Life in Taipei with toddler and dog

[Summer]

Hi,

Does anyone have expriences about life in Taipei with a toddler and a dog? We are planning a move to Taipei. Of course it would be "easier" without a dog, but it is very very hard decision to be made. Any comments?

[donnamwarren]

Hi Summer,
My family just made the move from the US to Taipei with a toddler (our daughter is 2) and will soon be bringing our labrador retriever over to join us. Due to Taiwan importing rules, our family had to have a 6 month waiting period between our dog getting certain rabies tests and her arrival into Taiwan. If you're moving from the US, you definitely want to investigate the process as Taiwan is a rabies-free country and the US isn't. In preparing for our dogs arrival, we had no trouble finding an apartment that allowed a dog, and it is very near parks with lots of grass for her to walk around. We, too, had the debate about leaving our dog permanently with family members in the US. Ultimately we felt like our dog had been a member of the family for 10 years, and we wanted her with us.
Donna

[~Michele~]

I came to Taiwan from Australia with 1 cat. Australia being a rabies free country, my cat was able to fly in the next day from Melbourne to Kaohsiung. I read all about Taiwan being a 'rabies free country' and all before i made the decision to come here BUT after 2 weeks of being in Taiwan then (2001), i was 'culture shocked' and wanted to leave asap... only to find out that many countries do not recognize Taiwan as a country but associate it with China, which is not a 'rabies free country'!!

Thus after 8 years, approaching 9 this year... we're still in Taiwan with 7 cats, 1 dog and 1 son and i can't imagine my life without them!!

There are many dog shows, fundraisers and animal events in Taiwan. There is a large number of Taiwanese who love animals versus a substantial number that abuse and abandon them.

And of course, if you should ever wanna volunteer for either Animals Taiwan or Taiwan SPCA, please do not hesitate to drop me an email!! michele_tang@hotmail.com