After navigating the flight shenanigans with Nalu (oh god, that dreaded airport handoff was the *worst*), next comes facing the reality of what the quarantine facility is actually like. Here is where I really hope to soothe a lot of fears and unknowns, because all in all, it’s actually not the horror you’re expecting.
DRIVING TO HALAWA, AND PARKING
To get to the animal quarantine station, you’ll find it located off of the H-1/H-201 area of the Halawa Valley. You’ll drive into the gate on your right, and follow the drive up to the parking lot area. Parking is free; and I recommend you park under the overpass to keep your car in the shade.
Then you have to walk a ways from the parking lot area to where the actual kennels are. Don’t be frightened by what you initially see. Even though this place straight up looks like a barbed wire fence prison from the outside, and you’ll see a lot of empty or unused kennels, that’s not where your pup will be found. Walk all the way in as far in as you can go to reach the dog kennels. When you get there, you’ll have to check in with the front window, and you’ll be issued a temporary guest pass that does expire after a number of days. From here, you’ll show your guest pass to the other people sitting at another window to your left-ish who will sign you in for that day’s visit, and they will tell you where to find your dog’s kennel number.
In the event that you are not immediately available to go visit your little love bug right away, you can assign an authorized visitor to visit in your absence. The guest visitor will be ID’d; and don’t worry– they won’t allow your authorized visitor to take your dog home. Do know that if the guest visitor brings their own guests, the quarantine staff WILL allow guests of your authorized visitor to visit your puppy. My authorized visitor brought a co-worker to go visit, which is how I know this info. At first I was like “who the eff is this girl you brought in to see my dog that I can’t even go see right now b/c I’m stuck in my own stupid quarantine? I’ve never met that girl–Is my authorized visitor using my sweet puppy to take girls on dates?!!”, but then I was like “ok whatever, eff it, as long as my main authorized visitor is there, I trust him so I have to let this very loose visitor policy roll off my back”. #protectiveDogMamaLife
WHAT ARE THE KENNELS ACTUALLY LIKE?
The dog kennels are long, rectangular, chain-link-fence, particle board, and cement kennels that are covered and protected from the elements. All kennels come with an issued raised dog cot, and a built in doggie water fountain (which my dog loved splashing in). The kennels get hosed down daily, and likely sanitized/ scrubbed down I have to imagine, once a week if not more. It is not uncommon, if you go visit later in the day, that you will arrive to a wet kennel because it will have been hosed down. So take note of that and choose your footwear accordingly. In the back of every kennel is a smaller more closed off room that most dog owners turned into the sleeping den. In our case, Nalu preferred to turn his back room area into his bathroom. This may have worked out in our favor b/c from the day he got home, never once did he end up peeing or pooping inside my house. He just knows not to ‘shit where you eat’, so to speak.
That being said, all of the kennels are outdoors. And it did make me very nervous because I had found this horror story about dogs dying in the animal quarantine facility (albeit maybe 7 dogs in the entire history of the facility, which is very old).
In my ignorance, I was downright terrified by this article I found through my own internet researching, especially because I was bringing my brachycephalic puppy to the heat of Hawaii in the summer time. This was honestly my biggest hold up, in my unknowing, around the question of ‘do I bring him back to Hawaii with me right away’ or ‘should he stay in California until he’s old enough to bypass quarantine?’. It wasn’t about the rabies shots for me– I was never concerned that he would somehow pick up rabies, or even any other dog virus. It was about his physical ability to survive an outdoor quarantine situation in Hawaii’s heat. Thanks to that article I found, I was imagining that my poor little baby boy was going to be melting in the sun, constantly panting, at risk for heat stroke, lethargic, and crying alone all day, barely getting tended to, in a kennel completely by himself, isolated in puppy solitary confinement. That’s what my brain was conjuring up.
And that was SO far from the truth. They take really great care of the dogs (or at least they treated my little boy like a damn prince). He was surrounded by kennel-distanced doggie neighbors (that barked a lot). He was fed three times a day by staff which he loved. He was not at all in danger in ANY way. He was constantly shaded, enjoyed his little bubbling brook of constantly fresh, cool water, and enjoyed people-watching from his doggy bed, or entertaining himself with the dog toys I provided. He was always happy, which I know for a fact b/c he smiles when he’s happy and he was constantly smiling.
SUBMITTING DOG FOOD AND OTHER ITEMS
When you want to submit dog food or other items for your pup, you’ll have to check them all in with the front desk staff. If you want to administer flea meds, you will have to do it yourself; and then let the on-site vet staff know that you dosed up your pup. It will be your responsibility to wash all of their bedding, and I’ll flesh this out in the next post. The staff is great at letting you know when your food supply needs to be replenished. If your dog is very big, you may need to provide its own food storage container. If your dog is a smaller breed or puppy like Nalu was, I would bring in 5 pound bags and never needed to provide a storage container.
VISITING HOURS
Check online for the most current quarantine facility visitor hours; and take note of any holidays and closures, planning ahead if need be. I visited Nalu every. single. day they were open for our 120-day stint. Not one day passed without a visit unless they were closed for a holiday. Not everyone chooses to visit on a daily basis. Also note that you are NOT allowed to interact with other people’s dogs. It will be tempting b/c there will be so many cute pups there, but don’t do it. You will get scolded. Technically you are not allowed to bring in cameras b/c the facility is considered government property. But I’ll tell you right now everyone is on their phones, and kids even bring in tablets to play on.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU & WHAT TO EXPECT
When you go visit, I strongly recommend that you bring bug spray (the mosquitos are real), a chair to sit in, anything you want to have your puppy play with on that particular visit, and shoes you don’t mind getting dirty (not necessary because your own dog’s kennel will be gross, but b/c you have to walk through the kennels pathways to get to your dog, and when they hose out all the shishi and doodoo, it goes onto the ground you’ll be walking on. I believe you will likely also still need a corona face mask as of 2021.
I also recommend that you bring a lawn chair to sit in because the dog kennels do not come with an inbuilt visitor’s bench. Cat kennels do though, I believe. You may also want to bring an umbrella because Hawaii’s weather is constantly changing, and perhaps a light long-sleeved shirt of some variety on cooler days. You will also want a bottle of water for yourself & any accompanying visitors because it does get warm, especially if you’re quarantined during summer months like we were. But you’ll never be in the direct sun unless you’re walking to and from the kennels/ car.
If you prefer to bathe your dog, you can schedule bath slots using the sinks they have at the facility, or you can bathe your dog right in their kennel using the hose. You will need to bring your own bath supplies. I preferred to bathe Nalu right in his kennel, and would bring in a plastic basin, our own shampoo, and a towel. I bathed him once a month, and then did flea treatment the day after.
Do know that for maybe the first couple of weeks, your dog IS going to cry when you leave. But don’t worry– they will only whine for the first 10 minutes tops after your departure, and then they are all perfectly fine. Yes, they will miss you. Yes, they wish you could move into their kennel and stay with them 24/7. But don’t worry because they have a lot of surrogate caretakers who are going to take wonderful care of them when you’re at home. I observed that all dogs cried after their drop off day, it didn’t matter how old the dog was. And then they all stop crying. I recommend keeping your departure as brief and matter-of-fact as possible. In our case, I created a departure ritual of leaving food in feeder toys for him to find after I left, and on my way out I would always give him two little morsels of dog treats. We liked these. Before long, he was totally on board with my departure routine and would greedily await his little kibble topper morsels on my way out. I also preferred to enter in the ‘front’ of his kennel, and depart around the side/ back to make it clear whether I was coming or going for his sake. That way, once I’m out of sight I’m out of sight.
*do note that creating a departure ritual from doggy quarantine each day does NOT guarantee that your dog will do any better with separation anxiety once they go home. I’ll be writing a post all about this, too.
puppy & paradise 