Taking your dog with you on a trip to Canada is about to get a lot more complicated. On June 10, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection announced that you’ll need to follow a new set of requirements to bring your dog back across the border, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rule change announced last month. Here’s what you need to know about the new rules, which go into effect Aug. 1.
In order to cross the border into the U.S., your dog has to appear healthy, be at least 6 months old and have an International Organization for Standardization-compatible microchip.
The CDC requires that the microchip to be implanted before the dog was vaccinated against rabies, and that you have the microchip number available to use on any forms. Additionally, you have to fill out the CDC’s Dog Import Form online before bringing your dog across the border. The CDC asks that you fill out the form between two and 10 days before your trip, but if you forget, you can submit the form at the border, provided you have internet access.
The form will be made available July 15. Assuming your dog hasn’t been to a country with a high risk of rabies in the past six months, you only need either a certification of U.S.
-issued rabies vaccine, which you can obtain from the veterinarian who administered the shot, or a U.S. Department of Agriculture-endorsed export health certificate.
If your dog has been to a county where they would be at a high risk of contracting rabies in the past six.
