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We are continuing our series on what it’s like to relocate to Hawaii and in the previous posts we talked about finding a Realtor, finding a house and closing on that house, moving your furniture and belongings, and then moving your car. But today we are talking about moving the most important thing: moving your pet. Yes, what’s it like to move your pet to Hawaii? The answer: it’s not easy and can be very complicated.
So if you don’t get anything else out of this post, make sure you get this: Do not attempt to move your pet alone. Get some help. Use a company that specializes in moving pets. The Polimino family used Island Pet Movers and Chris used Air Pets International. And they’re both very good at what they do. They can answer all of your questions. They can make the process smooth. There’s going to be a fee, which can be expensive sometimes, but they specialize in getting your pet to Hawaii and vice versa from Hawaii back to the mainland.
The second tip is to make sure that you start the process early. At least 60 days out, probably 90 days out is even better. Maybe even 120 days out. You need to find what company is going to help you and then start understanding the process. You see, Hawaii is really concerned about having dogs or cats or pets come into the state healthy. So, you need to take your dog or cat or animal to the vet for a check-up and then they need to be quarantined. They’re going to be quarantined at your place on the mainland, or they’re going to be quarantined in Hawaii, and you don’t want them quarantined here in Hawaii because they’re going to charge you around $4000 for 30 days. So, go to your vet and start the rabies shot series – there are two shots 30 days apart, so right there you’re looking at 60 days. Then, start the process of quarantining your dog at your place so they don’t have to be quarantined when we’re here.
Last tip, don’t try to move your pet in the heat of the summer, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the state of Hawaii. It has to do with the airlines. The airline will not ship your pet if the destinations along the way are hotter than 85 degrees. For example, let’s say you’re going from Denver and the flight is stopping in Salt Lake City, it can’t be hotter than 85 degrees in Salt Lake City. Then you’re going on to Honolulu, again, it can’t be hotter than 85 degrees. It’s for the pet’s safety, although it is climate controlled, they won’t do it if it’s 85 degrees or more. In fact, the airline personnel on the day of travel will check the temperatures of all the cities the plane is stopping in before they load the pets onto the airplane.
There are a lot of moving parts to getting your pets to Hawaii, so don’t attempt to do it alone. Get a good pet mover and you’ll be fine.
