WASHINGTON – The dog days of summer could be hell for American canines traveling outside the country thanks to a new U.S. policy that may well leave them stranded at the border when they try to return home.
Starting Aug. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer allow puppies under the age of 6 months to enter the United States. Dogs must appear healthy upon arrival.
Deborah Williams of Colden and her 12-year-old Labrador, Sam, enjoy a visit to Pat Sole Park near the Peace Bridge. Williams, who frequently travels to Canada with Sam, criticized the new CDC rules. Every dog crossing into America – even those returning with their owners from a weekend at the beach in Canada – will have to have a microchip implanted before a required rabies vaccination, and the microchip number must appear on any vaccination records.
Those vaccinations will have to be administered by a veterinarian certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dog owners will have to fill out a new “CDC Dog Import Form” before their loved one’s paws can once again touch American soil, and that form will have to include “a clear photograph of the dog showing its face and body.” There’s no exception to any of those rules for service dogs, but cats are entirely exempt. Not surprisingly, dog owners are howling about it.
“What kind of mind conceived all these things?” said Deborah Williams of Colden, who travels frequently to Canada with her 12-year-old Labrador retrieve.