Frustrated With Hawaii Dog Quarantine Protocol (home, live, airport)

[zztopo]

Ok, this is not a good sign. I am spending hundreds of dollars on my two goldens so that they comply with the quarantine laws. My first worry is that the rabies certificate is done electronically here in Atlanta. No one here "blue-inks" the certificate. I tried calling the Hawaii quarantine station all day, and not only do they not answer the phone, but the voice mailbox is always full.

I need to come home (I'm from Oahu originally) to help my elderly and ailing parents, and I refuse to abandon my goldens. I am going through a divorce, losing my house, and have been laid off for 14 months. My babies are all I have left; I will not leave them.

If anyone has any advice for me, please respond!!

Mahalo,
Tom

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by zztopo

Ok, this is not a good sign. I am spending hundreds of dollars on my two goldens so that they comply with the quarantine laws. My first worry is that the rabies certificate is done electronically here in Atlanta. No one here "blue-inks" the certificate. I tried calling the Hawaii quarantine station all day, and not only do they not answer the phone, but the voice mailbox is always full.

I need to come home (I'm from Oahu originally) to help my elderly and ailing parents, and I refuse to abandon my goldens. I am going through a divorce, losing my house, and have been laid off for 14 months. My babies are all I have left; I will not leave them.

If anyone has any advice for me, please respond!!

Mahalo,
Tom

Your vet should be able to issue you a hard copy of the vaccine information, even of they keep it electronically. Just have the vet sign that. They (Hawaii) need to have the batch number, date it was administered, etc. Your vet should be able to track down the peoper format for these certificates.

Make sure the rabies vaccines are not going to expire before you leave. Rabies vaccines have to be administered AT LEAST 90 DAYS BEFORE YOU LEAVE so don't expect to get a rabies shot for your goldens and then arrive in HI.

You can go online and verify whether the KSU rabies test has been received by the state, it's at the animal quarantine site on the Hawaii state page.

Check with the airlines on restrictions flying pets... best bet is to get the health certificates within ten days of travel. Some airlines won't fly pets in the summer, especially from warm originating cities like Atlanta.

Paperwork delivery dates vary by island, be aware of those differences.

Best of luck. Your four-footed family members appreciate the work you are doing.

[PacificFlights]

Don' get mad at Hawaii. Your vets are pulling your chain. Signed original rabbies vaccination certificates are required for many purposes. If your vet is refusing, you got a bad vet. Report them to the veterinarian board, USDA, and CDC. Our eastern ops is based out of Atlanta airport and original signed rabbies certificates from Georgia vets are provided all the time.

[Joliefille]

Sorry you're having a tough time. You didn't mention it, but the animals need a micro chip as well, not to mention the health certificate within 14 days of arrival. But the kicker is that all the documents have to arrive 10 days BEFORE arrival, so basically you need to Fedex everything.
Good luck!

[zztopo]

Thanks all! 'Not hating on Hawaii, this is just overwhelming right now. I have thoroughly read your information and the content on the Hawaii Ag website.

Now both dogs are microchipped, and administered their 2nd round of rabies. I called the vet this morning, and they said they would sign their names in blue ink to both computer generated statments. I also just realized that I won't be able to come home because of the 120 day waiting period after results from the KSU blood test. So it looks like I'll be coming back to Hawaii Kai in December.

Once again, mahalo everyone

[Koale]

Aloha,
AG quarantine suffered staffing losses due to furloughs etc. I think they are down to about 3-4 employees trying to keep up w/everything including shortened quarantine hours. Try emailing them. It still may take a few days but they are helpful and eager to get 'your family' here w/all requirements securely in place.
I know it's stressful, but all will be well.
a hui hou.
Koale

[zztopo]

Thanks again for your encouragement.

From the Ag website, it states that a dog must have 2 rabies vaccinations in it's lifetime to be compliant. A former vet was uncooperative after I asked them to sign the rabies certificate from 6/30/07. It was a 3 year vaccination, and the vet said that since I had let that 3 year vaccination period lapse (by 9 days), they didn't want to sign in blue ink.

I insisted that they still sign off, and they eventually gave in. I am also going to e-mail Ag to make sure that the lapse won't disqualify me. The worse case scenario is that I will have to give Nicholas another shot in 90 days.

Aloha.......Tom

[mdand3boys]

You may already realize this, but for others as well, remember the time zone difference when calling. Right now it is 6 hours difference for you.

[zztopo]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

You may already realize this, but for others as well, remember the time zone difference when calling. Right now it is 6 hours difference for you.

Yes thanks. And in the Fall, it goes back to 5 hours.

I wish it were Fall now; my temperature gauge on my back patio says 104 degrees.....in the shade!

[Calico Salsa]

Wow Tom, sounds like you are going through a lot, including the doggie situation. My heart goes out to you.

Your parents will be glad to see you, and I hope you will find some healing and peaceful energy here. The sunshine and aloha spirit will do a lot, just make sure to take care of yourself too. Make sure to give yourself some time to let both seep in and to their work.

Don't be too upset with the quarantine procedures, it is one reason your doggies will stay healthy here. Just think if every unhealthy pet was allowed in easily! Too many feral animals to prevent the transmission to every other critter.

Keep your head up, you'll be home soon!