We come from the land of ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow**
My return to Canada was a long and torturous process. Due to an accumulation of misplacements, mishaps, mistakes and missed shipments, I spent an extra month in Arizona. Our original plan was for me to accompany my father down for a run of Sr Pro Rodeos that would span from the 23rd of January to the 16th of February. We crossed the border on the 20th and his first rodeo was at Buckeye on the 23rd- 25th. He would fly home on the 27th of January after competing in the Timed Event Rodeo in Chandler on the 26th and 27th. The morning of the 27th I picked up my boyfriend from the airport and we returned to the rodeo before taking my Dad to the airport for his evening flight home.
We then carried on to Maricopa where we stayed until the 2nd. We made a day trip to Chaparral Vet Clinic in Cave Creek to draw blood for our US Health Certificate and VS tests. Now here is where the first mistake was made. I applied for our Import Permit from the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) that same day via fax. The clinic received an email confirming the submission of our application that same day. The blood was drawn and sent off the next morning to Idaho to get results for the VS Test. We returned to Maricopa to wait for the paperwork to come back.
I received a call from the clinic informing me that the results had come back Negative for the VS Test but that they were unable to send it on to California to get the US Health Certificate made up until we received our Import Permit. So we called CFIA to inquire about the wait time and status of our application. They informed us that the processing time for an application was 7-10 days. When we gave them our information they were unable to locate our application to give us the status. Apparently our application was missing somewhere in the filing system. Even though they had confirmed our submission and noted some discrepancies in our paper work, they were unable to locate it now. So we waited. And called again, and waited, and called again. Finally we spoke to someone who was able to admit that their computers were down and that they had lost our application and we would need to reapply. This was approximately 6 days before our blood work expired and we needed to be across the border. Our request to expedite the process was fruitless.
Alex flew home on the 6th of February. Dad flew in on the 8th and we were expecting to return home on the 16th. In that time we attended Wickenburg Rodeo and Queen Creek Timed Event. When it became evident that we would have to wait for our permit before redrawing blood Dad flew home on the 18th of February and I returned to Maricopa. I remained in Arizona for an additional 26 days while we waited for our permit. The upside to this is that I was able to ride everyday and further the horses fitness and my roping training. I moved to Cave Creek on the 2nd of March and decided to take a gamble and draw the blood, knowing that meant we only had 15 days to cross the border. I spent those two weeks roping the hot heels everyday.
On March 11th Dad flew into Pheonix. The plan was to pick him up from the airport that morning, go to the vet clinic to get our Permit, US Health Certificate and Negative VS Results then load up and head north. The US Health and Permit hadn’t been sent from California yet. They promised to send it for next morning delivery so we got everything ready and waited. Thursday we arrived at the clinic after fueling up, stocking up on hay and grabbing breakfast. They hadn’t received the paperwork yet. It was 10:30 and the truck usually came by 11 so they told us to hold tight. Turns out the courier/ shipping company they used do not “guarantee” next morning delivery and we waited until 2:30 for the truck to finally arrive. As far as shipping was going, I was not having any luck. I had ordered product to come to the place I was staying in Cave Creek 8 whole days before my departure and that morning when I checked the mail, it still hadn’t arrived. Somehow my shipment wasn’t actually sent. So they apologized and expedited it, to Arizona. Where I would have to find someone to bring it home with them or ship it at an additional expense. As far as I am concerned, I need to be buying pick up only items for a while.
We made the rest of the journey home without a hitch. When we arrived at the border the Federal Vet informed us that we were “lucky” he had just received a call ten minutes prior stating that they were lifting the restrictions and we no longer needed our import permit. So all of the waiting, work and money was for nothing. I began to fret, upset about the turn of events when dad reminded me to, “focus on the positives!” we were back in Canada in one piece! I slept in my own bed for the first time in 8 weeks that night! Upon our arrival at home the weather changed for the worse within the week and as cold as I was, I was so grateful for the snow! I was finally home.
