Importing my dog from Canada to Vietnam - urgent request

My wife, who is Vietnamese, brought in a dog 2 years ago.  The overseas agent arranged all the paperwork for transport.  When the dog arrived at HCMC we went to the airport to pick him up.  I don't think we paid very much, if anything, to get him out of customs, but there was a bit of running around involved.  You will definitely either need to speak Vietnamese yourself or have someone with you who is fluent and can navigate through the (minimal) bureaucracy.

Does that mean I should hire an agent or would a friend who speaks Vietnamese help if they met me at the airport?

I think a friend would be fine as long as they have some experience dealing with officialdom (that would include nearly all adult Vietnamese!)

Thank you, I have friends who can meet me at the airport.  So this should save me some money then not hiring an agent.
Bringing my pet with me has been challenging to figure out so far so it's nice to hear from people who have done this...

I dont have any advice but wish you luck.   Its sounds like youre going through with moving here.  I hope you enjoy Vietnam as much as i have.