Oahu | Hawaii VMA

Microchip Regulation Update

On July 1, 2020, the City and County of Honolulu implemented mandatory microchip identification for cats and dogs over the age of four months. This replaces the City and County of Honolulu’s dog license tag requirement, but does not replace the requirement that cats allowed outdoors have visible identification. Any dog or cat without a microchip who is impounded by Hawaiian Humane Society or taken into custody by an animal rescue nonprofit must have a microchip implanted before release. The microchipping obligation does not apply to private individuals returning lost pets or to veterinary clinics, but we hope you will urge your clients to comply with the law. Clients with a new pet who is already microchipped should be informed that they have 30 days to update the pet’s microchip with their owner information.

In addition, the Hawaiian Humane Society will no longer be updating their microchip registry. Instead, they are recommending that veterinarians help pet owners register their information with the microchip manufacturer or with a free online database such as FoundAnimals.org. Pet owners who have microchips implanted by your clinic also have a legal obligation to register their contact information with an online registry within 30 days. Please do not send microchip information to the Hawaiian Humane Society at this time.

Another provision of the new law requires that any intact dog impounded as stray three times in a 12-month period must be spayed/neutered before the dog can be returned to its owner unless a licensed veterinarian finds the dog is medically unfit for sterilization.

Questions or comments may be directed to the Hawaiian Humane Society at info@hawaiianhumane.org or 356-2200.

Update from Hawaiian Humane Society

July 1 marked the implementation of the most significant overhaul of Oahu’s animal welfare ordinance in 25 years. It made changes in three major areas:

Stray animal handling
Pet identification
Routinely stray dogs

The pet identification provisions are expected to affect the greatest number of pet owners.

FAQs

What law has changed?
Revised Ordinance of Honolulu Chapter 7: Animals and Fowl

How did the rules change regarding stray animal holding?
Hawaiian Humane now has legal custody of any stray dog or cat with microchip identification after five days in its care, down from nine. Dogs wearing a current county license tag still must be held for a minimum of nine days. The kenneling fee for stray animals has increased to $10 per day from $2.50. There is still no kenneling charge for animals reclaimed within 24 hours. This is not a legal requirement, but Hawaiian Humane is urging pet owners who travel, particularly if they will not have email or cell phone access, to list their pet sitter or veterinarian as a secondary contact on their microchip registration in the event that their animal gets lost while they are away.

What are the new rules for pet identification?
All dogs and cats are now required to have microchip identification. Pet cats allowed outdoors are still required to have visible identification. That is highly recommended for dogs, as well, but not legally required.

What if you have a current dog license?
Owner information can still be updated with the City and County of Honolulu. No new dog licenses are being sold and licenses can no longer be renewed.

What about microchip registration?
Clinics that wish to upload microchip information should do so with the manufacturer’s database, not Hawaiian Humane. Hawaiian Humane is no longer maintaining a separate microchip database for Oahu and pet owners are no longer legally required to register their microchips with Hawaiian Humane. Under the new ordinance, pet owners who have microchips implanted have 30 days to register their contact information with the microchip manufacturer or a free online database. Similarly, they have 30 days to update any changes to their contact information or to transfer ownership of a pet.

What does the new law say about routine strays, or “frequent fliers”?
Any dog brought to Hawaiian Humane as stray three times in a 12-month period must be spayed/neutered before the dog can be returned to its owner, unless medically contraindicated. Sterilization services will be offered at the Community Spay/Neuter Center, but owners may request that Hawaiian Humane transfer a dog falling under this requirement to a private veterinary clinic upon confirmation of a spay/neuter appointment.

What do we do if someone brings us a lost pet?
Hawaiian Humane remains the official pet lost and found for Oahu. If you need help identifying the owner of a microchipped pet, call the admissions team at 356-2285.

In Remembrance – Joseph Herzog

Dr. Joseph Herzog (Wisconsin ’97), 58, Kailua, Hawaii, died April 13 , 2020 of metastatic prostate cancer. Twelve years ago, Dr. Herzog moved to Oahu when his wife became a professor in Humanities and English UH West Oahu. He first worked at VCA Family and Oahu Veterinary Specialty Center, and then moved closer to home in Kailua at Makai Animal Hospital and part-time at Surf Paws Animal Hospital in Hawaii Kai.

Dr. Herzog was deeply involved in establishing, building, teaching in, and gaining AVMA accreditation for the first and only Veterinary Technician training program and associates degree in the state. In March 2020, the program dedicated the surgery suite in his honor.

He was active in the local veterinary community and volunteered at the Hawaii Humane Society. He served on the Board of the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association as an Oahu Representative from 2018-2020, and Conference Committee member since 2017.

Dr. Joe always said he would see anything a client could bring through the door, and he treated beloved chickens, parrots, tortoises, and the occasional pot-bellied pig and pygmy goat in clinic. However, throughout his career he also treated bigger exotics. He served as the on-call veterinarian at the Santa Barbara Zoo and San Francisco Zoo, and he was the veterinarian of record for the Sea Life Park/Mauna Lani honu breeding and release program. He always enjoyed the challenge of a new animal and facing a new disease or injury.

Dr. Herzog is survived by his wife, Brenda Machosky, mother Rose Marie Farthing, father Ernest Herzog (Terry), brother Thomas Herzog (Jeff Kaufmann), and extended family in Illinois, New York and Virginia. He was predeceased by his beloved grandmother, Stella King, and step-father Howard Farthing. He is also survived by beloved dogs Bella, Potiki, and Fenway, and cats Huika and KoaKat.

Services will be announced at a later date. There is a memorial Facebook page that all are welcome to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049974025388957/

Donations: Payable to UH Foundation with memo: Dr. Herzog Vet Tech Endowment, Account #206-2860-3, mailed to Donna Gutierrez, UH Foundation, 1314 S. King Street, Suite B, Honolulu, HI 96814, or online at: www.uhfoundation.org/HonoringDrHerzog

Submitted by Brenda Machosky

Rat Lungworm Disease in Hawaii

In November and December 2018, two young dogs in the Honolulu area were diagnosed with Rat Lungworm Disease, caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Both puppies presented with spinal hyperesthesia, hindlimb weakness, and proprioceptive ataxia. One dog had peripheral eosinophilia; all other hematology and serum biochemistry tests were unremarkable. Plain radiographs and computed tomography scans (with/without) contrast were performed but did not reveal a cause for the neurologic signs. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis in both patients revealed eosinophilic pleocytosis and real-time PCR testing for Angiostrongylus cantonensis on CSF was positive in both dogs, confirming a diagnosis of neural angiostrongylisias; PCR testing for other canine neural pathogens was negative.

Both dogs responded rapidly to treatment with corticosteroids and recovered clinically within 2 weeks. Neither dog was observed ingesting a snail or slug, but both dogs had environmental access to them. Dr. Richard Malik (University of Sydney) spoke on this topic in May 2018 and recommends treating with corticosteroids (up to 6 weeks), +/- anthelmintics (if early infection when the larvae are still small and not yet in the CNS), and pain medication or other symptomatic care as needed. He also recommends antibiotics to address the issue of translocated bacteria carried by migrating larvae.

If you have any suspected cases or have questions regarding diagnosing, treating, or preventing rat lungworm infection in dogs or other animals, please call Dr. Jenee Odani (Extension Veterinarian) at 808-956-3847 or email jsodani@hawaii.edu. She is especially interested in conducting post mortem testing on suspected cases.

Submitted by:
Jenee S. Odani, DVM, DACVP
Associate Specialist: Veterinary Extension
Pre-Veterinary Medicine Program Advisor
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources/HNFAS
University of Hawaii