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A Pet Friendly Place

By: Itzana / 24 Oct 2018
A Pet Friendly Place

Placencia has come a long way over the past twenty years in ensuring the quality of life for our four legged furry friends.  As in many developing countries, vets were historically in short supply, overpopulation and under nourishment were prevalent.

The Placencia Humane Society was founded in 1999 and 19 years later, they now have their own building across the main road from Los Porticos  Villas. Regular vet visits and clinics run once a month. There is a program where stray dogs are lovingly nurtured back to health by foster parents and then ‘forever homes' are found within the community.

 A Pet Friendly Place

The Parry Family are Itz'ana owners and are a great example of one of these "forever homes". In her own words, Lauren, describes how they met and fell in love with their Placencia pup.

"A scruffy, scroungy, frisky pup who was covered with open wounds, fleas and ticks found us at Turtle Inn on a sunny afternoon.  He followed us everywhere, and when we went to the beach to to relax, he jumped up on the beach lounger, turned in a few circles and snuggled down; at that moment, we knew he was ours! We asked the beach attendant to please bring him some kibble and water; when it arrived, he ate two helpings; he was starving.  We had dinner plans that evening at Maya Beach, so the Turtle Inn staff and Ocho said they would take care of him while we were away. We returned to find him outfitted with a lovely blue collar and matching leash courtesy of Martin, the General Manager. He spent the night in our courtyard, and the next morning, we took him across the street to the Placencia Humane Society which just happened to be open on this particular Saturday with the vet on duty; this was our lucky day!  The pup was neutered, deloused and his wounds were cleaned. He was such a happy boy now, and he literally pranced when he walked; we were completely smitten and decided to name him Mr. Scratch, because he was covered with scratches all over his body and every time he jumped on you, which was constantly, he would scratch you.

 A Pet Friendly Place

It was July, and we had no way to transport Mr. Scratch back to the US; it was too hot and the airlines would not allow it.  We had just purchased a unit at Itz'ana, and the team graciously allowed Mr. Scratch to stay with them until we could figure out how to get him home.  One month later, our oldest daughter flew down to Placencia to retrieve our boy. He flew home in the seat next to her. Mr. Scratch is the love of our lives!  He has 4 mini dachshund brothers and sisters who all sleep in the bed with us every night. He is living the life!"

Travelling with pets is an evolving trend in the hospitality industry and thankfully the National Import Regulations for Belize make it very feasible, even if you're just coming for a short vacation.

  • Your pet must be vaccinated for rabies between 30 days and 12 months prior to entering the country.
  • Dogs must be vaccinated against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Parvovirus
  • Cats must be vaccinated against Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis Calioi Virus and Panlenoopaenis
  • A and ticks and tapeworm treatment is required within 30 days of entering Belize.
  • You must file for an Import Permit before importing your pet to Belize, which our reservations team can provide you with
  • After your veterinarian has completed the import permit form, it gets submitted to the Agriculture Department of Belize who will approve it and fax it back to you
 A Pet Friendly Place

At It'zana, we know many of our owners and guests are excited that we will be a pet friendly resort.  So what does that mean exactly? Well, while the hotel retains ‘approval authority' and the quiet enjoyment of the resort remains the ultimate priority, we are excited to open our doors to all the members of your family.  Any guest of the hotel, travelling with their pet will be required to make an additional pet deposit and every owner retains the right to declare their residence pet free.

We look forward to hosting you and your entire family in the future and you never know, you may just end up coming home with a new furry friend from Placencia!

Stay in touch here to continue learning more about Itz'ana and the Placencia community.

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