Good morning,

Does anyone have experience with changing/extending list of household goods after everything has been cleared and form 10.44 stamped by customs.

We forgot to add the dog which we didn't bring initially (who knew it was a household good) to the 18.44 form. Wouldn't be a problem, but since it's a yorkie (and we bought it with docked tail ), I wouldn't get an import permission from Veterinary Office without customs agreeing that the dog is a part of the household move.

I'd like to know where to start.
Thanks

i think if you find a sympathetic vet who will attest that the dogs tail was docked for health reasons, then you can get him registered in CH

Didn't know that was required. We brought our pets in without putting them on the form and no issues at customs.

We thought about this -but apparently not just us. Obviously:
"If you want to import a dog with a congenitally short tail or with an amputated tail / ear, please contact
the Federal Veterinary Office. To prevent docked dogs being brought illegally into Switzerland under
the guise of a medical indication, owners of such dogs must furnish watertight evidence for the FVO
actually to recognize the congenitally short tail / amputated tail or the amputated ear. To this end, a
medical report on the need for the amputation or on the presence of a congenital defect is absolutely
essential. A simple statement by a veterinarian is not sufficient for this. The report must clearly show
beyond any doubt that the short tail is a congenital defect or that the amputated tail/ear is the result of
a medically indicated intervention."


Apparently, there should not be a problem with customs, since we owned the dog prior to moving to Switzerland. I just need to procedure to extend this form. I think I'll just go to the office tomorrow and ask.

Yeah, but I heard of some people paying huge amount of money for returning dogs, after they weren't allowed for paper reasons. Yes, they don't always check paperwork in the airport, but in case they do, I wouldn't want to risk my dog. (On a website they say that an animal can be quarantined and put down).

Russiangeneva,

Have the customs folks been able to help you?

Also, have you spoken with the BVet? ( http://www.bvet.admin.ch/kontakt/index.html?lang=de )

The strict importation rules are in place to prevent Swiss residents from going outside Switzerland to acquire a docked dog as a get-around. However, the primary goal of the ban on docking and cropping is animal welfare; while I have no experience of your situation, I would think that forcing a family to abandon a beloved pet because of a clerical error would not be something they would insist upon. My experience has been that the BVet are reasonable folks.

Can you show proof that your dog has been a family member for quite some time before the move? Can you show them why - leaning heavily on animal welfare reasons - you were unable to bring him to Switzerland with you when the family first moved?

I would think - bearing in mind that this is only my opinion - that if you approach BVet with a reasoned argument they would be willing to help you.

Another possibility would be to contact a professional animal shipper. These folks generally are very well versed in the rules and regs of getting animals across borders, often well-connected, and might have be able to help you. One such firm here in Switzerland with a good reputation is Ace Pet Moving. ( http://www.acepetmoving.com/en/about-us.html )

Also, you might want to post a question in the Pets section; there are folks who have brought in docked family pets whose experiences might be relevant; perhaps they might not have seen your question in this section.

And, may I ask that you post an update when you find a solution? This info might be valuable for others.

Hope it gets resolved quickly, and that your pup is soon running in the Swiss Alpine meadows with the family.

Oh yeah, the most difficult thing is to explain why we didn't bring the dog right away. We visited home country before coming to Switzerland, and apparently, it's a high-risk urban rabies country. So a blood test + 3-months waiting time after the test were required.

Ok here's the result.

First, I went to the Customs Office at Port Franco, explained them the situation (some lady spoke very good English) - they were little bit confused, but told me that it shouldn't be a problem. They asked me how I want to bring the dog, once I told them through GVA - they gave me phone number of someone there and told me to call them. They told me that I should have an invoice / facture, showing that I owned the dog 6 months prior to move.

Second, I called the GVA's customs office, and again - the lady there spoke good English and was trying to be very helpful. She told me to make sure that when we bring the dog, to make sure we have the invoice (to prove that we owned it before), import permission (from Bern's Veterinary Office), blood test results, (non-EU high risk country) and pet passport. She also said that there shouldn't be a problem.

Finally, I called the Veterinary office in Bern. The lady there also spoke good English and was very helpful. I told her that I've read all regulations on the website, just wanted to confirm about the docked tail. She told me that they don't make this decision (whether to allow dog with docked tail) - the Customs does. The import application has a question about this - but they don't make the call whether to allow the dog or not. So, she also told me to make sure I bring proof that I owned the dog before moving to Switzerland.

I hope this is helpful.

All-in-all I feel more confident now.