Animal Adoption
International dog and cat adoption from Mexico - spayucatan.org

Pet adoption guidelines and Akumal SPAY Clinic info provided by Sherwood Anders

You meet him on the beach and spend a quiet, sun soaked afternoon with him. He is there waiting for you at breakfast the next morning. The next thing you know, your dinner orders are decided by what you think he might like most. You return home from your vacation in Akumal, and can't stop thinking about him. You spend your days wondering what he is doing, if he is with another visitor? You have photos of him up on your desk at work, and he is on your screen saver on your computer. You can't wait to get back to Akumal - to see him! You realize that you've fallen in love.

We see them on the beach every day, meet them and fall in love with them. They're the stray dogs and cats, and they have a very special talent of finding their way into your heart and capturing it. Many people meet dogs and cats while visiting Akumal and other areas of Mexico, and wish that they could take them back to the States or Canada with them, but figure that it either isn't allowed, or there is too much red tape. Not so! It is actually very easy to take a dog (or cat) back with you from Mexico.

There are just a few easy steps

  1. You'll need a crate (for larger dogs) or a carrier. Both are available at many stores in the Riviera Maya, including WalMart in Playa del Carmen, Mega, and Chedraui. Many of the local vets also have crates or carriers available for purchase.
  2. You'll need a health certificate for dogs or cats and proof of rabies vaccination, issued within ten days of departure, for travel on airlines. The documentation required is no different than if you were taking the pet with you on a flight from your hometown to San Francisco, New York, Miami, Chicago, or Padukah, Kentucky. No quarantine is required either going to the US from Mexico, or into Mexico from the US. Visit a local vet to receive the certificates. We use two vets for our pets - Juan Erato in Tulum, and Paco (?) in Playa del Carmen. Both are very familiar with the documentation required for transporting a pet, and are very reliable and professional. Since requirements vary by the airlines, we recommend obtaining the certification the day before you travel, to avoid any problems.

Below is a list of items that must be included on the health certificate

  1. The shipper's name and address.
  2. Any tag numbers or tattoos assigned to the animal.
  3. The age of the animal being shipped (USDA regulations require animals be at least 8 weeks old and fully weaned before traveling).
  4. A statement that the animal is in good health.
  5. A list of administered inoculations, when applicable.
  6. The signature of the veterinarian.
  7. The date of the certificate.

Flying your new pet home

You'll need to contact your airline. A list of airlines that allow pets follows, as well as the regulations and guidelines for those airlines. If you are on an airline that will not allow pets, many times it is possible to find someone in Akumal, or nearby, who will be willing to transport the pet for you. The cost varies by the different airlines, but it is approximately $100 for the pet to go back with you. Many airlines impose day-of-travel temperature restrictions. Always check with your airline the day that you are departing to be sure that the pet will be allowed to go with you that day. Most airlines determine whether the animal can go in cabin or in cargo by the size of the crate or carrier. Soft sided carriers will not be accepted in the cargo area. Be sure to get the airline's requirements regarding carriers for your pet and make the arrangements accordingly. Also, taking your pet on board the airplane with you will count as one of the two personal items that you are allowed to bring on board, so be sure that you only have one other item with you, or that you will be able to check something as baggage.

Airline carrier's pet policies (2008)

Here's a list of the major air carriers between the US and Mexico, into Cancun, and their policies regarding transportation of pets as of May, 2008. Links to the airlines' pet travel policy pages are also provided. You can copy and paste them into your browser window if they do not activate automatically.

Aero Mexico
In cargo only: $35 USD
link
Alaskan Airlines
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $100 USD 998-886-0803 (in Mexico)
link
American Airlines
In cabin: $80 USD
In cargo: $100 USD 998-886-0086 (in Mexico)
link
Continental Airlines
Allows pets but must be contacted prior to reservation: 800-525-0280
In cabin only: $95 USD 998-886-0006 (in Mexico)
link
Delta
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $200 USD 998-886-0668 (in Mexico)
Pet Travel Options:
link
Pet Travel Requirements and Restrictions:
link
Frontier
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $100 USD
link
JetBlue
In cabin only: $100 USD
link
Mexicana
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $100 USD
998-881-9093 (in Mexico)
link
Northwest Airlines
In cabin: $80 USD
In cargo: Varies, according to origin and destination; ranges from $139 - $359 USD
Carry on pets
Pets in cargo
Shipping a pet
Spirit
Does not accept pets on international flights.
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $100 USD for small and medium size pets; $100 USD for large or giant size. 800-003-0777
link
link
link
link
link
United
In cabin: $100 USD
In cargo: $100 USD for small and medium size pets; $100 USD for large or giant size. 800-003-0777
link
link
link
link
US Airways
In cabin only: $100 USD, 998-886-0373 (in Mexico)
link
USA3000
No pets permitted on international flights.
link

USDA regulations on traveling with pets

Other helpful information
link
And links on their site to these airlines:
Mexiconline information
link

Please let us know of any additional information or changes so that we can include that in our site.

Thanks! And to those of you who adopt, we wish you many happy years of love, fun and adventure with your new pet from Mexico!

Akumal SPAY Clinic - May 17 and 18, 2008

Sociedad Protectora de Animales de Yucatan (SPAY) held a spay/neuter clinic in Akumal Pueblo on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18, 2008. Sponsored by the Centro Ecologico Akumal (CEA), the clinic was held in conjunction with the municipality of Soladaridad, and provided free spay or neuter services to the residents of the pueblo of Akumal and surrounding areas. Vaccines were also administered free of charge with the surgery, or for animals already altered, for $50 pesos.

Successes

The clinic was held at the secondary school in Akumal, and the turnout was gratifying. Saturday was a bright, hot, sunny day and the crew arrived early in the morning to set up and get ready for the day. Scheduled to start at 9:00 am, there was a line forming outside the gate to the play area by 8:45. Entire families accompanied their pets, mostly dogs, and were very interested in what would be taking place that day with their pet. On Saturday, 54 animals were admitted, with about 50 surgeries. The majority of the clients were dogs, but there were a number of cats brought in from some women in Playa del Carmen who volunteer with an animal rescue group there, Peanuts. Several litters of kittens were also received from the local community, some too young to have surgery. Foster homes were found for all, and there are some lucky kittens and people in Akumal.

Sunday was also a very busy day, but a lot of the people who brought their pets on Sunday were there just for the vaccines. By the end of the day on Sunday, we had registered 100 animals, and had about 30 surgeries on Sunday, with the remainder of the animals receiving vaccines only. Many of the local residents told us that they look forward to the clinics so that they can bring their pets in for their shots.

Goals, efforts and credits

SPAY's mission of education and awareness, in conjunction with helping to reduce the pet population in the Yucatan, is beginning to show results. Many of the dogs and cats brought in for vaccines only were former patients of previous clinics, where they had been spayed or neutered, and the owners given information and instructions on the importance of preventive health maintenance for their pets.

The vet team was led by Dra. Sandra Valdez, who works at the perrera in Playa del Carmen, and six other vets from the University of Merida. A dedicated team of volunteers also helped out: Rocio Cue and Maggie McKown handled intake and registration; Jennifer Smith assisted in the surgery room, with the recovery room directed by Mimi Babcock and shots administered by Sandy Strauch, and Sherwood Anders playing the role of runner/gopher/delivery person. Tamara Monster, Tami Nicolle, Amy Collora, Heather Froming, and Cheryl and Donny Hall also helped out with putting crates together, getting animals registered and into crates, transporting animals from intake to prep to surgery to recovery. They also cared for the animals in recovery, removing ticks and administering flea/tick prevention medication. On Sunday, we were brought several litters of kittens under six weeks of age. Lorinda Campbell is now fostering five kittens and Mimi and Jonna have adopted one. Bart Smith served as chauffeur, delivery man, messenger boy and Jack of All Trades for the clinic, and as always, we got a lot of help from Abed and Pee Wee.

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