Incoming border measures for dogs have pet owners scrambling

New border measures for dogs set to be introduced in the U.S. in the coming weeks have pet owners racing to book veterinarian appointments and frustrated at the lack of clear communication from both governments.

Starting Aug. 1, people will not be able to bring their dogs into the U.S. unless the animal has a microchip and is at least six months old and the owner has both a recent photo of the pet and proof of its rabies vaccination signed by a veterinarian.

Kathryn Nield, a Brockville, Ont., resident, says she heads to the U.S. with her border collie Blink about eight times a year for agility competitions. She is also a dual-citizen with family in New Jersey. 

Nield says her biggest concern is that the vaccination needs to be signed off from a veterinarian.

"The biggest pain in the neck is gonna be getting the appointment to go to the vet and get all this paperwork signed because there's gonna be so many people [who] need to do it," Nield said. 

It's fixing a problem that doesn't exist- Health Minister Mark Holland 

Government eases certain restrictions

Health Minister Mark Holland said on Wednesday the U.S. will introduce a specific form for Canada that will allow a dog to enter and re-enter the U.S. for as long as their rabies vaccination is valid — which is three years. 

But he acknowledges he's concerned about what these measures will do to veterinarians in rural communities where there's only one clinic. 

"Veterinarians have a lot of things that need to be done. This is something, frankly, that checks a box that doesn't need to be checked. It's fixing a problem that doesn't exist," he said. 

CBC contacted several veterinary clinics in the Ottawa Valley, and most receptions stated that they had little to no information to share on the topic. One stated they "have been left in the dark."

Nield secured an appointment with her vet in Brockville next week to get the forms signed as the final step, but she is unsure if that will seal the deal to get them over the border. 

"I don't know that I have the right forms yet, [and] at this point I don't know if even he has the right form," she added. 

Confusing messaging

She says confusion and a lack of communication from governments has been an issue on both sides of the border. When she texts with her friends from the states in a group chat, nobody is on the same page. 

"There'd be 100 people chiming in, 'well I heard this and I heard that,'" she said. "It's a mess right now — it's so badly thought out."  

She has been following the situation since the first announcement made in May. Since then, some changes have been made to the regulations, further confusing people.  

"It's got a lot of people really stressed out," she added. 

Cody Perry has also been trying to be diligent and prepare for the upcoming measures. 

He trains hunting dogs in the rural Ottawa community of North Gower, and takes them to New York once Ontario's hunting season is over. He says he won't be able to make that trip this fall due to the vaccine requirements. 

"What we have now worked, we're both rabies free countries and we had good vaccination programs. So if it's not broke, why would you fix it?"