Pet Food Confiscation

[ramblinboy]

On

[annsilva@comcast.net]

On October 1, 2010, on our way from Alberta to Oregon through the Eastport border crossing, we had our dog food confiscated. It was not in the original bag, so the Agriculture agent couldn't determine its ingredients.

Pet Food Restrictions: Only U.S.-made food in its original package can be brought into the United States. That makes it pretty tricky if you have a finicky dog and can't find his brand in the U.S. My wife did ease him into a new diet using rice as transition into the new one. Good luck out there!

It must have been the day for pet food pickup. Perhaps they were out of it at the station. We have gone through and back several of the Canadian border gates. Never have they ever asked about pet food. Something change that we don't know about? We will be going up there again next summer.

[Guest Wayne77590]

I fully understand the need for regulations and inspections, I really do.

Now picture this. You have a bag of Beneful dog food that you purchased before going on your trip. The Beneful dog food bag has a wonderful self locking zip top for easy re-storage. No need to roll it up and put clothspins on it or set something on top of the closure. It is really wonderful.

So, you are on your trip in a foreign land and the Beneful runs out. No problem, "Ol Bandit" dog food will suffice until we get to a place we can replenish the Beneful. Hey! Let's just reuse the Beneful bag since it is so nice. We pour the Ol Bandit into the Beneful bag, throw the Ol Bandit bag in a proper trash container and we are on our way home.

I wonder if the taste the dog food when they check it!!

Some regulations are not worth the paper they are written on. I'm glad I'm honest and I'd report and throw away the dog food upon request of the authorities. (If they asked me to)

[hermanmullins]

I fully understand the need for regulations and inspections, I really do.

Now picture this. You have a bag of Beneful dog food that you purchased before going on your trip. The Beneful dog food bag has a wonderful self locking zip top for easy re-storage. No need to roll it up and put clothspins on it or set something on top of the closure. It is really wonderful.

So, you are on your trip in a foreign land and the Beneful runs out. No problem, "Ol Bandit" dog food will suffice until we get to a place we can replenish the Beneful. Hey! Let's just reuse the Beneful bag since it is so nice. We pour the Ol Bandit into the Beneful bag, throw the Ol Bandit bag in a proper trash container and we are on our way home.

I wonder if the taste the dog food when they check it!!

Some regulations are not worth the paper they are written on. I'm glad I'm honest and I'd report and throw away the dog food upon request of the authorities. (If they asked me to)

By the way Wayne, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and Semper Fi.

[Guest Wayne77590]

Thank you!

[ramblinboy]

From the US border services info:

[luv2tup]

We're back & forth between Washington & BC on a regular basis. If we're not sure about the admissibility of something, we simply phone the nearest border crossing. For the longest time, as long as the dog's food is in the original bag (open or not) and the ingredients are clearly marked and don't contain lamb or goat, we're good to go. We've never had the dog's food confiscated.

We often find our fellow Canadians take things for granted. They sometimes fail to realize they are entering a foreign country. We regularly meet people in RV parks whining about how they were "hassled at the border". If you're not sure, just phone and ask.