Aww remember that movie?! It really was one of my favorites as a kid. Well, R and I recently experienced a puppy homecoming of our own that was way better than the movie. Thankfully no sassy cats or lost dogs were involved.
We moved to Kauai in July and due to strict pet import rules here we had to leave Ellie, our beloved Rhodesian Ridegeback mix, behind for about a month and a half. Thankfully we had the best pup sitter around to take care of her during that time (Thanks Linda!) but it was beyond difficult to leave her as we drove off on that sunny July afternoon.
So many people have asked about how we were going to go about moving Ellie to the island that I think it is fitting to dedicate a little blog space to the process of getting her here. I should tell you that it was not easy and it totally turned me into a constantly anxious, borderline crazy person, BUT it is totally worth it if you are considering a move of this scale yourself.
Before we can fast forward to Ellie’s arrival in Kauai, let’s go back in time. . . to February 2014.
February 2014 was when we decided to get serious about moving. Luckily we have had enough family and friends trek out to these little green islands that we knew the pet import process would be long and involved and we started to get prepped early (but not early enough since we had to leave the pup!). Hawaii is the only state (and one of the only places in the world) that is rabies free. That’s right, no rabies-infested animal has made it across the pacific and the state of Hawaii would like to keep it that way. Keeping rabies out of Hawaii is not easy, so bringing a pet to the island that could carry rabies is not easy either.
Because Hawaii is a rabies free zone, all pets that move to the island must undergo a quarantine process to ensure they are not carrying the disease. In the past, pets had to be quarantined on island for 120 days, but thankfully the state has revised this policy and pets can now qualify for direct release as long as all quarantine requirements have been met BEFORE the pet arrives.
For all of the details of the direct release program, check out this post on the Hawaii Life site or the Hawaii Department of Agriculture Site for all required paperwork. For an overview, keep reading!
- First your pet needs to have records of TWO rabies vaccinations
- Second you need to make sure your pet has an active and working microchip
- Third your veterinarian needs to conduct an FAVN blood test. This is a special test, that will cost a pretty penny ($200 or so) and has to be sent to a special testing lab at Kansas State University. Once this blood test is received by the testing lab, the 120 day waiting period begins. Since we didn’t start this process until February we didn’t have everything ready for Ellie to ship out with us in July.
You do not need to keep your pet away from other animals or keep them cooped up for any reason, but you do have to wait 120 days from the time of testing before you can welcome them to Hawaii.
- Your pooch also has to have several other veterinary appointments where a flea and tick treatment will be applied and a general health analysis will be performed to make sure the pet is fit to fly.
- Once you complete all of the following steps (again, definitely see the full information at HDA or Hawaii Life) You also need to make sure all paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered with proper veterinary signatures to the HDA no later than 10 days before your pet arrives in Hawaii.
- Don’t forget about booking the pet’s flight(s) and the fees associated with that and with releasing a pet in Kauai. The main animal quarantine is located at the Honolulu airport and to release a pet directly on a neighboring island packs on way bigger and outrageous fees. To direct release Ellie on Kauai would have been $500 more than to release her on Oahu and transfer to Kauai.
As you can tell, this is not easy or cheap, but it is worth it. Thankfully there are several wonderful pet moving companies that can help you get through the process. We hired Island Pet Movers and they were wonderful! They handled all of the paperwork and sent us step by step instructions throughout the process. They were always available via email and phone and put up with my incessant questions and anxiety.
They also met Ellie in Honolulu for the release and gave her a potty break before tucking her in for her flight to Kauai. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone!
There is some risk involved in sending your pet on a flight and accidents can always happen, but for Ellie it was very safe. From the time she was checked-in at cargo in Denver, to boarding the plane, to arriving in Honolulu and eventually Kauai we encountered really caring and careful staff. My dad even said the flight attendants kept him posted on how many dogs were flying that day with Ellie (there were 6!) Sending Ellie on another flight is not something I want to do any time soon, but I would do it again.
There are a lot of details I’ve left out here so I don’t put you to sleep, but if you are sending a pet to Hawaii (or anywhere long distance) R and I would be happy to tell you more about our experience and everything we did to get Ellie here safely. For now though here are some pics of the happy pooch!
T + R
They went west 