Yukon dog owners have mixed feelings on new border regulations for entering U.S.

Going on a family vacation is a great way to spend quality time with the ones you love, and in some cases that includes a dog. But new U.S. border rules may complicate travel for those with dogs. 

In June, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced it would be implementing a number of new requirements for dogs crossing the border come Aug. 1, including forms signed by a vet and proof of rabies vaccination. However, in July it announced it was delaying some of the new requirements, but that it would maintain its plan to require dogs to have a microchip, have an import form, to be in good health and to be at least six months old.

Haines Junction resident Jessica Baronette said when she heard her dog Tikka would need a microchip to cross over into Alaska, she did what any travel-loving dog mom would do.

"We just took her to the vet in Whitehorse," Baronette said. "[It] took about fifteen minutes."

It cost $124, but meant Tikka was ready to go on their next trip.

"She gets to come fishing on the boat," she said. "She's pretty excited to be around the water so she gets to come ... on our fun adventures to Haines, Alaska."

CBC News asked multiple people whether or not they'd consider having their dog microchipped if it meant they could cross into the U.S.

Half said they have already, or would get the procedure done.

The other half said they are choosing not to get their dogs chipped. Some said they didn't feel comfortable having a foreign object inserted into their pet. Others said they don't travel into the U.S. enough to justify it.

Microchipping dogs isn't new

John Overall, the vet in Dawson City, said microchips are a great way to identify not only the dog, but their owner too — especially if the dog runs away and is picked up by a bylaw officer.

"It's a microchip as it's described," Overall said. "It's an electronic chip that goes underneath the skin and it stays there for the rest of their life.

"There's a scanner and you scan it and it tells you a number and then you go to a website and that number will give you the owner's name, the owner's number," he said.

It also gives contact information for the vet who microchipped the dog, and its breed, he added.

Microchips have been used in pets for the past 25 years, Overall said. Many sled dogs in the Yukon are microchipped, and it's a simple procedure that most dogs aren't bothered by, he added.

Overall said with the new regulations coming in effect this week, he's noticing a Canada-wide shortage for microchips.

"Luckily I had a little vision and got a couple extra boxes because right now you can't get any," he said. "They're sold out."