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New rules eliminating
By Harold Morse
quarantine on service
dogs take effect July 10
Star-BulletinService dogs for the disabled soon will be able to enter Hawaii without going through the state quarantine, with Gov. Ben Cayetano's approval of rules that take effect July 10.
Similar to an exemption made for guide dogs for the blind in 1998, the practical result is certain preshipment and post-arrival procedures still must be completed for guide dogs and service dogs.
Owners must secure a health certificate from a certified veterinarian, prior inoculations of rabies vaccine, preshipment and post-shipment testing for rabies antibodies and inspection for external parasites.
"The state remains strongly committed to keeping rabies from ever entering Hawaii," Cayetano said. "However, guide dogs and service dogs provide such essential assistance to their owners that an exemption is warranted for these specific cases."
About 26 blind owners have qualified their dogs for the exemption since it was made for guide dogs in 1998.
Under the rules, service dogs are defined as any dog that has been trained to assist persons who are hearing-impaired, mobility-impaired or subject to seizures. In other words, these dogs assist the deaf, people in wheelchairs and epilepsy patients. Seizure responder/alert dogs for epileptics are able to sense when a seizure is about to occur. They alert the individual or may alert someone at a remote location by pressing some kind of alert buzzer.
"Given the relatively small number of guide and service dogs entering the state, the department (of agriculture) believes that the risk of rabies introduction by these groups of animals is nil," said Dr. James Foppoli, state veterinarian. "In addition, these dogs are usually well taken care of health-wise."
Another rule change allows pet owners to purchase identification microchips, as part of preshipment requirements, from sources other than the state, such as their own veterinarians. Additionally, new rules allow cats and dogs to remain longer on cruise ships without being subject to quarantine as long as the animals stay aboard the ship at all times and complete travel in Hawaiian waters within 10 days.
The animal quarantine station oversees care of about 5,000 dogs and cats brought into Hawaii each year.
Hawaii is the only rabies-free state in the United States. All dogs and cats entering the state must undergo either a 120-day quarantine or, if certain preshipment and post-arrival requirements are met, a 30-day quarantine.
Only dogs and cats entering from New Zealand, Australia and the British Isles are exempt because these places also have rabies-free status.
Quarantine Info
