bonnie goes over the ocean

how a dog is shipped from athens, ohio to lüneburg, germany


conny said she has a dog now. she rescued it out of the claws of nearing death in an overflowing dog shelter in zanesville, ohio. but that was not quite yet the happy end for bonnie as the overhappy owner baptized her new pet, it was the beginning of an adventure for both. conny needed to get bonnie from athens, ohio to lüneburg, germany.

this is the story of a bureaucratic and physical odyssey recently braved by german exchange student conny matthes at ohio university.


saturday, april 26, 2008
athens, ohio
3:10 AM. it is dark and quiet in athens, ohio. a few drunken students stumble homeward. i’m sitting next to jerone who in a few minutes will give a dog a nine-hour ride to newark liberty international airport, new jersey.

3:20 AM. after poking around the area to find the right junction, we arrive at conny’s friend’s house where bonnie lives. conny and bonnie are excited. both have been awake during the night, getting ready for the long journey, sorting papers, going for a walk, and playing. now conny puts bonnie into the flight crate and the bulky plastic box goes in the back of the van.


saturday, april 26, 2008
on the road westbound
3:30 AM. finally on the route 50 eastbound the mood in the car is peaceful. bonnie settled down in her flight crate and falls asleep. conny worries a little: “that I’m not allowed to put anything into the crate is the hardest thing. bonnie always snuggles her nose in it.” the t-shirt in the crate is the one that conny wore when she first picked up bonnie from the dog shelter in zanesville, ohio on march, 14. little did bonnie know that she not only was rescued from sure death -– she was the 210th dog in the month of february in the overflowing shelter -– but would make a journey that probably only a few dogs make in their life time: flying nine hours as cargo over the atlantic ocean.

meet bonnie

age: 9 months old
race: golden retriever-labrador-brittany hunting dog mix
size: 23.5 inches from head to toe
original name: blazer
origin: unclear, the dog shelter does not tell the new owner
former home: dog shelter in zanesville, ohio
temporary home: south shannon avenue in athens, ohio
new home: lüneburg and mainz in germany


saturday, april 26, 2008
on the road westbound
07:30 AM. our first stop, in hancock, maryland. bonnie needs to pee and drink some water. she can’t have any food anymore –- eating is not allowed prior to the flight. but bonnie is contend. she doesn’t bark, growl or whine. if anything, she wants more play time. she is only nine months old and loves to pick up bugs, a totally torn rag, and jumping up on people.


08:00 AM. back on track conny tells her story how she met bonnie and decided to adopt her.

how conny met bonnie or why did conny go through all the hassle?
it started during an afternoon in late february. conny was at home sick with stomach flu. for distraction she watched tv where the pedigree adoption ad came up for the fifth time. she got into thinking. wasn’t it stupid to take a u.s. puppy? there are plenty in germany. but conny was bored. she thought she might as well look online what it all was about. on the website was the picture of a cutie that looked like conny’s old dog. instead of a farewell party with her friends, conny had to put her old anemic dog to sleep just shortly. conny was devastated. after some family diplomacy it was decided, conny will get bonnie.


chips, forms, and rabies shots
it turned out that bonnie had to fly by herself even before conny would return to germany. conny couldn’t keep bonnie in her apartment; the landlord forbids it. bonnie lived with conny’s friend in a neat house with backyard. but despite this nice arrangement it was stressful for conny and her friend to have bonnie living away from conny. they agreed that bonnie would fly as soon as all paper work was done.

conny was optimistic; german customs told her she needed four things in order to import bonnie:

1. international health certificate
2. bilingual e.u. form 998
3. rabies shot older than 30 days
4. microchip


conny thought that it didn’t take much to bring a dog to germany after all, but the nitty-gritty of meeting the requirements were more than she had asked for.

• the health certificate had to be approved by the united states department of agriculture (usda) in addition to getting the certificate from a local vet. the usda has only one office for ohio and west virginia in pickerington, ohio, about an hour and a half car ride from athens.

• the microchip had to be a european union chip. in contrast to the number letter combination used on u.s. chips, it contains 15 digits without letters. conny had to order one online.

• the dog shelter missed to fill in conny’s and bonnie’s name, misestimated her age and left out the information that bonnie was spayed in the adoption papers. this created problems for dr. murray at the abfall vet clinic in the south plaines to fill out bonnie’s health certificate. dr. murray had to check back with the dog shelter in zanesville, ohio.

that the usda needs to approve the health certificate posed a real problem. only a day before bonnie’s schedule flight and half an hour before closing their office conny managed to reach pickerington, ohio. every time she had to go somewhere with or for bonnie she needed to ask people for rides. as an international student she doesn’t have a car since she is 23, car rentals don’t give her a car. pleading and working the phone conny managed to organize a ride whenever something new came up.

conny & bonnie went to the abfall vet clinic in the south plaines three times to get everything done.

• on march 15, 2008 (a day after conny got her from the shelter) bonnie was coughing and spit out yellowish, pussy mucus and blood. she needed antibiotics.

• on april 2, 2008 bonnie’s stitches from the spaying wound needed to come out. conny bought tablets against heartworms that come with mosquitos and are common for pets to pick up in the usa.

• on april 24, 2008 a comprehensive exam for the international health certificate and to get an anti tick and flea ointment.
in addition, dr. murray from the vet clinic came to see bonnie in her backyard to finalize papers just a day before our trip to the airport.


saturday, april 26, 2008 newark liberty international airport, new jersey
12:30 PM. we arrive at the airport. after looping around quite a bit we find continental’s terminal c for domestic flight and cargo. bonnie will fly as cargo in the belly of the plane.

12:45 PM. bonnie doesn’t like the technical voices that are all over the place. the bustling of people make her nervous. conny is anxious. she needs to make the crate ready for flying. the airline has strict rules. she takes out the toy with peanut butter, puts in an absorbing pad (bonnie’s restroom) and a new t-shirt. she warns us, if the airline asks her to take it out, she’ll play dumb. bonnie should have at least one familiar thing to remember her for the next couple of months. “good girl, good girl,” conny pacifies bonnie and takes her on her arms.


12:55 PM. conny carries bonnie inside the airport to the petsafe area, continental’s program for flying animals. i take the crate. a passenger stops to pet bonnie: “isn’t she a cutie?” another dog in an even bigger crate sits close to the counter of the petsafe check-in. it apparently just arrived, beatings its tail against the inside plastic wall, wants out. this dog seems to have managed its flight just fine. this gives hope that conny picked the right airline.


the right airline for bonnie
with the help of the monthly report that the federal aviation authority demands from airlines, conny filtered out the best airline for bonnie: continental. she also checked delta, american airlines, and united airlines. although they offer similar pet programs, conny says they didn’t give enough detailed information what they contain.

continental’s report stated that every month 5.000 to 6.000 pets travel with the airline’s petsafe program; only 1 to 2 die during per month. conny had the feeling that continental really cares for pets. the airline promises to put pets into an acclimatized zone in case a connecting flight leaves more than 45 minutes waiting time. continental’s website says they set up live traps around the airport to catch animals, which escape from their crates in case the door pops open. important for conny was also that continental checks on the animal when the plane arrives and gets a vet immediately if the pet appears sick. while picking continental was an easy call for conny, leaving bonnie with the airline was not.


saturday, april 26, 2008
newark liberty international airport, new jersey
01:15 PM. “shit, this is hard,” says conny while she fills out paper work, nametag, and dog tag. she’s crying. i bolt a small bag with food to bonnie’s crate. conny attaches a water bowl to the door. then jerone and her carry the crate with bonnie inside behind the check-in line. fortunately conny can send the leash attached to the crate. the continental employee puts it in a plastic bag. the guy put is finger in the crate and conny told him that bonnie is very friendly and will come and lick it. the guy just said: "in this case, i have pepper spray." he laughs, just kidding, he says. conny is not amused (was he really just joking?).


01:30 PM. bonnie is checked in, conny in tears. she calls her family: “12 hours I have to wait now before you guys hopefully call me back.” bonnie is supposed to arrive at 01:30 AM (07:30 AM german time) at hamburg’s airport. conny’s family has strict orders from her to let her now how bonnie is doing as soon as they have her. sad and hungry conny walks back to the car. we decide to drive into manhattan to get a bite to eat (since the airport only offers proper food behind security gates).

saturday, april 26, 2008
new york city
02:00 – 06:00 PM. after doing the most insane thing ever, which is driving with a car into manhattan and finding a parking spot, eating in a pizza shop, getting lost in new york city’s often unlabeled street maze, and driving to liberty state park to wave lady liberty hello, we are on the way back to athens, ohio. pictures from new york city are on my flickr.

07:00 PM -12:00 AM. the way back is much harder. conny can’t stop thinking if bonnie is alright. “the airline doesn’t feed bonnie because she’s only flying nine hours.” only after 12 hours continental would give bonnie water, only after 48 hours food. we stop several times, to eat, for restroom breaks and a longer nap in the parking lot of a mc donald’s restaurant. conny sleeps most of the time during driving, when she’s awake her thoughts are with bonnie.


sunday, april 27, 2008
somewhere on i-68 in maryland
01:30 AM. bonnie is supposed to arrive at hamburg’s airport. but conny doesn’t expect a call from her family until 02:00 AM.

02:00 AM. no phone call yet. conny worries that everything went okay. bonnie has now been without food for over 24 hours.

02:30 AM. no phone call from germany yet. conny is upset and calls her dad in germany. but he hasn’t heard anything from her mom at the airport. we try to call continental but conny cannot find a number to call in her papers. calling an operator from the cell phone is too pricy. we try to comfort her, airport procedures take a long time, german bureaucracy is slower than a snail, and the airplane could have departed and landed later than scheduled.

04:00 AM. the phone rings. conny’s mom and brother have found bonnie in good health and happy at the cargo section of hamburg’s airport. procedures and customs took a couple of hours but the german customs’ office let bonnie pass. it is palpable in the car; conny is very relieved and so are we.

04:10 AM. bonnie is on her way to lüneburg, germany -– a half hour car ride from hamburg -- where she will stay with conny’s mom until conny returns to germany on june 28. we are three hours from athens.


bonnie & conny’s costs

adoption incl. spaying -- $95 -- dog shelter zanesville,oh
flight crate -- $69.95 -- petsmart zanesville. oh
usda documents -- $24 -- usda pickerington, oh
trip to usda -- $40 -- gas and driver
e.u. form 998 -- $7.50 -- pettravel.com
e.u. micro chip -- $44.50 -- pettravel.com
inserting micro chip -- $24 -- abfall vet clinic
1st exam and rabies shot -- $44.40 -- abfall vet clinic
2nd exam, tablets against heart worms -- $69.25 -- abfall vet clinic
more tablets against heart worms -- $5 -- abfall vet clinic
travel kit with food bowl and stickers -- $14.50 -- pettravel.com
2 absorbing pads for flight crate -- $15.00 -- pettravel.com
flight newark, nj to hamburg, germany -- $605 -- continental airline
ride athens, oh to newark, nj -- $350 -- gas, driver, car maintenance

total costs -- $1,408.10