Samantha Scholefield sits with her two-year-old rescue dog Socca in Vancouver’s River District on July 19.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is walking back a new requirement for dogs crossing the border that faced pushback from the Canadian government, veterinarians, disability advocates and dog owners.
New rules were set to take effect on Aug. 1 requiring anyone with a dog entering the United States to obtain a certificate signed by a veterinarian confirming that the animal was vaccinated against the rabies virus. Critics of the new policy, including Health Minister Mark Holland, said the new paperwork would be onerous and unnecessary for dogs from Canada, where rabies is not widespread.
The CDC confirmed Monday that travellers and their dogs coming from low-risk countries such as Canada would now only be required to fill out an online form, which can be done on the day of travel. Travellers can then show a receipt to airlines and border officials. The agency said in an news release that the receipt will be valid for travel into the United States for six months from the date of issuance, including multiple entries.
“CDC values the feedback received from various countries, industry partners, and the public on the dog importation rule,” said David Daigle, a CDC spokesperson, in an e-mail on Monday.
The CDC had already eased the rules. Last week, the agency dropped a requirement that the vaccine certificates be certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Mr. Holland said in a statement that the U.S. has agreed to a nine-month grace period while the two countries find a “workable, permanent solution so Canadians and Americans can travel with their dog with minimal interruptions.”
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association warned the policy would overburden already overworked veterinarians, while disability groups, such as the Canadian Institute for the Blind, said the policy would unfairly target people who rely on guide dogs, which were not exempt.
The now-cancelled paperwork requirements were especially frustrating for residents of border communities in both Canada and the U.S., where travel across the border is both frequent and essential for dog owners. Those include Point Roberts, Wash., a U.S. exclave of about 1,200 people south of Vancouver that is only accessible by land through British Columbia.
There is no veterinarian in the community, meaning dog owners must take their animals across the border for care, and Point Roberts is a popular day trip destination for Canadians living nearby – and their dogs. The Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce had been calling for the community to be exempt.
Samantha Scholefield, a Canadian who owns a cabin in Point Roberts, said the region’s attraction lies in its abundance of nature, making it perfect for families to live in and visit with dogs. Ms. Scholefield has been crossing the border for a weekend getaway at her cabin almost every weekend for the past 24 years, but she was worried that the new rules would get in the way of that.
Sitting on a third of an acre, her cabin is surrounded by tons of greenery, perfect for her rescue dog Socca to run around and play fetch. In their townhouse back home, Socca is limited to a smaller yard. Hence, their weekend trips across the border have become essential for their well-being, she said.
“Point Roberts has beaches, large parks and community paths along the beach perfect for walking dogs. People come and enjoy the outdoors,” said Ms. Scholefield, who said she was relieved that the CDC had changed course.
Huff Animal Hospital in Tsawwassen, B.C., just north of the border, has more than 240 dogs from Point Roberts registered with its practice. Johanna Reel, a registered veterinary technician at the hospital, said many of those dogs’ owners were panicking ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline and had already come in to get their paperwork signed.
“The CDC was absolutely horrible with planning this,” she wrote in an e-mail Monday. “We filled out many, many forms in the past few months. Now we know this was all a huge waste of time and we charged people $25 for the form.”
Still, Ms. Reel said there is an upside to the CDC requirements, which will still require dogs be microchipped, which can help reunite a lost dog with its owners.
Dogs were once common carriers of the rabies virus in the United States, but the type that normally circulates in dogs was eliminated through vaccinations in the 1970s. The virus invades the central nervous system and is usually a fatal disease in animals and humans. It’s most commonly spread through a bite from an infected animal. There is no cure for it once symptoms begin.
The requirement for additional documents such as a certificate signed by a veterinarian will still be required for more than 100 countries that are deemed high risk.
With a report from The Canadian Press