Spot the Dog Prepares for Aliyah

Today Spot the Dog went for his health certificate to make Aliyah to Israel. This, too, is a bureaucratically entangled matter. Not only does the vet need to be a USDA accredited veterinarian, but the health certificate needs to be further endorsed by the USDA state veterinarian. Spotty also needs to have a rabies vaccine at least 30 days before travel. Spot the Dog had his vaccine in early September, so no problems there. But the health certificate must be issued within 7 days of travel, so we only have seven days to get it endorsed by the USDA state vet. Well, the USDA vet didn't return our call today, so that only leaves 4 days to get his signature in Trenton, NJ before Friday. I sure hope we don't have to drive there to get it done.

Questions about papers for the trip to Israel in the Nefesh b'Nefesh forum reveal an interesting matter. Even according to long-time ElAl personnel, no dog has ever had its papers checked upon arriving in Israel. Nevertheless, we shall play it safe and make sure all of Spot's papers are in order.

Fortunately, our vet, Dr. Groskin at the Englewood Animal Hospital, is USDA certified, so we didn't have to seek out a new one. Spot the Dog is shown below being checked out for Aliyah by Dr. Groskin. I can't speak for Spotty, but we will miss Dr. Groskin and the staff at the Englewood Animal Hospital. They have taken care of Spotty for almost 10 years in illness and in health. Fortunately, he is in health for his trip to Israel. Bye bye Dr. Groskin. We will miss you.

 

Spot the Dog gets the once over from Dr. Groskin