Sorry Bo. The first family may be vacationing in Hawaii this holiday season, but the first dog will be stuck in cold, snowy D.C.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said that the Portuguese water dog will not be allowed into the state thanks to strict anti-rabies quarantine rules.
Had the family elected to bring Bo, he would have had to either spend 120 days in quarantine or endure two rounds of rabies vaccinations and a 120-day waiting period.
The Honolulu Advertiser also notes that Bo "would have been subject to Hawai’i’s sometimes contradictory leash laws. City ordinances require dogs to be leashed on Kailua Beach — and their owners to clean up their feces. But the State Department of Land and Natural Resources — which has jurisdiction over the ocean — allows dogs to swim in the water without leashes, Laura Stevens, DLNR’s education and outreach coordinator, said today."
