Thousands of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel now face tremendous difficulties due to the Centers for Disease Control’s sudden decision to ban the entry of dogs from 113 countries. This decision not only jeopardizes U.S. foreign interests but also causes untold hardship for all U.S. government personnel serving overseas with their pets. This is not the way Americans serving abroad deserve to be treated by their own government.   

On June 14, 2021, the CDC announced that as of July 14, 2021 – only one month later – the U.S. would suspend the importation of dogs from 113 countries that the CDC has classified as “high risk for dog rabies.” The CDC made this decision without considering its effects on U.S. military and diplomatic personnel serving overseas with their dogs. Although the CDC subsequently announced that American citizens may apply for a special permit to bring their dogs home, the permit process itself has extremely stringent requirements that are in many cases impossible for government personnel to fulfill.

For example, it is physically impossible for many of us to comply with the permit’s requirement for a blood titer test. There are only four CDC-approved labs worldwide: in China, France, UK, and Mexico. None in the U.S. These labs were not apprised of the change by the CDC and are now unable to accommodate the sudden surge in test requests. Additionally, blood samples must be received by the labs within two days of the time they are drawn. However, suspended international mail due to COVID-19, host country regulations that forbid the international transport of blood products, and unreliable commercial shipping services mean that in many regions there is simply no way for blood samples to reach the lab at all, much less in the narrow window for testing.

Furthermore, the CDC now demands that all dogs enter the U.S. through one airport: JFK International Airport in New York City. However, Fly America Act compliant airlines on which government personnel are required to travel do not all operate into JFK nor transport pets. Airlines are so confused by the new requirements that they are refusing to transport pets entirely, even from countries that have been declared rabies-free like Germany. 

While we understand the need to protect animals in the U.S. from disease, the fact is that the incidence of rabies in imported dogs since 2015 has been 1:1,650,000 – and NONE were the personal pets of U.S. government personnel serving abroad. Our pets are part of our families, and we are well aware of the importance of keeping them healthy and of complying with U.S. laws and regulations.

On behalf of Americans serving overseas in military and diplomatic service, we ask the CDC to grant a full exemption to the ban for U.S. government personnel traveling with their personal pets. We also ask the CDC to explore alternative measures for managing the rabies threat from imported dogs. It is unfathomable that the same government we serve overseas could arbitrarily prevent us from bringing our personal pets home.