A Wisconsin high school student going on a school trip to Peru was not allowed to leave the US after his dog damaged his passport. The dog, a 1-year-old golden retriever named Sunshine, found the passport in a waistband the student had borrowed to keep his valuables secure in Peru. She only nibbled off the top corner, but the damage was done.

Chicago airport officials let the boy fly to Miami with his class despite the chewed-up passport. However, once he was in Miami, officials there refused to allow him on the plane to Peru because of the damage. He flew back to Chicago, where his parents picked him and tried to arrange getting an emergency passport from the passport office in Miami. However, the passport office said that due a backlog of applications, there was no way for them to process an emergency passport application that quickly.

The moral of this story? If your passport is damaged, you need to replace it before the trip-even if it’s still mostly intact! Also, you should be aware that applying for an emergency passport is often easier if you use a private passport expediting company. RushMyPassport.com offers processing times as short as 24 hours, and we have walk-in service available at our West Palm Beach office.

To replace a damaged passport, you’ll need to use passport application form DS-11 and Form D-64, an affidavit that describes how the damage occurred. Basically, a damaged passport is handled just like a lost or stolen passport. If you’re applying to replace a damaged passport through RushMyPassport.com, you should select the option for replacing a lost or stolen passport.

Need a passport quickly? Apply for an emergency passport today!