[lhysen]

I am trying to figure out how to save money and my dogs some misery in the quarantine thing. I noticed if my dogs were in Hawaii for 6 months I could skip the quarantine and other steps. How feasible is this and how much money would I save?

P.S. I have a 10 year old dog with arthritis and being couped up for 30 days would not do him any good.

Thanks,
Bob
Portland Oregon

[BkyMonster]

Hi Bob :)
Well you'd have to weigh the costs of living in Hawaii for 6 months versus the dog shipping costs.
Depending on the size of the dog the cost will vary, but here's a run down of what I'm paying.
I'm going with IPT and I'll be paying them about $2500 for two dogs. Most of this is the cost of booking the dog on the plane.Close to $1000 for the 80lb dog, much less for the 8lb one. :) IPT charges a fee ($400 for both dogs) for consulting and the rest goes to USDA inspections, kenneling and other assorted charges.
I think I have to pay about $50 per dog to get them from PDX to LAX on the flight I'll be going down on.

The quarantine charges from PetHaven will run me about $2500 USD (around 3k NZD) with a multiple dog discount.

Other than that the vet visits and the USDA breed approval ($75 each) and all was probably under $700 for both dogs.

Total: under 6k USD for two dogs.

All in all we figured that bringing the dogs was about equivalent in cost to a child's round trip plane ticket (each).

Some of the kennels seem better than others and advertise letting the dogs out to run around a bit.
I felt for sure that my horrible little princess and my big dopey scaredy cat :roll would have a horrible time, but I'm feeling more confident after talking to the quarantine people.

[Park City Partner]

You also have to factor in getting the dogs into to Hawaii which is no east feat......

[kanatakiwi]

Some of the kennels seem better than others and advertise letting the dogs out to run around a bit.
I felt for sure that my horrible little princess and my big dopey scaredy cat :roll would have a horrible time, but I'm feeling more confident after talking to the quarantine people.

I'd check that out very closely. If your dog or cat is in quarantine, they absolutely cannot be let out to run around. Some kennels have services for both domestic animals (as in dogs or cats from NZ) and quarantine. the domestic animals are given an outside run every day but quarantined animals are strictly kept in their kennel. (otherwise its not really quarantine is it) I queried this very carefully of all the quarantine facilities I visited because I knew my husky could not last a month without a run, but was told by everyone that its very strict and they would lose their licence if they let dogs out, even for a little run. A dog especially an older one, can have significant muscle loss if not exercising for a month, so after the 30 days are up, you need to reintroduce your animal to exercise very slowly and carefully.

[tigerlily]

I think they'd have to be in Quaranteen in Hawaii for about 3 months anyway. Also the cost of living in Hawaii is really high- what would you do there in the mean time?

[dharder]

I noticed if my dogs were in Hawaii for 6 months I could skip the quarantine and other steps. How feasible is this and how much money would I save?

Can't help you with the dog thing, but Hawaii is one of the last places that come to my mind when I think of saving money...

It's lovely, and great if you can get work there that pays for your living, but it's not a cheap place to be.

I believe someone here on the forum lives in Hawaii, they might be able to help answer some questions.

Good luck,
Daniela

[randomone]

i can't help but just want to say that i appreciate you have a difficult situation to deal with. Hope you manage to find a workable solution for you and your dog

[lhysen]

I have looked into Hawaii and they require some blood work and rabies shots and if you have the required documents you don't have to do a quarantine. I figure if I could get work for 6 months just to pay the bills I could surf everyday and my dogs could be free.

Curious how does the home quarantine work in NZ? Can you let your dog outside to go to the bathroom? How strict are they about this?

[dilanium]

You must quarantine at one of the approved facilities as far as I've read. All four (or is it five) of them.

As I'm just bringing my cat (who's indoor only anyway) the exercise is not something I'm concerned about. I would definitely look into all of the different facilities to see which could best serve your dog prior to coming if that's what you decide to do. I have so far found everyone to be very helpful, so I'm sure they will answer your questions to the best of their ability.

This is where I'll be housing my cat: http://shado-lans.co.nz/shado-lans_services.htm The dog area looks very nice, though the dimensions are not shown so you may want to contact them if you do decide you need to quarantine (instead of going via Hawaii, which sounds like fun to me!).

[migratory birds]

Our neighbors recently moved to HI from the US and did a 6 month pre-move quarentine. Two indoor cats and one dog. I was surprised that they were taking their dog to the dog park regularily for run (Golden Retriever pup needed to get its ya-yas out every day). Didn't seem to be much of a quarentine from my perspective and not doing the islands any good to allow animals in that were running freely in dog parks just before getting on the plane. But they were able to take the dogs right home after flying them over the Islands.

Thought about doing this for my cats but in the long run it was more hassle for me to think about settling our cats and family for 6 mos then picking up again. Maybe if no kids and a decent paying short-term job it could work...

[BkyMonster]

The quarantine kennels at Pethaven aren't that small. The single unit sizes are: sleeping area 1.5m x 2.4m with outside exercise area 1.5m x 4.1m. http://www.pethavenkennels.co.nz/quarantine.html
So it isn't a little box, really. Kanatakiwi is likely correct in that the advertised exercise paddocks are for domestic kenneling.

I'd advise seeing which ones have the most moving around space. I picked PetHaven as it seemed best for my animals, though I did consider the other two not in the Auckland area.
You can get a list of all the approved quarantines and the contact information off the MAF site.
I'd advise you contacting them and explaining your concerns. They might be able to help you.
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/commercial-imports/animal-imports/registered-quarantine-facilities

[kanatakiwi]

I would vote for Pethaven too. Its a lovely rural setting, great owners who take a personal interest in the animals, and its small, only 10 dog units when I visited. (whereas the other auckland one has 40 dog units and there is howling going on the whole time. )

With your dog being arthritic I am guessing he/she doesn't do a lot of running anyway, so just needs a good walk everyday, and you can make the time to go out every day and walk him around in his area. Boring for the dog and you, but effective, it will keep the limbs limber.

Also you are alllowed to bring in your own blankets, bedding, toys etc, and some people even bring in artificial grass turf to cover the concrete so that it appeals a little more.

If my dog was better able to cope I would have brought her and definitely would have chosen Pethaven.

[lhysen]

kanatakiwi just wondering why your dog could not cope?

[Howie]

I brought my (then) 10 year old Lab with me. He survived the quarantine, but it was hard. I visited him everyday and eventually he got used to things in quarantine. He gained a lot of weight and it took some time to gradually get him back into shape. He's a high energy dog, but it probably helped that he's not a young pup.
It was hard on me and him, but I wouldn't have come without him. I knew he could handle 2 weeks, and not handle 6 months, so it was a tough decision to move to NZ when I found out it was a 30 day quarantine.
He's a happy NZ beach dog now!!

[kanatakiwi]

kanatakiwi just wondering why your dog could not cope?

My dog (the lovely husky in the photo) was a "rescue dog" and had spent some time in SPCA kennels and is absolutely terrified of kennels. She trembles any time she is near one. The vet did not think she would cope with the crate travel on the plane and you cannot sedate a dog who will be at high altitudes.

I was more worried about how she would cope with the 18 hours in a crate enroute to NZ, than quarantine, although being a very high energy dog who can run and run and run, I knew she would be very depressed during the quarantine but would survive it. Like Howie says it would have been hard on her in terms of lack of exercise and muscle strength, and a probable weight gain, although more likely she would have refused to eat. The only food she would eat in Canada is not available in NZ, I even talked to the company about importing it to NZ, so that was another concern. Plus at that time there were no direct Vancouver to auckland flights and it meant a stopover in either San Francisco or LA, where the pet cannot be allowed out of the crate.

In the end we realized she is very happy where she is.... loved and cared for by friends, in the house that she is used to, and it we would be putting her through all of that for our own selfish reasons, because we love her so much. It was the most difficult decision about the whole immigration process, and we still wonder if we did the right thing. I certainly understand both sides of this discussion and wouldn't judge anyone for the decision they make.

Anyway I totally understand the Hawaii thing, and believe me I investigated that option too, anything to avoid the quarantine, but doesn't work for Canadians, only Americans. But hundreds probably thousands of dogs come through this just fine, so no reason to think your dog won't come through with flying colours too.

[Airways Ed]

Bob: Your idea is feasible, as we are doing just that.

The Hawaii state regulations for importing a dog from other states are rigorous, but if you follow them to the letter we found it to be a non-event. You need to plan well ahead, because there is a 120-day mandatory wait after the dog's blood test before the animal can arrive in Hawaii eligible for the immediate airport release.

Our dog was a 'rescue', and is very nervous; however, he really took to his travelling kennel and so by the time of the trip was accustomed to riding around in it; our vet prescribed a sedative for the flight which worked wonders. We should have taken the pills as well to save ourselves the stress. We chose Hawaiian Airlines, and the cost was $175.

However, you will certainly not save any money with six months in Hawaii unless you have a free place to stay. In our case, we had other business and personal considerations that justified the stop on the way to NZ.

Good luck