Stelly Belly is coming with us, of course! It’s just a smidge more complicated to get her in to Japan.

Intro to Stella

Stella is our almost five-year-old standard Goldendoodle (half poodle, half golden retriever) and the absolute best dog and pal a girl could ask for. She came into my life in 2018 as a gift from my dearly departed friend Tyler Fine and is far and away the best gift I’ve ever received.
Here we are right after we met for the first time:

Here we are again on the day I brought her home:

Stella is as much a part of the family as Chase and myself, so she will be making the big move with us and becoming an *~international gal.~*

Also, she totally loves Chase as much as I do. Photo evidence:

Getting Stella to Japan

Did you know that Japan has one of the strictest pet import policies in the world?
Well, now you do!
They require a 180-day quarantine for pets entering the country, as well as multiple health screenings, and a positive rabies antibody test. Phew!

Don’t worry, though. We are all over it!

Stella had her first health screening and her rabies antibody test in February. She passed both with flying colors, of course! Her 180-day quarantine started on the day of the first test and she will be allowed in Japan, a free pup, on July 27.

Rather than taking her with us in May, Stella will finish out her quarantine period here in the states, so that she can be among friends and family before coming to Japan.
(This also conveniently gives us some time to find a house and get settled in so that she can come home to a more stable environment.)
If we were to bring her to Japan before the 180 day period is up, she would have to stay in a state facility, or on base at Yokota with someone until the 180 days is complete and she can be evaluated by import officials. We just aren’t comfortable with either of those options for our very sensitive gal.

What Exactly is Pet Quarantine?

Pet quarantine is probably not as intense as you are imagining. The purpose of the quarantine is to ensure that Stella does not come into contact with any animal that may have rabies during the 180 days.

Since Stella and I live in a metro area where dog parks, doggy daycare places, apartment complexes, etc. require pet vaccinations, the quarantine really doesn’t impact the way we move through our community. It just means that I can’t put her in a situation where she might interact with other unvaccinated animals, which would increase her risk of coming in contact with rabies. Since we live in an apartment where every time we go outside, she is connected to me via a six foot leash, the likelihood of us finding ourselves in situations where this could happen is slim to none.

How Will She Be Traveling?

After doing much research on international pet transport, I found that flying Stella is the best option for us. As it happens, no matter which airline you choose or how fancy your seat is, if your dog cannot fit in a carrier under the seat, they must fly in cargo. There are very few exceptions to this rule, none of which apply to Stella. Womp womp.

Because we are moving for the Air Force, however, we do get one ticket per person on a military rotator plane that flies direct from Seattle to Yokota. The flight is about nine hours and since it is direct from base to base, there will be less down time on the tarmac than there would be if we were to fly commercial, with connections, etc. Because these flights carry people’s pets all the time, I feel better about this option than going the commercial route and am saving my spot on the rotator for when I return to bring Stella home in August.

I will miss her for those couple months while we are in Japan without her, but am so glad she will be safe and comfortable until I can come back and bring her home.