Permit to move with dog to STX mandatory?

Maybe just because of where you're coming from I guess. Perhaps it would be easier to fly to Miami first.

Thanks for your reply.

After posting, I thought of contacting Liat in Stx...

So they said I only need the vaccinations/health cert.
They did give me the nr for Homeland Security's "agriculture specialist' in Stx, so called him,
he stated the same: vaccinations/health cert is all is needed for them.

I just needed to be sure, because if the permit was necessary, it said it would take them at least 3 weeks to process... so I would be running out of time.

Sure looking forward to arriving in St Croix, and to help from all you here with future questions I'm sure I'll have!

Go to vifresh.com
click on Forms and Documents
At the bottom is a Veterianary section
second from the bottom link is State Regulations for Importing Animals

taken from that form...

" DOGS
All dogs upon entering the Virgin Islands shall be accompanied by an official health certificate stating that the animal did not originate from an area quarantined for rabies. All dogs must have been vaccinated for rabies within 6 months prior to the date of shipment except those dogs less than 8 weeks old. The certificate of vaccination for rabies must be attached to the official health certificate."

You can get the form you need of that site too. Hope your move goes well.

Thanks, must have missed that bit...

I have a small case of information overload...;)

I've never understood the part about the rabies vaccine. Maybe I'm reading/interpreting it wrong. Rabies vaccinations are only recommended every 2-3 years, so even if a dog is up to date, it may have been, say, 18 months since the last vaccine. Does this mean that they want us to over-vaccinate our dogs? I mean, if you fly frequently with your dog, do you really need to vaccinate every 6 months? I've always flown with my dog without regard to when the last rabies shot was given (as long as it was up to date according to my vet), but I wonder if the airlines could have stopped me for this.

I've never understood the part about the rabies vaccine. Maybe I'm reading/interpreting it wrong. Rabies vaccinations are only recommended every 2-3 years, so even if a dog is up to date, it may have been, say, 18 months since the last vaccine. Does this mean that they want us to over-vaccinate our dogs? I mean, if you fly frequently with your dog, do you really need to vaccinate every 6 months? I've always flown with my dog without regard to when the last rabies shot was given (as long as it was up to date according to my vet), but I wonder if the airlines could have stopped me for this.

Rabies is one of the (if not the) most lethal infection to humans. In some countries where rabies doesn't exist no vaccinations are required; in others the vaccine is considered viable for three years; in others, annual vaccinations are mandated. Interestingly, while the Netherlands Antilles is very low on the list for incidences of rabies, the US Virgin Islands are denoted completely rabies-free. For many years, pet dogs, cats and ferrets entering the UK from overseas were subject to six months quarantine. The quarantine was dropped several years ago after a long period when the UK was rabies-free but then was re-established when a couple of cases were diagnosed. Now the UK is following new EU procedures where as long as pre-entry requirements are met, no quarantine is necessary.

Because of the highly lethal nature of the infection in humans, it's understandable that vaccinations within the last six months is required of pets coming into our (rabies-free) territory and there doesn't seem to be any problem with "over-vaccination". Better to err on the side of caution!

Rabies bad, vaccination good. Got it. But why is giving the vaccination more often than necessary required? The prevalence of an infection in a particular area has no impact on how long a vaccine is effective. Why stop at six months? Why not give it every month? Every week? MORE IS BETTER!!!!! Why not extend this to people and say that you must get your tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis, varicella, pneumonia, influenza, and polio vaccinations every month in order to "err on the side of caution" instead of going by the guidelines established by evidence-based medicine? After all, those are lethal infections!!

Why can't we just trust veterinary medicine and the research done on the rabies vaccine to give us the proper guidelines instead of declaring that more must be better?

Ooops. I've been bringing my dog with me for years and didn't know about the 6 month rabies rule. When I first started to bring her, I checked with the airline and they specified "current" rabies vaccination. My dog is on a 3 year rabies vaccination protocol. No one's ever questioned it. No way am I going to overvaccinate my pup because USVI Ag hasn't kept up with vaccination research. More is not better (cats get cancerous tumors from overvaccinationg) . It does not ensure that my dog is better protected with a pre-VI booster, than she is with her current 3 year. Testing shows the 3 year vac is still effective well past 3 years.