JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- A permanent change of station from the continental United States can be challenging for a military family, but arriving on the island with a pet presents additional hurdles.
As the only rabies-free state in the United States, Hawaii enforces strict laws for animals arriving on the island.
For a family to relocate with their pet to Hawaii, there's a specific list from the State of Hawaii's Animal Industry division to make the transition as smooth as possible.
A pet must have at least two rabies vaccinations in their lifetime at least 30 days apart, a microchip, and a Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization test.
This test can be administered by a local veterinary.
“The most important thing for pet owners to do in my opinion is to keep their pets up to date on their core vaccines, such as rabies, distemper, heartworm test, and fecal exam,” said Nathan Averna, Hickam Veterinary Treatment Facility Office Manager. “This makes the transition to Hawaii much smoother and shortens your timeline by making the FAVN test earlier to complete.”
From there, the pet will wait 30 days after a successful FAVN test before it can fly to Hawaii. A record of the pet passing the test can be retrieved from their vet.
After 30 days, there are a few more steps before furry friends can take flight.
Pet owners will need to purchase an airline-approved crate for their pet that enables the pet to stand up and turn around freely, plus live animal stickers to place on the outside and a food and water dish that can clip on the inside of the crate.
Pet owners will also need to ensure the pet's name is on the crate with a bag of food taped to the top.
A veterinary visit should be scheduled within 14 days of the pet’s departure to obtain a signed certificate of health stating the pet is safe to fly, and has tick medicine that is proven to be long-lasting.
Additionally, the medicine, microchip number, and rabies vaccine name should be listed on the certificate.
All of the documents, including the health certificate, FAVN results and the Animal Import Form, should be mailed to The Hawaii Quarantine Station at least 10 days before arriving on the island. The Animal Import Form can be found at the link provided at the bottom of this list.
Failure to accomplish this step could result in extra fees. Upon completion of all the steps, the owner will be able to pick up the pet with a $185 cashier’s check or money order made out to the Animal Quarantine Station for Direct Airport Release.
“When shipping a pet, clients can go through airlines directly if they like, because it is cheaper but the scheduling and arrangements have to be done by the owner,” said Averna. “There are pet shipping services that can help get pets into Hawaii, which are less hassle but you have to pay more for the convenience.”
“Also remember that many airlines have temperature restrictions,” Averna added. “For instance, if the temperature gets over 85 degrees most airlines won’t ship pets that day, so it helps to ship pets on late night or early morning flights.”
For more details of other possible questions or special situations, please visit:
http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/