The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 41 Best Laid Plans Comparing one pet PCS (permanent change of station) to another is like comparing a chihuahua with a bull mastiff. As is the case so often in Foreign Service life, the answer to how to transi- tion overseas with an other-than-human family member is: it depends. The process starts when a Foreign Service member is bidding on the next assignment. The suitability of a post for the family pet is often one of the criteria, alongside issues like schools and air quality, that families or individuals use to decide where they’re willing to serve. They research embassy housing, host government laws and quality of veterinary care. Making the arrangements to take a pet to post can take months from start to finish, including securing required vaccines, a rabies titer test and paperwork. Most pet owners have three paths to get their furriest family members overseas: as airline cargo—the most expensive option; as accompanied baggage—an extra piece of checked luggage; or in the cabin—if the pet is small enough to fit under the seat in its carrier. Those options are dwindling. Over the past decade, many major American carriers, like United, have limited or stopped flying animals in the hold as cargo or accompanied baggage. And in 2020 the U.S. government ruled that airlines are no longer required to accommodate “emotional support animals” in the passenger cabin. (Trained and certified service animals are still allowed.) In summer 2021 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention largely banned dogs frommore than 100 countries. Diplomats traveling on official government orders can usually meet the complex requirements to repatriate their dogs, but the CDC ban continues to sow confusion and difficulties with the airlines. New for the 2022 transfer season, OBC is advising pet owners transiting the European Union, which hosts typically pet-friendly airlines like Lufthansa and KLM, to check country-specific requirements for transiting its airports. Some countries may require a transiting pet to meet the same requirements as they would to enter, especially if they are coming from a country the E.U. considers high-risk for rabies. “The pet shipping landscape will continue to be challenging,” Johnston says. Who’s in Charge? Shipping pets internationally includes navigating a host of gov- ernment regulations and entities. First, there’s the matter of how to pay for it. The Fly America Act legally limits diplomats to flying on government-funded tickets on U.S. carriers or codeshares, which may not offer the best routing or airlines for animals. In recent years, the government has offered some flexibility with cost constructing—or applying the value of one ticket to another airline or routing—for pet travel, but the ticket still has to meet Fly America requirements. Transfer allowances can be used to reimburse travelers for limited pet transportation costs, including quarantine or shipping agent charges. Jennifer Nichols’ son, Hunter, with Charcoal, the family dog. An FS officer, Nichols is doing a fellowship on Capitol Hill and has drafted legislation to ease the burden of the CDC dog import ban on government employees. COURTESYOFJENNIFERNICHOLS JEFFMOORES