Moving to Chapala and not sure how to bring our dog Murphy

My husband and I are exploring moving to Mexico and thought we could share what we are learning in the process. Our plan is to keep track of our journey from Denver to Lake Chapala through our posts and our podcasts. My dad, who recently retired to the Lake Chapala area, suggested we get input from people on this forum to ensure we're on the right track!

Currently we are trying to decide if we should bring our dog with us during a 30 – 60 day visit in September. If you have some experience or advice for us, please comment here or go to my husband's website where we're documenting the whole experience: jonlooker.com.

Any and all comments and advice are welcome and much appreciated… gracias!

-Wenny

Bringing the dog is fine however it does limit your rental options. Most "short term" rentals (like hotels and B&B's) do not allow pets. It may even be difficult to find a whole house on a short term basis that will allow a pet. I would do that research first.

Also, some airlines have a moratorium on pets in the cargo bay, into Mexico, from May to September due to the high heat while sitting on the runways. If your dog is too big to go into the cabin with you and must be in the cargo bay, you should look into this as well.

Hotel Perico permits pets. We stayed there for a week upon our arrival lakeside last June. Great people running the place. Has a nice laid-back feel.

Thank you for the replies! He is pretty big (65 lbs) and will probably have to be crated in the plane's belly if we fly. I heard somewhere that you shouldn't bring a dog on a plane in summer because he could be stuck on the tarmac for a while and it might be too hot? Not sure if that's true does anyone know? Thanks again :)

If you fly into Guadalajara be prepared to have your dog examined, at your expense, by a local vet. Any paper work you may have for inoculations and such may help speed the process, but it is unlikely that any vet certifications will be taken at face value. It cost us 1400 pesos to have our two Schnauzers examined last June.

Wenny-and-Jon wrote:Thank you for the replies! He is pretty big (65 lbs) and will probably have to be crated in the plane's belly if we fly. I heard somewhere that you shouldn't bring a dog on a plane in summer because he could be stuck on the tarmac for a while and it might be too hot? Not sure if that's true does anyone know? Thanks again :)

Read my post above.

In addition to the cargo airline issue mentioned by CBob above, Lakeside has fleas. We came from Idaho Springs, and our dogs and cat were appalled. We didn't have fleas in Colorado and they had no idea what was going on. A little FrontLine made a big difference, but something to keep in mind.

Great tips, exactly what we were looking for :) thanks all!

If you are traveling from Vancouver internationally and need pet paperwork check out "Hemlock Animal Hospital". She is the specialist for this in Vancouver - the "go to gal". Additionally, if you have a small pet visit your doctor and turn them into "service dogs/cats" - emotional support, blah, blah. The doc can provide the paperwork (they can search online for the how to do). Our 10 # princess mutt will be traveling with us to PV @ Xmas on Westjet in the cabin with us. Booked and paid. Book early.

Realize this is a late post, but just travelled from Florida to Ajijic with service dog. Not sure if all the requirements are because of my guy travelling next to me, as opposed to in cargo, but this was the deal.
I will exclude those things I am SURE pertained to his "service " status.
(ie certificate to airlines as to why he is my service dog...my hearing deficit). The USDA has a specialized health certificate...and the only vets allowed to complete this form were USDA accredited. After this is complete, the form had to be endorse by the nearest USDA branch. I live in Jax Fl and had to drive to Gainesville, about a two hour trek, in order to have this done in the allowed timeframe. Mexico states the certificate is only good for 10 days, the US says It is valid for thirty days. Lot of particulars concerning blue ink, need for 2 originals, date formatting, rabies certification and assurance of dog being free of external/internal parasites. I brought the actual boxes. And the rabies certificate needed lot and serial info. Please note that I am very detail oriented, planned well in advance and followed up with USDA and the Mexican equivalent of Senasica. On arrival to GDL, there was a cursory exam, actually performed by one of the drug dog guys, and it was in short order I was on my way. Not sure if it was because of my detailed paperwork, with all this info in a folder just for my dog, or just because.