet about paperwork and shots
- · Hired Pet Relocation.com to help with paperwork, Vet and USDA appointments and the flying arrangements.
- · Making sure they were in a facility that we could visit them
What went wrong:
- · Not knowing first-hand the people or their customs well enough. Some things you cannot learn off the internet.
- · Trusting that everyone had the dog’s best interest at heart. Not all countries care for dogs like we do.
- · Not know the laws of the land. But once again, it is not on the internet.
Please don’t
make the same accidental mistakes that we did.
