Animals traveling into the country face 28-day quarantine under new regulations

Thinking of bringing a new pet into the United States from overseas? It's not quite as simple as it seems.

Animals traveling into the country may soon have to quarantine for several days before they're released.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced it is revising regulations for importing dogs into the country "to protect the health and safety of people and animals."

Starting on August 1, 2024, all dogs entering the U.S. must:
• Appear healthy upon arrival
• Be at least six months of age
• Be microchipped
• Be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form online submission receipt
• Have additional documentation which varies depending on where the dog has been in the past 6 months, or if the dog has a current rabies vaccine administered in the U.S.

For dogs arriving from countries with a high risk of dog rabies , they must be protected against rabies. If the dog does not have a valid rabies serology titer, it will be required to arrive at one of six ports with a CDC-registered animal care facility and be quarantined there for 28 days after the dog is revaccinated.

"The rabies virus variant carried by dogs (dog rabies) was eliminated in the United States in 2007 and CDC wants to prevent the re-introduction of dog rabies into the United States," the agency said in a statement. "This regulation builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic when a temporary suspension was enacted for the importation of dogs from countries with a high risk of rabies."

The CDC said the new rules will streamline the importation process and allow for safer and more efficient entry of dogs into the country. The updated regulations also address recent challenges seen with international dog importations, such as fraudulent documentation, the agency added.

Dogs that do not meet all entry requirements or do not have accurate and valid forms will be denied entry to the United States and returned to the country of departure at the importer's expense. Country of departure is where the last trip originated — not where the dog was born or where it lives. These requirements apply to all dogs, including service dogs and dogs that were born in the United States.

Odessa Gunn, owner of Little Trooper Ranch dog rescue in Santa Rosa, California, has rescued several dogs from Mexico and China, where the animals are killed for their meat. But those days may be over. She said the CDC shift in animal importation rules means even with documentation that a dog has been vaccinated for rabies, it must be quarantined.

"It doesn't make sense that we met all the requirements, but they still wanted us to quarantine," Gunn told KCBS Radio.

And it's not just dog rescuers, either. Families looking to bring in a pet must follow the rules, too -- a move criticized by the Humane Society of the United States.

"Like military families, for example, if they want to come home with their kids and their dog and they want to fly into San Francisco, they're going to have to fly the whole family to another city and sit there for an undetermined amount of time until their dog clears the quarantine," said Gunn.

The Humane Society of the United States said the change presents serious delays for those seeking to travel with dogs and adds an extra hurdle to families trying to flee crisis situations abroad with their pets.

"We must now try to help prevent scenarios in which families are suddenly separated from their dogs," the organization said in a statement . "In the final rules, a dog may be returned to the country of origin within 72 hours if they arrive in the U.S. without meeting these complicated regulations."