# Bring Dogs to Tijuana



## lbs_momma (Mar 18, 2015)

My dad wants to bring his dog (ahem his other child  to Tijuana when he visits next. 

He heard recently that Mexico changed the requirements this last year so that it's much more difficult to obtain the health certificate required:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-mexico

I'm not disputing my father's research, but all the friends I have here in TJ say that they cross a lot with their animals back and forth and none of the border patrol has ever asked to see vaccination records or otherwise.

He plans to follow through with the health certificate required, but I'm wondering if anyone here has recently brought their dog to Tijuana and what was your experience crossing into Mexico?


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## Orfin (Sep 26, 2016)

My story from Mexico was being at the Mile 21 post in Mexico where they start the requirements for immigration from USA. That is when i drive into Mexico, no issue with my Car or much else until i get to the mile 21 point.
After that, Mexico becomes a different kind of immigration zone with stricter requirements.
I was there one time doing my car, no dog, when other USA immigrants came to the line next to me to do their car or full size motor home. They had a fleet of little dogs in tote also. They kept bugging the people behind the desk about getting the dogs checked in but the officers were not interested and waved the immigrants from USA off.

I am not saying that means no requirements for the dogs, but one office for one thing is not always really going to know the requirements determined by another office for another thing. Unless you get lucky with an experienced individual who happens to know. 
I am more used to service desks of any genre in Mexico not knowing anything outside the narrowest version of their job description, narrow as far as they need to know just to hang on to the job. The ones who have been their long enough to know more, are usually graduated out from manning the service desk. 

The airport is where you have close by, all the sections available for all immigration and import related things. 
Land borders will have them spread out all over the place. 

If you are just in Tijuana, then do not worry because it really is free passage across the border. Just have a valid passport to show in case they ask to see it. They don’t stamp the passport at the crossing point even if they do ask. More of a random vehicle inspection and that is where you find out what they will accept or not. 

As long as you say you are just going into Tijuana for a visit and are not loaded with belongings enough to suggest a long term stay.

Even better is that he has with him documents showing his reasonable effort to meet dog requirements, that should work in the event that they do randomly pick him for a shakedown at crossing. 
That he has a valid passport, is going no farther in than Tijuana or the free zone and does not appear loaded up with stuff to suggest a big move, and has papers showing reasonable effort to have the dog meet some kind of health standard, then they are ok.

I heard at the airport they will have a dog serviced by an airport stationed vet, and make you pay the bill there and then to release the dog. Some suspicions also that they sometimes deliberately ignore valid documents showing a pet’s validity and use that to send the pet to get serviced at the vet, all because of the bill you pay to their pockets. Creating customers by using the pet to extort.

So i think the worst case at the land border is the dog, by a slim chance, gets singled out like the proverbial goat, and gets sent to the designated vet that the customs have on hand, where you pay the bill for mandatory service. And then on your way.


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## Orfin (Sep 26, 2016)

Just for sharing of a dog tale experiences, i will tell of a dog’s border crossings i witnessed at the Costa Rica to Nicaragua Border... Or was that the Panama border?
6 years ago, just about.

I was land crossing and part of a bus load. We all got off with luggage and ended up going through bag inspection and document processing.
I was done and waiting outside when i noticed a dog crossing the border along side the road, back and forth several times with a white plastic grocery bag, with a styrofoam food container in it.
I thought what a lucky dog to have such a garbage diving score. 

It was just odd that the dog had been going back and forth several times across the border with the same bag. And it was out of the norm where dogs score, go settle into a quiet corner and dig in. 
So i watched the dog repeat the trip yet again and did not see where he came from but did see where he went. Two closely parked vehicles with doors opened into each other to block view of the people sitting in the seats behind the open doors. 
The dog went right up to them in-between the two cars and tucked himself down at their feet like a good obedient boy, they took his bag and pet him, praised him and gave him a treat and a signal. He then started back the same way he came. Doing the same trip all over again.
I caught a glance of the people reaching into the dog’s stash and saw a plastic bag of what looked like white flour. Not too big, but probably a lot of them over several dog trips across the border.
Probably grandmas cookie making flour. They looked like just a regular cake and cookie baking family, with grandma and all. So i am not trying to say anything more than that.
I have been to countries countries where they have to smuggle rice across the border to get a good price and quality product. Also other kitchen ingredients. Crossed those borders myself and watched my driver get shaken down for his rice cargo that just about exceeded allowable limit. 
White powder rice flour included. Yeah. Leave it at that. I am not judge or juror or....

The dog looked just like a street dog, just like what you would see scavenging trash cans for anything food. And carrying a bag that looked exactly like what a person threw out after ordering take-out from decent food service places. 

Any way, i went on minding my own business and admiring the innocent dog. 
I was just a tourist and not a cop and most definitely not looking for trouble in a land so far from home that i didn’t understand what people were saying most of the time.

The dog was in plain view and i cannot believe i was the only one who noticed with all the checkpoint workers having direct line of sight to where vehicles parked. 
If they can’t mind their own business, they join em. Otherwise they mind their own business and rather deal with border crossers who are less likely to have an organized group behind them with ways to be sure their business stays out of other people’s concern. 

I was there to mind my own business that day. That is what i did. 
The scroungy looking dog was cute though.


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## lbs_momma (Mar 18, 2015)

Fascinating story Orfin! I wish I could train my dog that way - I can't even get my husband to bring me things like that LOL


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## Tye 1on (Jun 2, 2018)

It's good the pooch didn't decide to chow down, that much straight flour is bad for dogs!


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## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

Tye 1on said:


> It's good the pooch didn't decide to chow down, that much straight flour is bad for dogs!


Out run off with it and start his own baking business.


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