I was so embarrassed!

[JODO 2]

Well, this past weekend, I came back to the U.S. after an extended trip overseas. Against my better judgment, my fiancé and his mother thought it would be a good idea for her to cook me some of the foods I liked to eat there and to bring back with me. I thought it would be a good idea and I was even happy because she is a great cook! I had dolmas and something very similar to borek, like an Eastern meat pie. So, I packed my luggage and they put in the food. It had been frozen and so it was placed in foil and plastic bags and I put it under my clothes. The first airport I went through, there was not a problem and my luggage continued on to my final destination here in the US. So after I have cleared Immigration and told the officer I had food including meat, I went to pick up my luggage to clear customs.

As I was sitting down my carry-on bag and purse to grab my suitcase off the luggage assembly, here comes the drug dog sniffing my luggage !!! Well naturally I was mortified, because people are beginning to look at me because the drug dog is sniffing my luggage. Well embarrassed and shocked, I loudly proclaim I have food in there! Because I am not some criminal! So the dog handler says OK, and she asks me what kind of food is it and I tell her and she asks me if I have meat in the food and I tell her yes, but because I have been stunned into utter disbelief that this drug dog is sniffing my luggage, I cannot think to say ground beef immediately, but eventually I do.

So she was very nice about it and said well let me see your declaration form and obviously I had declared the food and so I am sure she wrote that the dog had sniffed something and for them to check my luggage. By the way, the dog was a beagle with the cutest little eyes like a puppy dog and it looked at me like sorry . So, I proceeded to the Customs line, mortified of course, and then I tell the guy that I have food, blah blah blah and he gives me a folder and tells me to go to secondary inspection. I am so embarrassed!!!

I get into the room and load my luggage on the security scanner. The officer says you have grape leaves and I said yes, dolmas. He said OK. Then they slide my luggage and food down to the counter and the other officer asks the other officer what are dolmas and what do they taste like! I am thinking, what?! So then I tell that officer that the dolmas contain rice and ground beef and he says you cannot have that and tossed it into the trash. He then moves on to the meat pie and I said that has ground beef as well and he says you cannot have this either. Then he "remembers" that the dog sniffed the food and took it back out of the trash and said , but the dog smelled this! What is this? Again I explained the dolmas . Well by this time, I could care less about the food and I just want to get home. I was so mad! I am not some criminal or druggie! Well anyway, I am still mad at my fiancé and his mother because I tried to tell them right before I left that maybe I should not take the food, but nooooooooooooooooooo!

So now that I have vented, my question is, Do you think I am in some type of govt computer for people who bring food? I also decided to trash that suitcase because maybe the smell will still be in there and that dog could sniff it out again!

Thanks.

Edited February 2, 2009 by JODO

[Otto 83]

Top Secret Do Not Dolma List...

[natty bumppo 297]

be on the lookout for black helicopters circling your house

I won't tell anyone when I see you on the local news at 11

Edited February 2, 2009 by Natty Bumppo

[Y's_habibitk 2]

So now that I have vented, my question is, Do you think I am in some type of govt computer for people who bring food? I also decided to trash that suitcase because maybe the smell will still be in there and that dog could sniff it out again!

Thanks.

yes! there is an international food smugglers most wanted list.

I bet you were horrrified! but thanks for sharing the story

[bhajishah 4]

IFP lwatch list. International food police!!

[Yoink 7]

are you worried if you are? you are not a criminal and only violated some food restrictions to travel.

[Mononoke28 135]

I'm Colombian so this is normal to me since they they go nuts at each airport my flight ends at. Welcome to the club sistah.

Diana

[pedroh 21]

dolmas are not american enough

[Otto 83]

dolmas are not american enough

Unless they're the new McDolmas...

[Nessa 23]

lmao that's funny, government computer for food dealers

[pedroh 21]

dolmas are not american enough

Unless they're the new McDolmas...

or the whopper dolma

[Amby 490]

I think the reason you can't bring in meat is because of foot and mouth disease

[reeses16 8]

That sucks! I travel with food all the time. I know its hard when you bring a lot of food, but I usually keep it in sealed double packed containers (to prevent leaks) and keep it in my carry on.

Funny thing did happen last time I was at the airport. I was travelling within the US. I had a tightly packed carry on. And I got pulled on the side by the TSA screener after my bag when through the x-ray. He started going through my stuff, and then he said " look, I don't know what you have in there, but I don't have time to look. If you have to go through security again before you final destination, you might want to check this bag. They'll stop you again" So much for homeland security..... I couldn't believe he didn't have time to check, what if I did have something that was dangerous?

[tom&tata 2]

We saw it happened last year while waiting for immigration at O'Hare. It was this beagle who caught somebody bringing fresh food on their backpack (it was rambutan fruit). I was terrified because I remember we had subway (with fresh lettuce) we bought Seoul airport in my backpack. The dog did not catch it luckily

[Nagishkaw 510]

JODO, You are always on someone's list.