Doggie import info

[Sweetbeet]

mdand3boys, why do you say "Technically, YES"? I am just curious. Were you advised by a HI vet to get the shots?

We were told by our vet that we did NOT need to get rabies shots for our cats if we planned to stay here permanently. We are NOT neglectful pet owners, but our VET (here in Kapaa) told us that no, shots are not required or even recommended, at least for cats, here in Hawaii, because the islands are rabies-free.

And I agree that many pet owners here are rather neglectful. But there are also many who are not; I personally know at least 5 pet owners (and I haven't been here very long) who are very responsible and take excellent care of their doggies and kitties.

[mdand3boys]

Sweetbeet - A correction is in order. After re-reading the Hawaii County laws - you do not have to have rabies shots. You would want to keep them up if you were planning on a return to the mainland. Since each county (island) makes its' own laws, it would be good to check locally.

As to responsible pet owners, I can point to the dog registration on this island. Tags are $2 (yes, only $2) and are good for 2 years and less than 4000 are sold annually. That would indicate 8000 dogs on the island of 150,000 people. I would bet that Hilo alone has over 8000 dogs for their population of approx. 40,000.

In general (here we go again) transplants seem to be better at the dog ownership/care thing than long-term locals. Maybe it is because they just spent so much money to get them here?
The house behind me has 2 dogs. No one lives there. They bark almost incessantly. Fortunately, they are well over 100 yards away. The owner of the property shows up every am and every pm to feed them. That's it. One is in a kennel and is never let out and the other is usually tied up, sometimes it runs free.

[Dmalofy]

Our Isis is a member of our family and has never nor will ever be neglected. We are simply seeking friendly and informative advice. To mdand3boys I don't feel that your "realistic" comments are necessary ALL the time. We are well aware of the obstacles at hand.

[mdand3boys]

Having already received 3 rep points from this thread, two of whom left comments and their name, it must hit home for someone?

I don't doubt for a minute that your pet is treated well - you wouldn't be spending $1000+ to move it here if it wasn't. My point was about the typical island attitude towards dogs.

Pigs, fleas, cane toads, scorpions, centipedes, etc. will all be after your pet, not to mention people that steal nice dogs. Dogs that are given away on the mainland tend to command $500+ here. It makes no sense. Just be very careful with your dog. Take that as friendly advice.

[KoaKine]

Aloha,

I've been sitting this one out watching the action and have decided to jump in with my two feet.
I just moved here last week with my large (bear) dog and we new about all this from visiting many many times and by reading this forum. What MD says he does it with a true honesty not to scare you away but to warn you what you will run into out here. I live in a nice neighborhood no barking dogs that I can hear the ones we see walk by are on a leash. That said we took our first walk yesterday about a mile and a half as we got further away we started to run into small then larger dogs running loose in their yards and then we rounded a turn an had 2 large dogs come running out towards us. I'm used to animald and know what to do so I wasn't worried my wife on the other hand was a bit concerned. We got lucky and the owner herd them barking and 3 of them ran out to get the dogs and all was good. This is just one example of what you run into I know it can happen anywhere but it happens here if the owners weren't home lke with MD neighbors we would have had a big problem.

This is just my 2 cents into the reality of Hawaii I love it I never plan on leaving.

I am glad your dogs /cats passed their teeter tests I know how stressfull it can be. good luck