New Travel Rules for Dogs Entering (or Returning to) the U.S. Take Effect This Summer

It’s a dog’s life when it comes to traveling with man’s best friend. More and more people consider their canine companions something they can’t leave home without – even when traveling internationally. But new rules for both American pooches returning home, AND pets of visitors coming into the U.S. will mean dog owners have more hoops to jump through.

The new rules could affect your summer vacation plans.

Effective August 1, 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is implementing new regulations for dogs at entry points into the U.S. The new rules are designed to prevent dogs with rabies from entering the country.

Rabies is a deadly disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Although there are treatments if a person is suspected of being infected, once someone starts to show symptoms, it’s almost always fatal, according to NPR. While unvaccinated dogs can still get rabies from infected wildlife, pet vaccinations resulted in the U.S. eradicating rabies in dogs nearly two decades ago.

Not so in some other countries, and that’s the reason for the new rules.

A CDC veterinary officer told NPR that the U.S. is seeing a higher risk of rabies "because of the large-scale international movement of dogs." Plus, dogs are being brought into the country using fraudulent documentation.

New Rules for Fido

Beginning August 1, 2024, all dogs, including dogs born abroad, dogs born in the U.S. (service dogs, too) presenting at the border for entry – or re-entry – into the U.S. must:

Appear healthy;
Be at least 6 months old;
Be microchipped;
Have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt with the dog’s photo;
Have documentation of a valid rabies vaccine or proof the dog has not been in a country for the last 6 months where rabies is endemic,

Or the dog will be denied entry to the U.S. and returned to its country of departure at the owner’s expense.

If you’re bringing a dog into the U.S. from a country that’s on the CDC’s high-risk list, and received a rabies shot from another country, you have additional hoops to jump through to prove your dog is rabies free:

You must get a blood test for the dog before leaving the country en route to the U.S., showing immunity against rabies; and
The dog will have a physical exam on arrival in the U.S; and
Get a rabies shot in the U.S.

Without a blood test proving immunity, the dog will be quarantined for 28 days.

The new rules replace regulations dating back to the 1950’s that only required canines be vaccinated before entering the U.S. But in those days, dogs were not treated so much as members of the family who could not be left at home alone, and far fewer dogs were international travelers. Now, the U.S. sees a million dogs entering the country every year!

The new measures going into effect on August 1 are much stricter than previous requirements for dogs traveling internationally. But the CDC points out that most U.S. dog owners will already have all the boxes ticked. Almost all U.S. pet dogs are already vaccinated. So are most dogs belonging to Canadians visiting the United States. Dog owners just need to make very sure they have their paperwork in order for U.S. border agents.

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Image: Getty