Importing My Dog to Taiwan!

 

Well, my little buddy finally made it to Taiwan.  My dog Charlie was finally able to immigrate with us.  He’s a poodle breed (Taiwanese Red Poodle).  His name in Chinese is Cha Li Wang (茶裏王).  My Taiwanese friends will know that this is a brand of bottled tea sold in Taiwan, but it is sometimes translated as Charlie Wang.  My dog is named after this tea, because he is the color of oolong tea.

There is a process for importing a pet from the US to Taiwan.  Taiwan is a rabies-free country, so they are very strict about letting pets from countries with rabies into Taiwan. There are a number of hoops that must be jumped through in order to make it happen. 

First, you must go on the website of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA).  Here is where you will find updated requirements for importing an animal from your country. 

Second, your pet requires a FAVR (called the titration test).  This will determine exposure to rabies.  This test must be done 90 days to one year prior to import.  This is a recent change as of 2025.  90 days is a minimum they are not flexible about the timeline. 

Third, the pet must have a certificate from a veterinarian (In English or Mandarin) stating the breed, age, sex, microchip number and date of last rabies vaccination.

Fourth, the importer must have a current passport or Taiwan ID or APRC/ARC (Alien Permanent Registration Card).

Fifth, an import permit must be filed within 20 days with APHIA.  This permit can be filed on-line. (LINK)

The most difficult aspect is finding a veterinarian that is knowledgeable about this and is willing to do it.  You must explore and be familiar with the requirements, it varies for every country and the vets can’t keep up with all of it 

Finally, all of the paperwork, with the import permit must pass through the US Department of Agriculture.  This can be pretty stressful, because the import permit must be processed and sent to USDA.  We got the USDA paperwork the day before leaving for Taiwan.

The airlines must be notified ahead of the trip.  Someone must travel with the pet. The total cost to get the dog to Taiwan, veterinarian cost and airline costs was about $2,500 USD. That does not include the person travelling with the pet.    

All in all, it was simpler to get visas for me and my family than one for the dog.  He’s worth it.

嗯，我的小夥伴終於來到台灣了！

我的狗狗 Charlie 終於能和我們一起移民來台灣了。他是一隻貴賓犬（台灣紅貴賓）。他的中文名字是「茶裏王」。台灣的朋友們應該知道，這也是台灣市面上販售的一種茶，有時會被翻譯為「Charlie Wang」。我的狗就是以這款茶命名的，因為他的毛色和烏龍茶很像。

從美國將寵物帶入台灣是有一定程序的。台灣是一個無狂犬病的國家，因此對於來自有狂犬病國家的寵物入境管控非常嚴格，必須經過層層審查才能辦理成功。

帶寵物入境台灣的流程

1. 查詢動植物檢疫檢驗局（APHIA）網站
   你需要先前往「動植物檢疫檢驗局（APHIA）」的官方網站，這裡會提供最新的寵物入境規範，並根據你的國家列出具體要求。

2. 進行 FAVR 檢測（抗體效價檢測）
   你的寵物必須接受 FAVR 檢測（也稱為抗體效價檢測），以確認其是否具有足夠的狂犬病抗體。此檢測必須 在入境前 90 天至 1 年內完成。這是 2025 年起的新規定，90 天是最低標準，官方對此時間點沒有彈性。

3. 獸醫健康證明
   寵物必須持有獸醫開立的健康證明（可為英文或中文），證明須包含寵物的品種、年齡、性別、晶片號碼及最近一次的狂犬病疫苗接種日期。

4. 進口人必須持有有效證件
   進口人必須擁有有效的護照、台灣身分證，或 APRC/ARC（外僑永久居留證/居留證）。

5. 申請進口許可證
   進口許可證必須 在入境前 20 天內申請，並向「動植物檢疫檢驗局（APHIA）」提交申請。此申請可在線上完成。（[連結]）

最困難的部分

最困難的其實是 找到一位熟悉這項程序的獸醫，或是願意協助辦理的獸醫。由於每個國家的規定不同，獸醫不一定能掌握所有細節，因此飼主需要自己研究並熟悉相關規範。

最後，所有文件（包含進口許可證）都必須通過 美國農業部（USDA） 的審核。這個過程相當緊張，因為進口許可證必須送交 USDA 審批，而我們是在 出發前一天 才拿到 USDA 文件！

此外，航空公司必須提前通知，且寵物必須有隨行旅伴。帶 Charlie 來台灣的總費用，包括獸醫費用與機票費用，大約是 2,500 美元（不包括陪同旅客的費用）。

總結

幫我和家人辦簽證都比幫狗辦簽證還要簡單！但他值得！

 

Charlie about 15 years ago

He was a cute little guy!

Charlie was born in Taiwan, moved with us to Tucson...now he's home again

In Arizona with my son-in-law's dog Reggie

Charlie's Namesake

Photos and Post Property of Taiwan Adventure Publications.  

The Year of the Snake!

 Ah, Lunar New Year!  The Year of the snake is upon us.  We chose to celebrate early this year, so we could include Eric’s family.  We have become a pretty close group, even though there’s a language barrier.  We find an ability to communicate by common interests.  For example, Eric’s dad and I enjoy brewing tea and drinking it in the gongfu style. We also enjoy Mahjong and enjoy playing together.  We all like to eat delicious Taiwanese cuisine and of course, we all love Elizabeth and Eric and their family.  These are cultural universals.  Food, fun and family, it doesn’t matter where you come from, every culture values and enjoys these things. 

It doesn’t hurt that both families are interested in having a good relationship together.  We can all be understanding of the differences between the two cultures.  It takes a bit of effort to try and think and behave in a way that doesn’t offend each other’s cultural biases. 

Let’s get to what actually happened on our “personal” Lunar New Year.  Brenda, my lovely wife, made a number of Lunar New Year decorations, and placed them around our apartment.  She created some beautiful flower arrangements, and a branch of “pussywillows” to hang on one wall.  Then she made a beautiful arrangement of ceramicware for the food service.  All of this was done with the help of Hola stores. 

Hola has a wonderful selection of Items for Lunar New Year and other holidays, like Christmas. We did all of our decoration shopping there.  While the women were “oohing and aahing” over the decorations, Eric, his dad and I got down to business with the teapot. 

We brewed a selection of teas, including green, oolong and black teas with fruit as a snack.  The women joined in after a while, as well.   After we were sufficiently, and by sufficiently I mean excessively caffeinated, it was time to think about serving the meal.

Our meal consisted of traditional Lunar New Year foods.  We had Luobogao (which is a combination of turnips and flour making a kind of cake), Zhujiao (pig’s feet), Sea bass, pork ball and turnip soup and “Buddha jumps over the wall” soup, and spinach.  Each of these carry a traditional meaning.

Luobogao (white radish cake) – gao means high, so the thought behind serving that is that you will move up during the next year.  A promotion on the job, or getting into a good high school, literally an increase.

Zhujiao or pigs feet represents abundance in the new year.

The fish is served, but some is to be left over to signify having food for the next year.

The pork ball/white radish soup – The addition of white radish is a wish for good luck in the next year.

The Spinach is made with long leaves to signify longevity.  

Finally, “Buddha Jumps over the wall” should be made with premium quality ingredients and is a desire for wealth and prosperity

Lunar New Year is a great holiday.  We hope that you have a healthy, prosperous new year!  Happy Year of the Snake! 

啊，農曆新年！蛇年來了！我們今年提早慶祝，是為了能和 Eric 的家人一起過節。雖然語言上有些障礙，但我們已經成為一個很親密的大家庭。我們通過共同的興趣找到溝通的方法，比如我和 Eric 的爸爸都喜歡泡茶，用功夫茶的方式品茶。我們也喜歡一起打麻將。我們還都愛吃美味的台灣菜。當然了，大家都很愛 Elizabeth、Eric 和他們的家人。這些都是跨文化的共同點——美食、樂趣和家庭，無論來自哪裡，每個文化都珍視和享受這些。

兩家人都希望保持良好的關係，這點也很重要。大家都能理解兩種文化的差異，並努力以一種尊重對方文化的方式去思考和行為。這需要一些努力，但絕對值得。

現在來說說我們“私人”的農曆新年慶祝吧！我的太太 Brenda 特別賢慧，她做了很多農曆新年的裝飾品，把我們的公寓布置得充滿節日氣氛。她設計了一些漂亮的花藝擺設，還掛了一支“銀柳”在牆上。她還用陶瓷餐具布置了一套非常漂亮的餐桌擺設。所有這一切都在 Hola 商店的幫助下完成。

Hola 商店有很多很棒的節日商品，無論是農曆新年還是聖誕節，我們所有的裝飾都是在那裡買的。當女士們對裝飾品嘖嘖稱讚時，Eric、他爸爸和我已經開始專心泡茶了。

我們泡了幾種茶，包括綠茶、烏龍茶和紅茶，並配了些水果當小吃。後來女士們也加入了我們的茶會。等我們喝夠了茶（其實是喝得過量了），就開始準備晚餐了。

我們的晚餐是傳統的農曆新年菜餚，有蘿蔔糕（白蘿蔔加米粉做成的糕點）、豬腳、海鱸魚、豬肉丸蘿蔔湯、“佛跳牆”和菠菜。每道菜都有特殊的寓意：

• 蘿蔔糕：因為“糕”與“高”同音，象徵步步高升，比如工作升職或考上好學校。
• 豬腳：寓意新年豐衣足食。
• 魚：吃魚時要留一些，象徵“年年有餘”。
• 豬肉丸蘿蔔湯：白蘿蔔象徵好運。
• 佛跳牆：用優質食材製作，象徵財富和繁榮。
• 菠菜：用長葉子烹飪，象徵長壽。

農曆新年真是一個美好的節日！祝大家新年健康、富足！蛇年快樂！

Check Out Elizabeth's video - 查看莎白的影片！

Handmade Decorations

Mahjong!

Luobogao - White Radish Cake

Zhujiao - Pig's Feet with Broccoli

Sea Bass

Pork Ball/White Radish Soup

"Longevity Spinach"

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall