Opinion – Julio Abramczyk: A well-deserved vacation with your dog

With the severity of the pandemic partially over with Covid-19, Brazilians are once again planning their vacation trips.

For tours within national boundaries, traveling with a pet or not is not a big issue. There are places like day care centers and small hotels specializing in canine guests, or just place them comfortably in the car and the tour begins.

For abroad, however, it is necessary to have an orientation, as stated in the book “Patas na Europa”, by Professor Antonio F. Costella, in a revised and updated edition, released by Editora Mantiqueira.

Costella was a professor at ECA/USP, Faculdade Cásper Líbero and Escola Superior de Jornalismo do Porto, in Portugal. He founded in Campos do Jordão (SP) the Casa da Xilogravura Museum, of which the University of São Paulo is heir “post-mortem”, with the condition of keeping it open to the public.

The work, in its more than 350 pages of history stories, has as its narrator Chiquinho, the dog and traveling companion of Costello and his wife, who interacts with figures such as Pasteur, Garibaldi and Marco Polo through the countries he passes through.

Before the trip, some precautions are necessary. The main thing is to reassure the animal 30 minutes before the flight with a sedative and have a certificate of health and vaccinations.

With the International Zoosanitary Certificate, the animal is allowed to enter the country (in this case, Portugal), where it is re-examined by the veterinarian on duty at the airport.

Costella, his wife and Chiquinho begin their holiday trip in Portugal, from where they pass through Spain and France, cross Italy from north to south, then arrive in Greece and its fables and myths. From Greece, they return to Brazil.

Costella closes the work by highlighting: “If you’ve never had a dog, don’t make fun of it, because nothing can equal the friendship of a dog”.