A puppy endured sweltering heat for nearly three hours in an airport shed - because Bermuda has no quarantine area for animals without permits.

Airport staff told The Royal Gazette that they were “traumatised” by the suffering of the pup.

The dog - a little over six weeks old - arrived in Bermuda from Toronto last Thursday. It was put in a shed and later taken to Etterick Animal Hospital.

An airport worker, who did not wish to be named, said the puppy sat in the shed from 1.30 p.m. until 4.15 p.m., before Agriculture & Fisheries picked it up.

“The staff at the airport are traumatised after having to hear that poor dog howl all day.”

She said this had not been the first time that dogs had been shipped in without the proper permits.

“There are guidelines in the computers on the other end of this in Canada and they know that this is a problem and if these people had applied for a permit they would have been told that it can't come to Bermuda. I don't understand how people can be so ignorant,” she said.

“The poor thing is going to have further stress now that it has to fly all the way back to Toronto,” she added.

Etterick veterinarian Andrew Madeiros said the puppy received water, food and TLC at the hospital before he had to turn around and go back.

“Our biggest concern right now is that there is no facility at the airport in order to quarantine animals who do end up here without permits,'' he said.

“There should be a suitable holding area for animals so they are comfortable if they do need to be quarantined, we really need to look at how to cope when animals do come into Bermuda like this.”

Dr. Madeiros explained that animals coming either from the United States or Canada must have a rabies vaccination when they were three months old and then another six months after the first one.

Before they can come to Bermuda though, they must wait one month after the last vaccination, which makes the animal ten months old.

But he said it was key that people who intended bringing an animal in from the United States or Canada get a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection.

“The confusion that some people have is that the regulations are different when bringing a dog from Britain, dogs only have to be nine or ten weeks old,” Dr. Madeiros said

“With some Press coverage there can be some advocating to change this and stop it from happening again because in the end the animal pays the price,” the airport worker said.

For any inquiries about bringing a dog in from overseas, people should contact the Department of Environmental Protection or a veterinarian to find out clearly what the regulations are in Bermuda.