TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin CDC to make restrictions bringing back puppies to US

Better do it before August 1st.

Effective August 1, 2024 the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is putting restrictions on all puppies entering the US and none will be allowed in under 6 months of age. The petition referred to below is to stop them from doing this or at least making it 3 months old when a puppy can get a rabies shot and still be small enough to travel via a passenger airplane cabin.
If the restrictions go into effect NO island puppies will be allowed in as by 6 months of age most have sized out riding in an airplane cabin and the commercial airlines already do not take any in cargo. Since 50% of our puppies go to the US it will be devastating to our rescue and limit the number of dogs we can save from being euthanized. Please sign and help us stop this from happening. We are asking our supporters, friends, and past adopters to please support us and sign the petition.
Why This Petition Matters (from Amy Warnock):
The CDC is implementing restrictions that would prevent dogs under six months of age from entering the country. This policy change will exacerbate an already critical situation in shelters across the world. It would leave countless young puppies stranded in their countries of origin where they face uncertain futures.
According to The Humane Society International (HSI), there are an estimated 200 million stray dogs worldwide. These animals often live in harsh conditions and face threats such as disease, starvation, and abuse. Our organization helps alleviate this problem by rescuing these vulnerable creatures and giving them a second chance at life in loving homes here in the US.
By imposing an age restriction on incoming dogs, we risk leaving many more puppies behind – causing unnecessary suffering, abuse and neglect for these innocent animals while adding strain on international animal welfare organizations who struggle with limited resources.
We urge you to consider these implications seriously before supporting such overly restrictive, heavy handed requirements that will significantly impact international animal welfare efforts.
Please sign this petition urging the CDC not to implement age restrictions on incoming dogs into the US – because every puppy deserves a chance at life no matter where they were born or how old they are.

Link to sign petition.
HERE

I thought the link wasn't there, so thanks for putting it in.

Does anyone have any idea WHY they are doing this?

Might have something to do with being old enough to be fully inoculated for Rabies and Distemper. But who knows why the CDC does anything.

Signed. It will be tragic for the SXM dogs if this cannot be reversed

This will apply to ALL dogs entering the US, including purebred dogs from Canada and other countries. Supposedly there has been issues with fraudulent documentation (imagine that) of vaccines and microchips of dogs entering the US.

CDC LINK

ANOTHER CDC LINK

There are several other links that can be accessed from the above as well.

I know of a few people who cross from the US to Canada with dogs that are NOT microchipped (the owners have concerns with their dogs being chipped), these people will either have to get the dogs chipped or they cannot travel back and forth with them.

I'm gonna say to control disease -- it's in their name.

Dan

Yes JD. That is going to affect a lot of hunters going to Canada to hunt waterfowl and upland birds. Lots of my hunting buddies will have to comply with this.

Yep, if their dogs are not chipped, they will have to get them chipped. As I said, I know at least a couple of people who are adamantly against having their dogs chipped. Heck, even our cat is chipped as are both dogs.

Agree or not with the CDC, and I often do not agree, this was not done to single SXM out. Many shelters here in the US are at capacity and often have to deal with hoarding situations and also dogs shipped in from other countries.

If you want to see another example of a well-intentioned law/act gone wrong, just look at the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) with respect to SERVICE DOGS and how that has allowed for the many FAKE service dogs that are not properly trained and allows the household pet to be passed off as a service dog. $49 and a fake vest off the internet and you are (sadly) in business with your untrained pet.

JD--but what does 6 months have to do with it? I thought puppies could be vaccinated at 3 months?

I believe to be fully vaxxed for distemper, they have to be six months.
JD you are so right about the stupid fake service dogs.

Honestly, I have no idea. Vaccines are usually a series of shots at specific times over the first 12-16 months of the life of the dog. Puppy shots can begin in the 6–8-week age range as most well-bred dogs will have some vaccines prior to being sold/adopted when they are in the 8–10-week age range. The CDC could be all wrong with the timing but that is what they came up with.

lcote, one can thank the politicians, the DOT and the DOJ for the loosely written ADA act that passed in 1990. Well-intentioned in many cases but they created a mess with the loosely written Service Dog provisions. Emotional Support Animals is an even bigger mess.

We decided to adopt a puppy from SXM PAWS during our last visit there in June. The pup wasn’t quite ready to go when we left the island, so PAWS found a flight buddy for us to get him to ATL, where we met them and picked him up a week after we got home. His name is Quinn and he is just precious. The island dogs are so wonderful and SXM PAWS does a fantastic job of finding them homes. This new CDC rule is ridiculous and is going to affect PAWS badly. There just aren’t enough homes on the island. SXM has a very low rabies risk and the CDC seems to have just picked an arbitrary number. The risk of disease FROM the dogs is also very low. The danger is mostly TO the young puppies who have not yet completed all their shots yet, not to other dogs. All the puppies receive their rabies vaccine prior to traveling. So it makes no sense. By 6 months of age (rather than the current 3 months), most of the dogs will be heavier than the allowed 20 pounds. I urge everyone to sign the petition. It only takes a moment and it can help save lives. August 1 is the date the new CDC regulation goes into effect.

Quinn is doing very well in his new home here in Knoxville TN. He enjoyed his first boat ride over the 4th of July holiday and is fitting right in with our crew. I sure wish I could manage to post photos on here. I’ve never quite been able to figure it out. But trust me, he’s adorable.

I agree with you. I have signed the Petition.

As far as attaching pictures, it's really easy. Click on USE FULL EDITOR. That opens another window. Then click on ATTACHMENT MANAGER and upload pictures. It really is easy. If you have any other questions, please feel free to send me a PM.

Thank you!

Quinn was found on the side of the road in SXM. Now he’s living his best life and helping heal our hearts from the recent loss of several of our fur babies.

I had already signed and shared to a few places on FB. The CDC's new rule isn't targeting St. Martin. I guess they decided that pups weren't fully vaccinated for distemper until 6 months of age...unfortunate. In addition to our own pup, Ralphi, we have escorted 3 puppies from I Love My Island Dog Association, to a rescue in NJ- Island Puppy Rescue. Sad that this is going to stop saving hundreds of puppies.

Thank you for doing that. ❤️