Traveling outside the United States with your cat or dog:

cat travelTraveling around the world with your dog or cat can be a fun experience! Whether you travel for extended periods for work, school, or holiday, preparing ahead of time to ensure you and your pet get to your destination safely and successfully is a top priority. If you are traveling outside the United States, your pet will need to have a Rabies vaccine. Depending on the country you are traveling to, there can be specific requirements and testing that may need to be done well ahead of time. Some countries requirements may also involve repeat testing which is why starting this process months ahead is so important.  Please see the APHIS website page to search for your specific country of travel to find the requirements for importing a pet to that destination.

Coming back to the United States with your dog from a rabies free or low-risk country: 

Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their regulations on importing your dog back into the United States. The good news is that if you are traveling from a rabies-free or low-risk country you only need to fill out one form which is the CDC Dog Import Form. This can be filled out online and is good for six months once it is issued to you. The receipt for this form can be used multiple entries into the United States as long as your dog has not been to a rabies high-risk country. The form should be completed by the person who is physically bringing the pet into the U.S. It is free to complete and can be filled out the day of travel BUT it is not recommended to do that; in fact you can complete it up to six months prior to your travel date! A receipt will be emailed to you once you submit the form and you can show U.S. customs officials a printed or electronic version of this. Dogs that have been to a rabies-free or low-risk country can import to the United States at any airport, seaport, or land border crossing as long as the following requirements are met: 

  1. The Dog Import Form must be filled out and the person importing the dog must have the receipt to show U.S. customs officials
  2. Dogs must appear healthy upon arrival
  3. Dogs must be at least six months old at time of entry or return to the United States
  4. Dogs must have a microchip that can be detected with a universal scanner

Helpful Links for importing a dog from a rabies-free or low-risk country:

Coming back to the United States with your dog from a rabies high-risk country:

Dogs that have been in any rabies high-risk country in the past six months have a more involved process for importation. There are more extensive regulations and rules to follow depending on if your dog was vaccinated for rabies in the United States or vaccinated in a foreign country. You will need to start this process well ahead of time in order to obtain the appropriate documents required for importation. Refer to the CDC website for a detailed list of high-risk countries. Please note as well, a distinction from those traveling from rabies free or low-risk countries is that this form for dogs importing from a high-risk country is only valid for entry on the date of arrival listed on the receipt. Also, check out the Travel Checklist by the CDC for a step-by-step timeline to help better understand the requirements. 

Requirements:

  1. CDC Dog Import Form Receipt you receive once the import form is submitted. This needs to be filled out by the person importing the dog to show U.S. customs officials
  2. Certification of a U.S. issued rabies vaccination form OR a USDA endorsed export health certificate. These forms are filled out by a USDA accredited veterinarian and endorsed by the USDA. All veterinarians at our practice are USDA accredited. Costs for this certification are on the USDA's website. You must bring the printed form that is send from the USDA when going through U.S. customs. 
  3. Dogs must appear healthy upon arrival
  4. Dogs must be at least six months of age at time of entry or return to the U.S.
  5. Dogs must be microchipped. It needs to be implanted before getting the rabies vaccine or else the vaccine will be invalid. The microchip number must be listed on the required forms and supporting documents

Helpful Links for Importing a dog from a high-risk country: 

Bringing a cat into the United States

Traveling with PetCDC requires that cats appear healthy upon arrival and are subject to be denied entry if  they have evidence of a zoonotic disease. The CDC does not require a general health certificate for pets but the airline you are flying with may. A rabies vaccine is also not required for entry BUT the state you are importing into may require it. The CDC recommends that all cats are vaccinated for rabies. Please refer to the CDC's Bringing an Animal into the U.S. for more details.

As always, please call with any questions or concerns or to schedule an appointment.