A Guide for Pet Owners in Greece - Residents and Tourists

By Guillaume de Lavigne

This guide is intended for all pet-owners living or planning to live in Greece, as well as for all the tourists wishing to adopt a pet during their holidays. Many foreigners living in Greece have rescued and adopted a dog or a cat. Foreigners planning to come to live in Greece with their pet want to know precisely how to travel safely and how to respect the Greek law. The same questions cross the mind of those tourists wanting to adopt a pet and take it with them to their homeland. They have their heart set on doing everything that’s necessary to provide their pet with the compulsory papers, veterinary care, disease-prevention methods, shelter and to comply with the law.There is too much false or unreliable advice scattered around on internet-forums or conveyed among people. That’s why the goal of this book is to discuss each of these topics and much more in-depth. It gives each one of you, concerned with your pet’s welfare, dog or cat, an answer to your queries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291967272

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A Guide for Pet Owners in Greece - Residents and Tourists

A Guide for Pet Owners in Greece – Residents and Tourists

Third Edition, revised May 2017

Copyright © 2014 Guillaume de Lavigne

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-291-96727-2

This book is under licence Creative Commons - Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) which you can read here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/deed.en or write to:

Creative Commons

171 Second Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, California 94105, USA

http://www.lulu.com

The front cover picture shows our four girls, from left to right, Gypsi, Ninja, Pluto and Lulu. 

INTRODUCTION

This little guide is intended for all pet-owners living or planning to live in Greece, as well as for all the tourists wishing to adopt a pet during their holidays.

Many foreigners living in Greece have one dog, a cat or more, sometimes even both. Others decide to adopt one, being concerned with the free-ranging-dogs and -cats issues in their neighbourhood. Foreigners planning to come to live in Greece with their pet(s) want to know precisely how to travel safely and how to respect the Greek law. The same question crosses the minds of those tourists wanting to adopt a pet and take it with them to their homeland. They require an urgent solution. Both these present and future residents and those tourists are pet-lovers and have their hearts set on doing everything that’s necessary to provide their pet(s) with the compulsory papers, veterinary care, disease-prevention methods, shelter and to comply with the Greek law.

Vaccination protocols as published in veterinary books and publications are not blindly applicable everywhere. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea have other priorities than more northern or other distant countries. Even amongst the Mediterranean countries, Greece has its own individuality. The vaccination protocol and pest control measures described in this book apply to the needs in Greece and to travel abroad.

Greece is part of the European Union, which means its laws follow the European guidelines concerning animal protection and welfare. These laws are enforced and offenders are sued. One should know them, at least the main topics.

Pet transport rules vary even amongst countries of the European Union and between non-EU or non- European countries, not to mention travelling from and to other continents.

There is too much false or incomplete information, too much unreliable advice scattered around on internet-forums or conveyed among people. That’s why the goal of this book is to discuss each of these topics and much more in-depth, based on experience, on the most updated veterinary publications, on recent laws and rules. It gives each one of you, concerned with your pet’s welfare, an answer to your queries.

My wife and I have lived in Crete for over 16 years and due to my medical profession and to the fact we keep a boarding kennel, we’ve been and still are in touch with many people, foreign residents, tourists and even more so with Greeks. Most residents are English, fewer are French, German, Dutch, American or Scandinavian. Each one of them, foreigners and Greeks, has his little stories or some anecdotes he wants to share. I based the contents of this book on what I’ve heard from them or on what they have asked me.

The first part deals with dogs, the second with cats. Most of the subjects discussed in the first part (pet passport, microchip, etc.) are also valid for cats, except infectious diseases, vaccination protocols and feeding.

Each country has its history, traditions, culture, religion, mentality, and way of living. So does Greece. You will read here and there some remarks I make concerning the Greeks’ mentality and conduct. Do not consider them as criticisms, but merely as simple descriptions of facts, or as anecdotes, many with a dry sense of humour, but it doesn’t go beyond that. Aren’t we all laughing stock?

I wish you an enriching and useful read.

PLUTO

BOARDING KENNEL

Kasteli-Kissamos 73400

Chania - Crete

Beatrice & Guy

Tel.: [phone]

Cell phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Websites:

www.kissamos-dogs-boardingkennel.blogspot.com

www.dog-rescue-and-adoption-in-greece.blogspot.gr

DOGS

HEALTH and VETERINARY CARE

Greek vets obtain their diploma in Greece, some of them abroad, mainly in Italy or in UK. Only a few speak fluent English, they jabber away! Don’t blame them! Look at French and English people: they seldom speak a second language properly, even after having spent a decade in a foreign country. After having delivered this Parthian shot, we conclude that in most cases you will be dealing with a non-English speaking or with a jabbering vet. It’s of no great importance if you only need him to deliver to you a pet passport and inoculate your pet. It becomes a problem when your pet is sick and you want to explain him what’s going on. Residents can ask around to find a vet who speaks English, even if he lives a few miles away; tourists are often in a hurry and have no choice but to take the first they find. There’s no other solution, except maybe this one for residents or tourist in Crete: go to Brits in Crete’s forum and write a post, asking Where do I find an English-speaking vet near …. You certainly will receive an answer.

(Website: http://www.britsincrete.co.uk/cgi-bin/bicforum/YaBB.pl?board=Animals)

1. Pet passport

The first time you bring your puppy or pet to the veterinarian, he will give (sell?) you a pet passport. It comes in multiple forms, but in Europe it is a small blue booklet with the inscription European Union followed by the name of the country where it was delivered. It contains:

- a first page with the owner’s name, address, etc.

- a page Description of the animal: animal picture, name, species, breed, sex, date of birth, coat.

- a page Identification of the animal: microchip number, date of microchipping, location of microchip (tattooing isn’t accepted anymore)

- page 4 to 29:

Rabies,

Rabies serological test,

Tick treatment,

Echinococcosis treatment,

Other vaccinations,

Clinical examination = health certificate to travel abroad valid for some countries

Legalisation = must be stamped and signed by the local authorities.

Be careful! In Greece, many vets give you a health book. Although it says, International Certificate of Vaccination & Health for Dogs and Cats, it’s only valid in Greece and worthless if you want to travel with your pet abroad. Ask for a Pet Passport, valid in the European Union (usual price: 10€)

Greek law

At the borders, airports and ports customs will ask you to show them your pet passport and check if the dog is microchipped and has received rabies vaccination, which date of validity must extend beyond the date of return. Without it, you will not pass.

In Greece, you are supposed to carry your pet’s passport with you each time you are outside your home! In some regions police, customs or port officials are severe, in others not. Everything depends on which orders they received from their superiors. If you are controlled and do not have it with you, they will allow you a delay to come and show it at their office. For not having an up-to-date pet passport the fine is 300€.

After having vaccinated your pet against rabies, the vet is obliged to deliver a metallic rabies-badge with the year of validity of the rabies vaccine. Outside its house, your pet must wear it at all times attached to its collar!

In February 2014, the Greek law concerning the protection and welfare of domestic animals was revised and completed and again so early 2016, which proves the authorities’ concern. One addition is this:

Every pet owner must declare his pet at the local authorities (town hall). He must fill in a declaration upon honor stipulating the dog’s name, age, breed, … and microchip number and add to this a copy of the dog’s chip registration certificate. A photograph can be added.

I did this. I prepared these papers, went to the town hall, and addressed myself to the mayor’s secretary. I had to repeat three times why I had come. She seemed to be thunderstruck and didn’t understand what I was talking about. You are the first asking us this. We don’t know. We are not prepared for this. We don’t have the inscription forms or program. We’ll call you as soon as we know something. I’m still waiting. Have the papers ready and wait till you are asked to show them. In some remote villages, foreigners did manage to obtain a registration certificate. Everything depends on the Mayor’s good will.

2. Microchip

Microchipping must be done prior or on the same date as the rabies vaccination! There is no exemption to this requirement, even if your pet has a valid rabies vaccination. In the latter case, he must be microchipped first and then given a new rabies vaccine.

A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit about the size of a large grain of rice, injected by a vet with a syringe under the skin of the dog, on the left side of the neck, after having checked that the animal does not already have a chip. The chip uses passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, and is also known as a PIT tag (for Passive Integrated Transponder). The chip can often be felt under the skin and is read with a scanner. Microchips are not yet universal, but they are legally required in some jurisdictions. (In the UK, it’s compulsory for all dogs since April 6th, 2016). RFID chips are used in animal research. Noted veterinary associations are in favor of the procedure; they see it as reasonably safe for cats and dogs, pointing to rates of serious complications about one in a million.

Previously the vet completed an enrollment form with chip ID, owner’s contact information, pet’s name and description, veterinarian contact information, and an alternate emergency contact designated by the pet’s owner, which was sent by post to the appropriate database under control of the veterinary association. Nowadays these details are filled in on a computer, on an official governmental database program each vet has access to. The requested owner’s information is: name, address, date of birth, telephone number and passport number or identity card number. Some vets will charge you 40€ for this. Unfortunately, many vets pretend they will register the pet’s chip into the database, but don’t do it out of laziness or indifference. That’s why you should ask him to deliver you immediately the official registration form, which he can only print out after having filled in the form on the database.

We regularly had rescued dogs brought to us by tourists wanting to adopt them and asking us to keep them until they can travel. Going to the vet, we had numerous adult dogs which already had a microchip. Not one of them could be tracked onto the previous, veterinary database! This does prove they hadn’t been registered.

The new Greek database fulfills its purpose! There was too many fumbling around with the old one. As I previously mentioned, many vets didn’t register the pet’s microchip, especially those of rescued pets going abroad, which led to very sad situations. I’ll give you an example.

Years ago, we fostered a dog, rescued and adopted by an English couple until it could travel home. We took it to the vet who delivered us a passport, etc. and a microchip registration form, which at that time was in triplicate: one for the owner, one for the vet’s files and one to be send to the database. One month or so after the dog had left, we received a call from an English rescue shelter telling us they had found a dog with a Greek microchip. They called us having found our website, hoping we could be of any help. We couldn’t. We called the Greek vet, giving him the chip’s number, but he was unable to give us the owner’s name, because he hadn’t registered the dog and hadn’t kept the form in his files. From that day on, we kept our own files, with the owner’s or escort’s full details, chip’s number, etc.

Today, if everything is done by the book, this kind of unhappy ending cannot happen anymore.

Let’s go back: the pet has a non-registered microchip. What happens next? Since the previous owner cannot be found, the vet writes the chip’s number in the passport and registers it in the database on the rescuer’s name. There are no spare stickers, but that’s not a major problem.

What happens if the owner is identified? The vet must contact the police, which in turn will inform the owner.  If the owner has notified the authorities about the loss, he will be asked to collect his pet. If not, the offender will be reported.

To sum up, in case of adoption:

-       The dog doesn’t have a microchip: no problem.

-       The dog has a non-registered microchip: everything depends on the vet’s good will. Most of them will write the chip’s number in the passport delivered to the new owner. Some refuse to do so.

-       The dog has a registered microchip: the rescuer cannot keep the dog.

The owner receives a registration certificate with the chip ID and recovery service contact information.