Bringing pets into Medellin

There are a number of hurdles to jump before you can bring them in.  Here are two links for the government body ICA (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario) that outline the requirements to bring in a dog or cat:

https://www.ica.gov.co/getdoc/67809a6d- … cotas.aspxhttps://www.ica.gov.co/Files/pdf/Requer … scota.aspx

Hi John and Susan,

We made the move from Panama City to Medellin, Colombia last year with our two dogs.   The hardest part was the airline and Panama paperwork.   Even with the help of a highly experience handler/shipper, the airline we chose (Copa) was a nightmare.   Our handler, who ships dogs as his business, was highly frustrated with Copa.   I would definitely  suggest checking out one of the other airlines such as Avianca and be sure you have a well established person to handle you thru the process.

Paperwork coming out of Panama is a bit of a trick.   You cannot get an airline reservation for your dogs until you have the paperwork from the vet and you cannot get the paperwork from the vet until you are within 10 days of travelling.   Some airlines will not ship dogs cargo on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so be sure to check which days they ship to coordinate your flight.  The timing is very tight and any little glitch along the way can cause the entire process to be aborted.

Your dogs will need all of their vaccinations and deworming to be current.  Also, some breeds are not allowed in Colombia such as Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers - even is your dog is just mixed with those breeds.

Once you arrive in Medellin, you will need to visit a few offices near the airport to pay the various fees.   This was not difficult nor overly expensive.

Let me know if I can be of further help as you go thru the process, its is frustrating and not something you should attempt yourself without a professional to assist you.

Thank you for the links!

Thank you Twin wolf. We do have experience bringing our dogs from California to Panama using Golden Frog in 2015. They were excellent and we had no glitches with Copa.

Who did you use to assist you? We will check out Avianca.

Cheers,
John and Susan