#Middlebury #Dogs
DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I’ve been working for months to purchase a purebred dog located in Ukraine. Today, the transaction was put on hold by the breeder, who said that dog imports are being banned by the U.S. What is going on? – Nadiya in NYC
DEAR NADIYA: What happened is that dogs are being imported into the U.S. with rabies certificates that are fraudulent. After at least 450 imported dogs were found to have fake certificates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took action in June and temporarily banned the import of dogs from more than 100 countries* with a high rabies risk, including Ukraine, for at least one year.
According to the CDC’s official notice, in 2020 it identified a significant increase in the number of imported dogs that were denied entry into the U.S. from high-risk countries. Due to reduced flight schedules, dogs denied entry are facing longer wait times to be returned to their country of departure, leading to illness and even death.
Why did the number of fraudulent rabies certificates rise so quickly? In a word, the pandemic. During lockdown, demand for dogs (and cats) soared. Worried about the risk of animals being abandoned when their owners went back to the office, many shelters drastically raised fees and other requirements for adoption. Demand for imported dogs rose.
Unfortunately, there are no options for those who intend to purchase or adopt a dog from one of these countries. If you try to import the dog anyway, or even hand-carry it across the border, it will be denied entry and shipped back home at your expense. It’s a bummer, but necessary to reduce the risk of rabies spreading in the U.S.
*For a map showing banned countries, go to www.statista.com and search for “CDC bans dog imports.” To read the official notice, go to www.cdc.gov and search for “high-risk dog ban.”
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© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.
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