Adoptions

Adoption and Protection Fee:

The Fundacion MI MASCOTA does not charge a PROTECTION – or adoption fee!!!! It is not our intention to make a profit, however the costs for bringing an animal from the Dominican Republic to Europe are very high and must be borne by the adopters !! After handing over the pet, you will get the signed contract back.

Transport Process:

The animals are flown to Germany with flight companions. Our pets are vaccinated according to the EU entry requirements, microchipped and handed over to you with all required entry papers.

After Adoption:

Even after adopting, we are there for you and will keep in touch, especially in the first few weeks and months. Of course we are always happy about pictures and short updates on how our little darlings are doing, it is our greatest motivation to hear that they are now living the life they deserve!

What steps are required to bring an animal from the Dominican Republic to Europe ??

First of all the dog or cat must be microchipped, ATTENTION! There are 2 types of  microchips, one valid for North America, one for Europe. It is important to use the correct chip, e.g. the GERMAN chip with 15 digits!

The dog / cat must be at least 4 months old and vaccinated against rabies. ATTENTION! We recommend using the high quality vaccine, e.g. Pfizer, Fort Dodge or Merial, instead of the inferior local vaccine, otherwise the titer might not increase eough within the 4 week period and the procedure must be repeated. All of our animals are immunized with a 6-way or 5-way vaccination and will be handed over along with their vaccination passport !!

One month after the rabies vaccination, a blood sample is taken and send to an EU approved blood testing laboratory in the USA for the titer determination. Is the titer high enough, the animal must remain in the Dominican Republic for another 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken, before the animal can travel. The export depends on the success of the vaccination, is the titer too low after the 90 days wait, the whole procedure (rabies vaccination + 30 days waiting period + laboratory process) must be repeated. In order to save time, the vet we work with injects a 2nd rabies vaccination when taking the blood sample in case the titer is too low the first time. However, so far this has never happened!

For the import it is irrelevant whether the animal is neutered/spayed. This can be done after entering the EU. However, usually all our animals are neutered before being put up for adoption, whether here in the Dominican Republic or Europe.

The dog or cat must be at least 8 months old when leaving: rabies vaccination at 4 months + 1 month waiting period until the blood test + 3 month waiting period after the blood test. These 3 months are the quarantine, there is no further quarantine period in Germany!

A flight companion is needed for the export, unfortunately there is no live cargo company in the Dominican Republic. We help finding a suitable flight companion, for example through our flight companion group. However the flight booking has to be done directly by the adopter, the expenses the airline charges to transport ‘extra’ baggage can also be send to the companion!

Due to new regulations, valid since 01 August 2014, the full documents have to be sent to the adopters before the animal leaves the country, so that the adopter can send them to the Official Veterinarian to apply for the animal‘s entry to the EU.

When departing, the original papers are signed and stamped by the Official Veterinarian at the departure airport! If this is not done, difficulties arise when entering the EU.

Even though we do not charge extra fees, it is still very expensive to adopt a dog or cat:

The incurred costs include; 50 EUR for chipping with a German microchip and the rabies vaccination, 300 EUR will be charged by the vet for taking the blood sample, for the transport to the EU approved laboratory in the US, and filling out the documents and the veterinary association certificate, which has to be handed over at the departure.

Depending on the size of the animal, a box is needed for the transport. Boxes are very expensive here in the Dominican Republic. Sending over a box along with the flight companion is of course, a lot cheaper.

Even though we almost need a full fuel load for driving to the departure airport and back, and the official veterinarian charges another 10 DOLLARS, we have never added these expenses to the full costs!

The costs for the companions flight may vary from one airline to another and must be paid directly to the companion by the adopter.

If you have any further questions or you are interested in adopting, please send us a message through the private profiles (below). Messages sent to this page may not be answered, as we have a lot to do. Thank you!