Earlier this year the CDC made the rules for U.S. citizens traveling in and out of the country with dogs much more stringent, adding specific new regs for chipping, requiring animals be spade and that they have an international rabies certificate.
The rules were to take effect August 15 and the ability to register dogs for the new international rabies certificate did not open until July 15 with turnaround times for the international certificate uncertain.
Waitsfield veterinarian Dr. Roy Hadden alerted folks to these changes in June and this week, after many patients had begun the process of trying to get their pets appropriately certified for travel out of and back into the United States, reported that with zero warning, the CDC rescinded parts of those new rules.
Basically, Hadden said, dogs now need to be microchipped and vaccinated and owners need to fill out an online import form before returning to the U.S.
More specifically he said the rules are relaxed for “low-risk” countries and
- the dog must be at least 6 months of age.
- the dog must have a microchip detectable with a universal microchip scanner.
- the dog must appear healthy on arrival.
- the dog must be accompanied by a CDC Import form
Here is a link for the CDC import form: https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/rabies-free-low-risk-countries.html
There is no longer a requirement for the dog to have a USDA-accredited veterinarian sign off on the health certificate or rabies vaccinations, Hadden said.
And as for those who’ve already paid for the USDA-accredited international rabies certificate, they’re just out the money, Hadden said.
Here is a link to the CDC’s policy as announced on July 22, 2024.
https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/rabies-free-low-risk-countries.html
https://cdc-786687.workflowcloud.com/forms/090dc543-7b2f-4538-b2c7-2919d12ecc73
