FACT FINDERS: New rules to bring dogs into the U.S.

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Starting Aug. 1, 2024, you will need to follow new CDC rules to bring any dog across the border into the United States. These rules apply to dogs that left the U.S. and are returning, regardless of the country they are coming from.

If you don’t follow the rules, your dog can’t come into the U.S. The CDC told 13 News that if your dog is denied, it will be sent back to the last country it was in – not where the dog’s home is – at your expense.

Barb’s Dog Rescue of Rocky Point relies on adoptions, especially from the U.S.

“We’re full. we’re full all the time we’re always running on full, so we really on our ability to get dogs out,” said Barb’s Dog Rescue CEO Gina Benner.

She worries that new CDC guidelines for importing dogs could have a chilling effect on adoptions.

Dogs must:

  • Appear healthy upon arrival
  • Be microchipped;
  • Be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form online submission receipt
  • Be at least six months old.

“So many people want puppies and that difference in their growth from four months which is what it is now to six months is crazy – so we’re really disappointed about that change,” Benner said.

Barb’s is chipping all of dogs and answering a flood of emails as best they can, but they don’t have all the answers.

“Personally, I cannot imagine crossing from Mexico into the U.S. and having those border agents scan each dog for a chip,” Benner said.

13 News Fact Finders asked Customs and Border Protection, if that’s how this will work.

“It seems clear that anybody who has a six month or younger dog is not going to be able to bring that dog out of Mexico into the US,” said Yousef Fawaz with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs.

Still, Fawaz reiterated, the rules come from the CDC, and it falls to CBP to enforce them. He said, officers just want you to let them know you have a dog with you and you’re following the guidelines.

“We’re not out to get you,” he added. ”We’ve been getting a lot of inquiries, like ‘why are you doing this?’ They are the CDC regulations, and we are charged with enforcing all federal regulations, including those from the CDC. We’re just trying to get out as much information just to help these people so we’re just trying to – we know it’s a big change, and just to get to where they need to get to and come back home.”

Fawaz recommends using the CDC dog bot. Fact Finders worked through that process with a fictional date – and it took less than five minutes to answer several questions and print out the form.

Depending on where your dog has been in the last six months, you may also need proof of rabies vaccination. The CDC told us the main goal is to keep pets safe from rabies, which according to the CDC, was eliminated in the U.S. in 2007. But data shows dog rabies is not controlled in more than 100 other countries.

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