You know you’re headed down the right path in life when specific occurrences take place indicating that things are exactly as you thought they were, exactly. Those little nudges in the road which confirm that everything you are working towards is for the greater convenience of society (and for yourself, of course!)
Zkylos would like to share with you a personal case study from our CEO and CFO to simply allow a little insight as to how severe the lack of organization currently stands within the world of pets. Let us describe to you just one instance of one aspect that relates to owning your beloved companion: Travelling.
Here is an individual example of a compromised system — when you hit a firewall at border control and endure the unbelievable mishaps that take place when attempting to managing pet-related paperwork and business against people who, quite frankly, don’t know their $%&*
Without further ado — please enjoy our story ‘That Time We Took A Road Trip To Hungary via An Incompetent Polish Border’ — narrated by Elias Konstantinides.
Travelers Beware
When we say that a common infrastructure is needed, it means that it is not just needed, but it is needed ASAP. And apart from the variety of different (but generally pretty standard cases) that we have vaguely covered in our presentations and other documentation, there is another bright example: border-crossing.
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Whenever traveling within Europe, it is highly unlikely that you will face any significant troubles and here is why: usually, there are no borders.
However, when you do find yourself crossing the odd border, hold on tight because it might be verrrry tricky. And stupid.
The Story Begins . . .
It was an early winter morning. Myself, Victor (our CFO) and our partners were waiting in the queue at Belarus / Polish border on a voyage from Moscow to Budapest. Chester (our Chief Executive Canine) was having a nap at the rear seat, snug between the ladies — (a very cute scene, I swear!)
Very slowly the queue was moving forward. In total, we had spent a painstaking four hours of slugging to the finish line before finally managing to see an officer face-to-face.
At last, it was time for all of the regular procedures to take place:
- Passports, check ✓
- Car documents, check ✓
- Drivers license, check ✓
And finally…
- The doggo.
Let’s Just Stop There A Minute
Here is where I have a very important remark to make:
As an absolute rule, I am one of those people who ALWAYS have things sorted. A true pedant. I am organized. All of my papers are ALWAYS in the right state and condition. ALWAYS.
Paperwork 🙄
With the above in mind, as you can imagine, this trip was no exemption.
Before hitting the road (yes, of 2000 km+ !) is it not obvious that OF COURSE, I had sorted all of the necessary paperwork beforehand, including:
- Vaccinations
- A certificate from the local vet (an international version!)
- A hard-copy pet-passport — with all of the related marks
And most importantly
- The Verification Letter — prepared by my vet on nine (!!!) pages
AND WRITTEN IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE
Extreme efforts — quite amusing, really, isn’t it?
Dog Denied
Well, the funniest part is here. Our [human] paperwork turned out to be fine, the vehicle was OK too but when it came to cute squishy-faced Chester (the dog) — according to the grumpy Polish lady officer in the serving-hatch — he was not.
The beetle-browed woman brute in the bean-hole refused to let my beloved trusty companion into the country because supposedly “The Verification Letter lacked three pages.”
Undeniably, I was proud and not in the slightest concerned. There was obviously a mistake — something is messed up on their side.
Ultimately, I knew it was them. Making such a mistake was not possible for me!
Stubborn Like Mule
And so I started to argue. I mean what did she think we would do? Leave Chester behind?/Turn around after having driven all this way? Not to mention what an insult it was to accuse me of not having my papers in order — how dare she?!
After trying to convince her to look further into her regulations (because our vet could not make any mistakes — not when he fills in such papers on a daily basis) — this ‘true professional’ on the other side of the border wouldn’t listen.
Instead, she persisted in showing me the example of the Verification Letter — which had emerged from her stash of dusty folders.
At this point, I had started to become irritated as she insisted that while her ‘example’ counted twelve pages, mine had a mere nine.
Waste of Time
Meanwhile, we had already spent almost an hour arguing. I could feel myself about to lose my temper, so I asked to call her supervisor.
When the Chief Border Officer arrived, it was clear that he was not very happy: we had held the whole lane for over an hour.
The Angry Officer heard her story and then took our papers for inspection.
After having looked through them, he turned to his subordinate co-worker and peered at her very reproachfully. The three missing pages were . . .
Instructions on how to fill in the document.
The Bottom Line
Two hours down the drain, frayed nerves and I wound up catching a cold — (winter time in Poland isn’t like in Florida, and throughout the entire time I was forced to stay outside to communicate with these magnificent Polish professionals through a tiny window placed at the level of my groin).
The point is:
None of this would have ever happened if the Zkylos platform was in place and running already!
All of the necessary marks would have been made by the vet online in Chester’s ‘health registry.’
After examining my pet, he would also have written the declaration to show that Chester is healthy and therefore capable of traveling to Poland.
Another related factor worth a mention is that all would have been made online prior to the trip, within the system in accordance with Polish requirements.
When we were to arrive at the border, the officer would need to perform a very simple operation: once the chip is read, all relevant info would appear proving that the animal is vaccinated, has already visited the vet and so is 100% fit and able to travel abroad.
BOOM! Literally, a five minute task. Easy.
No room for idiot human errors.
Be Zkylos, don’t be Polish border control officials.
If this is a story you feel that you can relate to, please leave a comment in the box below. We are dying to understand how often these situations happen and hear about your ridiculous ordeals! Share your experience and frustrations with us. Zkylos believes we are one.
Together for a better world, together for better pet ownership.
