We will be arriving in Japan in January with orders to Yokosuka.

We've been following the pet health checklist, but I'm not sure about the health certification. Does that need to be done before we travel, or can it be done in Japan?

We're going to be traveling over the holidays, and since it's only good for 10 days, it will be VERY difficult for us to get one before arriving.

Also, my ship will be out to sea when I arrive, how can I get to Yokosuka with two dogs, one with a large kennel? I know there's a shuttle, but I don't think that's for pets too.

Thanks!

Be warned that some pets have been confiscated and destroyed due to lack of rule following I was told on my way here. If you fly commercial be especially wary. The army website tells you everything you need to know about the pets and the big one is the trip to the Dept of Agriculture I believe it was, I had to drive from Jacksonville to Gainesville Fl just for that. The pets deal is huge and is not meant to be easy. They should and can arrange transportation for you from either one of the airports, sponsor should let you know on that...dont let up on them until you get a clear answer on it. The ombudsmen can help if you dont get any answers and the ship will be out. You will either have to take a shuttle arranged thru your command or a base taxi (VAN) because of the dogs. That is about 150-175 dollars I believe.
Do you have reservations in Navy Lodge?
Do you have an AOB ICR sign up?
Are you on your own when you arrive?

By the way I am pretty sure if you dont have the health certificate you pets will NOT be leaving the US with you, I remember having to provide mine 4 times, the departure airport, Seattle, arrival in Japan and the Vet here on base when we put them into the kennel.

Be advised too that the whole process especially the rabies needs to start 6 months out or so with the micro chips and such, I hope you have already gotten on that...if not it is likely too late in the game...

Thanks. We've followed the checklist, so they've been micro-chipped, had rabies shots, and had their blood drawn for the FAVN test. The last thing on the checklist is the Health Certification. We're flying AMC from Seattle to Yokota.

What's an AOB ICR?

Ok, the health cert should be no big deal then but make sure travel is arranged. You should expect a separate van arranged to take you and your pets to the base. We also had to arrange our hotel based on pets, there was a hotel nearby, not particulary nice but was ok near the airport. We spent the night in Seattle and only a few will take pets.
AOB ICR is area orientation brief and Intercultural relations. If you have kids they can go to the hourly CDC while you take the weeklong class. We did ours the Monday after we reported on a Friday. This class is mandatory to get a drivers license. By the way make sure you renew your license if it is near expiring...

On the pets make up a folder with a zip lock bag to attach to the kennel for flight, have a copy if that gets lost.

where do you get a list of what needs to be done with the pets? is there a specific website that I should check out?My dog is 15 lbs, fairly small which I know it can be a little easier.

@Camila: The CFAY info is at:
https://cnic.navy.mil/Yokosuka/Relocation/OrdersToCFAY/ImportingPets/index.htm

The Army in Japan has a very useful site, linked from the CFAY site, at:
http://www.usarj.army.mil/organizat...index.aspx

Many stateside military vets know the drill pretty well -- Ft. Belvoir in VA was quite helpful. I also found an email address for the quarantine office at Narita airport and emailed them my documentation. They checked it over to assure it was correct and even had printed copies waiting for me when I arrived. I can't find that email address but there is a link from this page:
http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/c...actus.html
that lets you submit email questions directly to the Japanese.

The size of your pet will not change the 180-day requirement. I brought cats in. No issues, but I followed all the stuff on the web pages I sent to very carefully. The Army page in particular is quite good.

dan

Thank you so much, You are very helpful. THANK YOU.

QUICK QUESTION!


Are pets allowed in base housing? or just outside of base in private houses?

Pets are allowed in base housing. Townhouses are allowed 1 dog and 1 cat/ 2 dogs / 2 cats. Towers are allowed up to 2 cats.

Posted By FCCMCOLLINS on 08 Dec 2009 07:09 AM
The army website tells you everything you need to know about the pets and the big one is the trip to the Dept of Agriculture I believe it was, I had to drive from Jacksonville to Gainesville Fl just for that.

I've been reading on this and the army websites regarding traveling with pets but I have not found anywhere about the Dept of Agriculture. You are the second person who has told me so, any idea where I can find info of what needs to be done with such Dept? We are also stationed in Jacksonville at the moment and our mini Schnauzer already has the microchip and rabies in order but needs everything else. We are moving to Atsugi July 2010. Any info would be wonderful, thanks in advance!

I believe FCCMCOLLINS was referring to the USDA. You will need to get "ALL" of your documents signed by a USDA representative (with the raised seal on each page). You won't have to worry about this step if you are working with a military vet. They should be able to stamp each page for you at the vet clinic on base in the states. But, if you are working with a private vet, then you must go to your nearest USDA office and get your paperwork signed and stamped. Refer to page 6, section 8 of the following website:

http://www.mccsokinawa.com/welcomea...mation.pdf

Here it is in case the link doesn't work:

(8) Obtaining a health certification from the responsible exporting country government agency the importer shall obtain a health certificate issued by the responsible exporting country government agency and submit it to the Animal Quarantine Station at the time of arrival in Japan. If the
certificate is signed by a private veterinarian who conducted the clinical check or the treatments, an endorsement from the responsible exporting country government agency (signature of the government veterinarian, name and seal or stamp of the agency, signed date) must be provided by the time of arrival in Japan otherwise the certification will not be considered valid. For certification, we advise the use of the forms recommended by Japan (Form A, Form C). These certification forms are available from the Animal Quarantine Service (http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/index.html).

This part is very important as it is the part that got our dogs quarantined. We drove and hour and a half prior to leaving the US to get the "raised seal" on our forms. The USDA lady didn't stamp every page. She only stamped the page that said "stamp here." Well, the quarantine guys at Narita Airport said every page must include the raised seal. So, even if you go to a military vet on base, make sure they stamp every page!!! Insist they do! Use Forms A and C above. I think we paid about $150 at the USDA office for the stamp. This part trips a lot of people up, so make sure you don't miss this important step.

There is now a new pet category for all your pet related questions.. Pets

I have moved pretty much all the pet related questions to this 1 forum, so anyone interested can just keep things organized, and find things quickly.. I think there may be information on pets, and the requirements if you read through these posts.. Good luck..

ive done everything but get get our health certificates endorsed so far which i cant do till 10 days out but i cant seem to get into contact with the narita airport quarantine service and im moving feb 12!it says they need notification 40 days in advanced,what happens if its less than 40 days???

britne31337........hmmm, you are in a little bit of a pickle. Naritia airport is pretty strict about all their requiremens, so I'm not sure what they would do if you didn't have the 40 day notice. Is there anyway you can leave later than your husband to allow for the 40 days?

I would try to contact them and ask them in your email about the 40 day notice. You will need to email either terminal 1 or terminal 2 depending on which terminal you fly into. I would just email both of them if you aren't sure.

Here is the email address to terminal 1: na-k1@maff-aqs.go.jp

Here is the email address to terminal 2: na-k2@maff-aqs.go.jp

They respond quickly to email, so you should get a response right away. We were surprised with how efficient they were when we emailed them. I have a telephone number too, but it might be difficult to communicate because of the language barrier. The Japanese can read & write far better than they can speak.

This website is the best one to use when traveling to Japan with pets: http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/index.html

That is the one the quarantine people from the airport go by.

Again, make sure all your pages of your documents (Form A and C and FAVN Form) have the endorsed seal. Your military vet should have done this already, but sometimes they don't endorse EVERY page. You may not have used Forms A and C if you went through a military vet. The military vet may call it something else. Civilians have to use Forms A and C since we go to a private veterinarian.

Best of luck to you! Let us know if you have any other questions!

oh gosh this is stressin me out,thanks so much for the info,im gonna email them right now

Brit.....try not to let it stress you out. I know that it's easier said then done.....the whole process nearly killed me!

You're going to find that when you get here, the whole thing is somewhat of a joke anyway. Your dog will be released to you at the airport no matter what. If for some reason they tell you that your dog has to be quarantined, don't worry. Quarantine does not mean your dog will be locked up for the next six months without a breath of fresh air. If you get housing on base, you'll be able to finish the quarantine in your home. You could also find someone to watch your dog for you on base (like your sponsor). You'll be able to walk your dog while it's still at the base kennel.

If you're on Yokosuka, there's a dog park near the kennel. We took our dogs there every day to get them some "play time" and exercise. Anyway, my whole point is, even though it is VERY stressful, don't worry. It'll all work out in the end. You'll see when you get here!

Let us know what happened when you emailed Narita. I'm interested to see what the response is if you don't make the 40 day notification deadline. Hopefully it's no big deal. They don't really need 40 days to process the paper work. They got back to us the next day after we sent out the email, so I don't know why they require a 40 day notification.

yeah the woman emailed me back and said just get my paperwork in asap so i will be emailing it tomorrow.i have two cats by the way : ) and just got their favn done their blood testing or whatever in december and i believe the quarantine starts after the test comes back which was in late december.so will they have to be quarantined in a kennel or will i get to keep them?

Like Yoko-girl said, you can keep your pets in your home for their entire quarantine period, PROVIDED you choose to live on base. I would assume its the same if you end in Negishi or Ikego, but that would be a question for someone else to answer. However, I do know you would have to quarantine them at the base kennel if you end up choosing an off-base residence, and it will add up quickly. Even if it is "only $5 a day per pet, thats $300/month for 2 cats. And, I am pretty sure its more than $5 a day...

I'm pretty sure the 180 day wait period begins the day the blood work was drawn from your pet.

From what I can remember, the Yokosuka Kennel charged us $32 / day for two dogs (even though our dogs shared one kennel). I thought that was kind of a rip off because other bases don't charge for both pets if they share a kennel. Anyway, it does add up.....$32 x 30 days = $960. Now, that was for dogs; I don't know if the rate is different for cats. I think it is slightly cheaper for cats.

I certainly don't want to discourage people from bringing their pets, but please be aware of how much it's going to cost you. All the pet visits, transportation, kennel fees add up quickly. If you can afford it, bring your pet!!! But, if you think it might be a drain on your bank account, then it might be worth thinking about leaving them behind with a family member. Japan is very expensive and believe me, you're going to have a lot more expenses to worry about during your first couple weeks in Japan.

All and all, it cost us close to a grand (per dog!) to bring them here. And, I'm a pretty frugal person, so I tried to cut costs in any way I could.

I traveled here with my dog 18months ago. you do have to get a health cert. within 10 days of coming here. Also as long as you have had everything done at the base vet(stateside) all the seals and everything are good. You can contact the ship and see what they have for transportation. or if they have a inport command here. it sounds stressful, but it really isn't!

Yoko-girl has been pretty much on par with all of her info, so take it for what its worth. A slight modification on when your 180 day quarantine counter begins, though. Your counter begins on whatever date it is that the facility that tests your pets for FAVN. This date will be stamped on your FAVN certificate that you get back once they have completed their tests.

As for costs, I cant recall what we paid to get our 2 dogs over, because I dont believe we ever added it up for a total amount. However, the one piece of advise I really want to stress, and I believe it has been said before, but any and every procedure that you can get done at a military vet, take advantage of it. They are so much cheaper, and as Yoko-girl said, this process isnt cheap to begin with.

Any other questions, shoot them out here. I am sure someone can point you in the right direction.

Thanks Hoff....I wasn't so sure if I had that right about the FAVN test. I thought I read somewhere that it started the day the blood work was done, but I wasn't for sure. My memory is starting to get a little fuzzy after 6 months (which is a good thing because I rather forget the whole thing!).

It will be cheaper to go through a military vet. I wish we had that option, but we didn't. It sure would have made the whole process a lot easier (and cheaper) for us!

http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/a...other.html

AQS site above states this:

"Dogs and cats are required to undergo a wait of at least 180 days between the date of the blood sampling is taken and the date of the dogs and cats arrives in Japan."

I don't know if that means the 180 days begins when the "blood sampling" is taken from the pet or when it's examined at the lab. I would listen to Hoff and error on the side of caution that the counter begins the day the lab tests the blood work's antibody levels....especially if that's the date on the FAVN certificate.

omg you guys help so much thank you everyone.do any of you live on base?if so whats the waiting period for something on base usually?its only my husband and i and our 2 cats.i want to stay on base if that means our cats can do their quarantine at home

Nope, I live off base, and I believe Yoko-girl does too, from previous posts... Not exactly sure what you are looking for out of your 1st question... Whats the waiting period for what?

And, I would really really try to get everything lined up to where the cats are eligible to live with the family, regardless of if we chose to live on or off base. I wouldnt want to limit my choices of where we could live simply because we sat on getting our animals ready to live with us, ya know?

But, if you guys know that you are 100% going to live on base, then there really isnt a rush to have everything done 180 days prior to transferring out here to Japan. You just need to make sure you have everything completed and it all is done in the order they require it to be done in. Then, your cats can complete their "quarantine period" in the convenience of your on base home.

Shoot any other questions you can think of...

BTW, Yoko-girl, but you may be right on the FAVN date question. I just asked the wife, and she said the same thing you did, that she believes it begins on the day the blood is drawn. I coulda swore it was the date it was tested at the lab, but I have been known to be wrong every now and again. Not very often, but it does happen. Regardless, those 2 dates shouldnt be more than 2-3 weeks apart max, so in most cases, I would hope that wouldnt be the deal breaker on whether or not their pets would need to be quarantined once they made it over here to Japan...

sorry i shouldve specified when i said "whats the waiting period for something on base?"i meant...whats the waiting period for a house on base,i want to live on base regardless of the cats situation.

It seems like everyone is asking the same questions but the answers sound very "military". The "civilian" way to answer this question is way more user friendly. Don't get me wrong. All of you are totally correct but you could have explained it more simply.
*if you want to do this the easy way USE THE ARMY VET ON BASE! USDA approval if not required with military vet.
The websites you will need (if your vet doesn't give the forms to you) are
A: http://www.usarj.army.mil/organization/vet/
B: http://www.maff-aps.go.jp/english/

1. As Soon As you get orders or when you are penciled in for Japan orders, get your pets their micro chip, distemper (FVRCP) and rabies vacs. 180 days doesn't matter because you will be "quarantining" your pet on base, in your home, a friends home, or kennel ON BASE.
2. One month later, get their boosters. Waite 15 days (no more than a month) and get their
3. blood drawn: FAVN, and mail it to the location closest to you.
4. staple your FAVN results (may come 1 week later) to all your pets paperwork.

Now you will wait until you get your Pass Ports/NO FEE passport (now required) and itinerary (plane tickets) from PSD,

5. The day you get your itinerary, look on the sheet which has the list of Japanese airports, find the airport you will enter with and send import request via fax AND email to the terminal you will enter from (located on your plane itinerary) and the cargo fax numbers  This is the best way. Make sure you include telephone number, address and email. If you don't hear from them in 7 days, do it all again. When you get your reply, fax and email the Application For Pet Inspection. its basically a repeat of the advanced notification with an approval confirmation number at the top of the page.

6. 3 days prior, have vet fill out form MDJ OP form 2209 (veterinary health certificate) and  MDJ form 270(quarantine release form).

The day you leave for Japan, put a copy of all of the paperwork in a ziplock bag and tape it to the kennel so that it can be seen by inspectors. Keep a copy for yourself too, in a folder.

its that simple. The military jargon on the check list is unnecessarily confusing. Just make sure you have a friend or your command sponsor pick you up at the airport. If you dont, you will be stuck at the airport because most transportation refuse pets or they cost a fortune. Good luck.

I forgot to tell you that American Airlines is the only carrier that does NOT allow pets in the cabin during international flights. Get U.S. Airways, Delta, United, or Continental. Bug the dickens out of PSD to get your airline changed if you get AmericanAirlines. I had a pet die in the cargo hold when I was a kid moving from california to hawaii.

CherryBlossomGirl, Keep in mind that not all folks coming to japan can use the base vet. I was a new hire civilian from the states and was unable to use any base vet. The document numbers you listed are military doc numbers and wouldn't and don't apply to new hire civilians. I asked the base vet in Norfolk and they would only do the paperwork if my dog had been treated there on an ongoing basis. My dogs weren't.

If you're coming to Yokosuka, pets are NOT allowed on the airport to base bus. You'll have to get your command to pick you up at the terminal to make sure that your furry kid makes it. They (your sponsor) will need to make arrangements with the base kennel to make sure that they have someone waiting to check your pet in.

Thanks everyone for the information. It will be very helpful for future reporting personnel to Japan.

That is why this is all so confusing. There should be different categories to separate how to's. Military personnel dont need the forms for civilians and civilians don't need forms for military personnel. its just that simple. Civilians are not allowed the privileges of military transport becuase they are not military. its nothing personal, its just a privilege that military get because they are special. For example, are DOD or civilians contractors required to have a NO FEE passport?  Would have been nice if someone on this site had mentioned that to me when I began this process. I had to go back to PSD and apply for one in order to get plane tickets even though I already had a regular passport.

Civilians have to import pets just like every other tom dick and harry entering Japan. However, the vast majority of people on this site asking for this info are MILITARY. NOT civilians.That is why everyone should be more specific so that the information doesn't turn into info-stew. If you are going to dispense advice, you must be specific and disclose all the little details or else you just wasting someone's time.

I'm pretty sure that my wife (Yoko-girl) stated that way back in the beginning it would be easier if you just used your base vet. They will do all the necessary paperwork for your pet (provided that they are your regular veterinarian )

Your No Fee Passport issue was an error on the part of your sponsor or hiring facility. I knew right off the bat that I needed one because it was part of the package that was sent to me by my new employer.

Can anyone elaborate on what Yokogirl & Hoff said about keeping pets in your home for the quarantine period? Has anyone done this in Negishi?

earn,

Yes the 180 days can be completed in onbase housing.  When that time is done you just go back to the vet on base and they complete the rest of the paperwork and send off to Japanese authorities.  The 180 days does start from the date the lab has stamped on the certificate stating that the animal has the proper antibodies against rabies, not from the date of blood draw.   If your records are all together and have all the required documents going through customs/animal quarantine at the airport can take very little time.  Mine was all of about 10 minutes.

If you arrive with animals and you do not have housing yet and do not want to put them into the kennels you can ask someone here to foster your pets until you get into housing.  I know I have done it for some of the folks at our command.

i know this is a very random question but woukd anyone know how i could get the number to the vet on the zama base?my cat paperwork got faxed their from the airport on accident,it was supposed to go to yokosuka where im at.i need it for my next vet visit and i cant seem to find the number...any help is greatly apprecated!

Call the base vet on Yoko and tell them what happened. The USDA vet on Yoko is an Army guy based out of Zama.

Zama VTF

263-3875

Atsugi / Camp Zama



Hope this helps.

thank you guys so much!!!