At the Customs Office

A Frenchwoman who had never traveled abroad, decided to go to Great Britain for a holiday. She booked a seat for a plane as she wanted to get there as soon as possible. At the booking-office she found out that it would take her only two hours to get to London. She was very happy to hear it. She hurried home and began packing her things immediately as she was afraid to leave something important behind. So when she packed everything, she found to her great surprise, that she had two big suit-cases. She understood that it would be necessary for her to take a taxi. She ordered a taxi in advance to come to the airport on time.

On the day of her flight she checked her things again and was about to go downstairs where a taxi was waiting for her, when she suddenly remembered about her nice little dog. She could not leave the dog at home as there was no one who would look after the dog. So she decided to take the dog to Great Britain. The dog was very quiet and she hoped that everything would be all right during the flight.

The flight was very pleasant and she enjoyed it very much. The Frenchwoman thought that nobody noticed her dog. But just before the plane landed one of the passengers who was sitting near the woman told her that the English did not let foreigners bring dogs to their country. The woman did not know what to do. When the plane landed she put the dog under her coat and went to the Customs House. The dog was so little that she hoped the Customs officer wouldn’t notice it. At the Customs House she filled in all the necessary forms and came up to the Customs officer, who looked at her big suit-cases and asked if she had anything to declare.

“Oh, no,” she answered, “all the things are for my own use.”

“But do you know that you can’t bring dogs to our country?” asked the officer.

“But I have no dog,” answered the lady.

“Then I understand that the tail which is hanging down below your coat is your own,” said the Customs Officer.

TASKS

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. Where did a Frenchwoman decide to travel to?

2. Had she ever traveled before?

3. Why did she start packing her things immediately?

4. What did she remember about on the day of her flight?

5. Why couldn’t she leave her nice dog at home?

6. What did one of the passengers who was sitting near her tell her about?

7. What did the woman do when the plane landed?

8. How did the Customs officer understand that she was bringing the dog to Great Britain?

Task 2. Give your viewpoint.

Before a dog or a cat is allowed into Great Britain it has to stay in quarantine for six months. Do you think it reasonable?

Task 3. Say what you can remember about the customs regulations in respect of pets and birds.

Task 4. What would you recommend that a passenger should do before visiting any foreign country together with the pet?