Hey Purdue! My husband has orders to Guam and we're moving next month. We have 3 dogs and they're coming with us. There is a fair amount of work to be done getting your pet ready. Basically, your dog has to have all vaccinations, a microchip and FAV-N bloodwork drawn. The FAVN is the biggest pain to deal with because they need 120 days to process the results. After you get the results, you can apply for an entry permit from the Department of Agriculture in Guam ($60/pet) and make your kennel quarantine reservations. Then get a health certificate for your pet from your vet 14 days or less before arrival in Guam. If you've jumped through all of the proper hoops, you can do the 5 day or less quarantine program. If not, you can still do the 30 or 120 day quarantine. The hardest part of getting a pet ready to go to Guam is figuring out what exactly you have to do and by when... and I can give you all of that info. Also, this link is helpful:
http://k9.gov.gu/k9import/ANIMALQUARANTINEBROCHURE.html
Here are the specifics:
1. Your dog has to have two rabies vaccination, one less than 12 months prior to entry to Guam. If your dog hasn't had any, then you can still take him. You just have to have the vet give him one rabies vaccination and then another one 3 months later. Then, 14 days after that, you can do step 3 (FAVN).
2. Your dog has to be up to date on all other shots. These include distemper, hepatitis (or adenovirus-2), parvovirus, parainfluenza virus, Bordatella, Leptospirosis and carona virus. Your vet will know what all of these are and they will likely have a combo vaccine "DHLPPC" that they can give so that your dog doesn't become a pin cushion. Bordetella has to be given separately and that's either a shot or a fluid squirt up the nose.
3. OIE-Fluorescent Antibody Serum Neutralization Test (OIE-FAVN test). This is a simple blood draw. Your vet draws the blood and gets the sample ready. You then have to overnight it to the designated military lab in San Antonio. Shipping cost somewhere around $45 and the sample processing cost (paid to the lab) was $40 I think. Then you have to wait 120 days for the lab to process the sample to make sure your pet responded favorably to the rabies vaccine.
4. Microchip. Make sure to get the kind that's readable with an Avid universal scanner. Also, make sure the microchip number is noted on both the rabies certificate and the health certificate you'll need to get.
5. Entry permit to Guam, obtained through the Dept of Agriculture. $60/pet.
6. Health certificate obtained within 14 days of arrival in Guam. Your vet will do this for you and will likely charge you an exam fee plus a $10 or $10 health certificate fee. If you can get in to the military fee, they'll do this for free.
7. Kennel quarantine reservations! You can't make these until you have all of the above done. Get reservations at Andersen Pet Lodge if at all possible. There's only one place out in town that can quarantine besides Andersen and we've heard Andersen is the way to go.
The main issue to be concerned about in my opinion isn't so much getting your pet to Guam (or Japan) as finding someone willing to care for your dog while you deploy. From what we've heard, the military community out In Guam is pretty tightknit and people are always willing to help eachother out, but it's something to think about.
