Want to donate a bit of your time to change somebody’s life this holiday season? There are plenty of big hearted animal rescuers in Beijing who’ve given these adorable fur-babies a loving foster home. But, it’s time for them to find their way to their furever home and sometimes that’s not in Beijing, or even in China.
While the regulations on bringing pets abroad varies drastically, we’re going to focus on bringing strays to their furever home in the US – the country with one of the least complicated regulations.
A flight volunteer is someone who’s volunteering their time to bring a dog abroad. The reason being, most airlines will not ship an animal unaccompanied. Someone needs to claim responsibility for the pup the entire duration of the trip.
To sign up to be a flight volunteer is easy. Not only are there plenty of posters circulating around WeChat Moments, there are chat groups specifically for people who want to help take a pup abroad.
But before you sign up, know the facts and details of what it means to be a flight volunteer. This can’t be a last minute decision. Aside from vaccination records, each animal that’s planning on leaving China needs to apply for an export certificate. When approved, the certificate will only be valid for a brief window of 7-10 days. Which means, to be a responsible flight volunteer you’d need to plan your trip in advance.
Prior to your date of departure, you would have been in contact with your Beijing based rescuers and know exactly which pup you’ll be traveling with, which airline you’re flying with and the airline’s regulation, as well as the cost. The cost for traveling with the pup will be covered either by the Beijing rescuers or the US-based rescuers. On the day of your flight, you’ll be met with your travel buddy at the airport (or sooner if possible) and you’ll check the pup in as part of your luggage.
Once you’ve reached your destination, picked up the pup, and passed through customs, hand him or her off to the rescuer on the arrival end.
It’s worth noting that although flyers make it sound like all you need to do is meet someone when you leave Beijing who’ll hand you a pup to check in, it’s not as simple as that. The entire process will take time before you leave and extra time at the departure and arrival airports, as well as when you do arrive.
To be sure, we recommend getting in touch with Mary Peng of IVCS for more information before committing to becoming a flight volunteer. “We are not the rescue organization so we do not always know what the rescue orgs have done or not done. So we advise flight volunteers of essential things to consider, and to understand their rights and responsibilities. We advise all flight volunteers to “trust, but verify”… that the orgs know what they are doing and are acting professionally,” Peng tells beijingkids.
Is the trouble worth giving a pup a chance at a happy new life in the US? Absolutely!
To get in touch with Mary Peng, contact her via WeChat: BrassCupcake.
Photos: unsplash
