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Treated like a dog

By Marisa de Silva

This is the strange saga of a dog that travelled halfway around the world and then came back to Colombo. It began when Maheeka Ariyapperuma who was migrating to New Zealand determined not to be parted from her beloved pet 'Jennifer Jackson' (better known as JJ), decided to send the little Daschund ahead to Auckland, New Zealand, where her sister lives.

On the recommendation of a friend, she approached a well-known freight -forwarding company and discussed the possibility of transporting JJ to New Zealand, with one of the company's executives. In reply to Maheeka's query of whether the company had air freighted animals before, he assured her that they had handled many such cases.

However, when asked for the address of other customers who had sent their dogs to Wellington, he had said they did not keep such records and hence could not give her this information.

When questioned whether they needed the Quarantine Certificate issued in Singapore and the Import Permit issued by the Government of New Zealand, two vital documents required when air freighting an animal to that country from Sri Lanka, he had replied that a Quarantine Certificate was only needed if they were sending the dog through Singapore and not if it was going through either Kuala Lampur or Bangkok.

Not knowing much about the procedure, Maheeka and her mother trusted the cargo company to attend to the formalities and ensure the safe transportation of their beloved pet.

Passing the pup
The manager of the airline which brought the dog back said the airline had absorbed the total Rs. 200,000 cost of the return of the dog. When questioned on the procedure when importing a dog, he said that he had checked with the freight forwarding company and had been assured that all the documentation was intact, therefore they had left it at that.

The freight-forwarding company’s manager said they had not yet received any letter of complaint from Maheeka thus could not look into the matter any further. As for the incident itself, he explained that they had sent a copy of the TACT rules, explaining the rules and regulations of freighting an animal, which states that the shipper should handle the Import Permit part of the issue.

However, things did not work out as smoothly as they had expected.
Maheeka was instructed to purchase a cage for JJ in keeping with airline requirements at a pet-shop in Nawala. The cage, which cost Rs. 21,000, was duly purchased regardless of the price as it was essential for transporting the dog. Add to this the airline charge of Rs. 26,838 and the handling charges of the freight-forwarding company of Rs. 14,587, and their total expenditure came to Rs. 62,425. A hefty sum for one little dog but one they were willing to spend for their pet.

The International Veterinary Health Certificate issued by the local Government Veterinary Surgeon and the Chief Animal Quarantine Officer, the Veterinary Health Certificate issued by the Pet Vet Clinic and JJ's dog book too, were all produced before the local customs officers, as these documents were required to permit the freight of the dog.

According to the company executive all Maheeka's sister had to do was to show the airway bills at the other end to ensure the release of the dog from the New Zealand Customs.

This is where the story took an unexpected and almost tragic turn. On JJ's arrival in Auckland, where Maheeka's sister was waiting, the Customs officers refused to release the dog as the necessary documentation was not provided. The dog had to be 'put down', they said.

After much begging and pleading on Maheeka's sister's part, they agreed to give JJ five days’ grace. Meanwhile, the dog was to be kept in the New Zealand quarantine quarters, with Maheeka's sister being allowed to visit only for two hours a day. As it is the middle of winter in Auckland and the kennels had cement floors, JJ had according to Maheeka's sister, been cold and traumatised.

Meanwhile the sisters spent as much as Rs.10,000 on telephone calls, trying to figure a way out of the mess. Maheeka then contacted the freight-forwarding company’s manager, who assured them that they would have their money back and all expenses paid for the return of JJ.

With return formalities completed, JJ was finally on his way back home. But the messy business was not over yet as Maheeka was informed by the company that she would in fact have to pay another Rs. 148,000 to meet all costs of JJ's return. If she didn't send a fax confirming her agreement to pay up, they would have JJ offloaded in Kuala Lumpur.

Maheeka, on her mother's insistence consulted a lawyer and on his advice did not send any fax. Instead, she made an entry with Police HQ in Fort, which took down her full statement and also informed the Slave Island, Katunayake and Airport Police.

Finally it was a desperate dash to the airport, together with her mother and a senior army official who was a close family friend, to retrieve JJ. On arriving at the airport at 12.35 a.m. on Tuesday, they were guided straight to the cargo section where they eventually found JJ in her cage, looking half dead, famished and parched.

After much argument with company officials over who should bear the cost of the dog's return airfare, the airline had come to their rescue and agreed that it would bear the cost of the dog's return. Maheeka eventually got her dog back, paying Rs.1170 for the animal to be released to her.
JJ is now recovering from her ordeal.

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