umm...please don't destroy my cat

After I settled the transaction with my driver and got him to sign my, surely binding contract, I went over to the waiting area to look for the wife. Another shameless Android application plug goes to Fring. It's basically a mobile interface for Skype. While I would love to be using Google Voice I haven't found a way to activate it as they will not cooperate with those of us outside the U.S., at least not in Taiwan. I can't even activate it as it works directly through your mobile # and it knows where I am. So Fring, it is.

I called Shirley's cell phone and after a couple of straight-to-voice-mails, I get a ring. Her plane had already been on the ground for about an hour by the time she picked up. I quickly realized that she was crying and she started saying something about there was something wrong with the paperwork for the cat.

Throughout the process of preparing to import your cat, there are plenty of places where the Taiwan Quarantine Department warns that if anything is screwed up, "your pet may be destroyed". So right away I am thinking, "Oh no, they destroyed the cat!" I'm picturing some sort of bomb squad box, the thing that they put the bomb in for protection and then blow it up...like that but with a cat inside.

I make some sense out of what she's saying and it sounds like, on one piece of paper it says Tucker (the cat) had a "booster" rabies vaccine and on the other document it doesn't say booster. It's like, I met this guy a couple weeks ago, he has one document where his middle name is spelled slightly differently than on another document and he was facing deportation. The same group of people had a get together a couple weeks later and he was not there. Maybe he's gone. For anyone naming children, skip the middle name, it's such a hassle if you ever leave the U.S. I now go through it with everything, even the whole Michael vs. Mike thing is a big pain in the ass.

So, the story is they will let the cat in, but she has to get the USDA to re-issue the import documents using the word "booster" on them. The documents need to be in Taiwan in 7 days, or they will assuredly destroy the cat. OK, that sounds reasonable, well, within the framework of what is Taiwan. She was still on the other side of customs so I couldn't go meet her until she cleared and came into the arrivals hall where I was waiting. They have 2 TV monitors where you wait which show cameras focused on the customs exit doors so you can watch to see when the people you are looking for come out. It's pretty convenient. They also have a newspaper box and the cover photo was pretty funny as there was a brawl in the Taiwanese legislature, which I understand is not at all uncommon.

A few minutes later I see Shirley come out pushing a cart with the cat box on it and the customs lady was with her and directing her to the office. I followed them in and she had the cat parked in the corner along with a couple dogs. They had to wait for the other staff to come in to process the paperwork and told us to come back at 8:30 so we went to grab breakfast. Shirley was still a mess and trying to figure out what to do about the paperwork. We were going to have to get a friend back home to got to the vet, get it done, and make 2 Fedex transactions to get the document here before the dawn of destruction.

After some beef noodle soup for breakfast we were back down to the office to be told to come back at 9:00. It's a very Taiwanese thing to:

A) Be late all the time
B) Say things to appease you that are not true

Saying, come back at 8:30 when they know the guy will not be in until 9:00 meets both criteria. We killed some time with the I <3 Taiwan Tomato Man. So, back at 9 it was and this time the guy was there. Tucker was pretty relaxed yet alert. It looks like he handled the flight quite well, now if he can only survive the next 7 days. The guy came over and said the paperwork was OK and we did not have to mess with the whole USDA booster issues. Shirley almost buckled to the floor in relief and clutched her chest like she was going to collapse. Hopefully someone else doesn't come by and change their mind.

The assigned a courier to travel with us to the quarantine hospital which is part of NTU in Da-An. We loaded everything, and everyone up in the car and were on our way. It's about 40 minutes from the airport to Taipei. They are building an MRT line out there but for now it's either bus or car (or limo if the AC is working). At this point the quarantine people had sealed Tucker's box closed with a wire and that agent is with us at all times to make sure we don't make a break for it with the cat. She helped us get a cart at the hospital and get him up to the 6th floor to check in.

The vet had some wire clippers and let Tucker loose. There were several cats in cages and most seemed surprisingly calm. I wonder what they dope them up with. Tucker did some exploring and then quickly settled down onto the cool tile floor. The vet asked a bunch of routine questions and we had to fill out the same information on several different forms. Tucker has to stay in quarantine for 21 days, they test his blood, as long as he's rabies free, they turn him loose, otherwise, they destroy him. You can make arrangements to visit him three times per week; they keep a planner. We made an appointment to come back on Monday. The charge for the whole quarantine process is about 20k NT or 600 USD. I wonder if you get a refund if the cat gets destroyed, or do they charge extra for that?