These Canadian dog owners hope for last-minute changes as strict border rules loom

Jean-Daniel Ó Donncada's road trips to the United States are about to become more complicated.

His three-year-old border collie service dog, Rilla, who rests in the backseat during their frequent work trips, will now be among the pups who will have to meet a list of criteria to enter the U.S. thanks to a new regulation imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of Aug. 1, dogs must be six months or older with up-to-date rabies vaccines, a completed CDC form — with photo ID — and a certificate signed off by a veterinarian confirming the dog has a microchip, is vaccinated and is healthy.

When Ó Donncada enters the U.S., he says border agents don't usually ask to see Rilla's proof of rabies vaccination.

The dual Canadian-U.S. citizen and resident of Dorval, Que., says he wasn't made aware of how the new regulations would affect him and his canine in just a few weeks.

"They saw my dog and no customs agent said, 'Hey, just so you know,'" said Ó Donncada, referring to a border crossing he made on Monday. "The lack of communication on the part of the U.S. government here is stunning."

Ó Donncada, who has autism and is hard of hearing, has relied on Rilla for the past three years. He says people like him already face obstacles in everyday life, including access to private and, sometimes, public spaces.

"I think these rules were made clearly oblivious to the disability community.… Why are you adding more obstacles?" he said. "How many pieces of paper am I supposed to carry in my back pocket at any time?"

On Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Holland said the new regulations were "very poorly thought out" and came as a "complete surprise."

"It's going to have a huge impact," said Holland during a news conference in Ottawa.

"The Americans adopted this as a blanket policy for all countries. I don't think they thought about what they were creating at the Canadian-U.S. border."

Holland says he hopes "logic will prevail," but he has secured some concessions to the new rules in the interim.

The requirement that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) verify vaccine certificates for dogs has been removed. And the rule that dogs be microchipped with a specific type of chip has also been relaxed, so any type of microchip will now be accepted.

But even with those concessions, Holland said it's going to take a lot of time, and cost a lot of money, for all the new paperwork and microchipping to be done.