"I was so happy, I thought I was going to pass out," she said.

A little more than a year ago, that scene would have taken place at the state's quarantine facility at Halawa. But this week marks the one-year anniversary since Hawai'i eased its strict rabies quarantine regulations, allowing qualified pets to be released to their owners shortly after they arrive in Hawai'i — in five days or less — instead of requiring them to be quarantined for up to four months.

In the year since Gov. Linda Lingle signed the new rules, pet owners have flocked to Hawai'i, with a record 6,600 cats and dogs admitted in the fiscal year ending tomorrow, up from 4,681 in the previous year.

Pet owners must still plan ahead. The process that allows them to take pets home from the airport must begin at least four months prior. If not, their pets are still subject to a stay in the state quarantine facility.

Dr. James Foppoli, the state veterinarian, said most pets have qualified for the new five-day-or-less program with 75 percent released directly to their owners at the airport facility.

Foppoli said he had predicted the new process would allow about half the arriving pets to enjoy shortened stays.

"It's a little bit surprising but I guess for people it's worth the effort to get everything done so there's no confinement," he said.

Lingle said she was pleased with how effectively the five-day-or-less quarantine rules have been implemented.

"Having had a pet go through the old quarantine process, I know the stress that was placed on the animal and the pet owner," said the governor, whose dog spent four months in quarantine when Lingle moved to Hawai'i in 1975. "The modernized quarantine rules have made it much more convenient for people to travel to and from the Islands with their pets, while still ensuring Hawai'i remains rabies free."

Before last July, arriving animals faced a minimum 30 days of quarantine in state kennels.

Hawai'i's quarantine was imposed in 1912 to prevent rabid animals from entering the then U.S. territory. Revised rules adopted in 1997 reduced the minimum confinement from 120 days to 30 days, but a monthlong separation still took an emotional toll on owners and pets, not to mention the hefty costs.

Pets that have received rabies vaccinations, have electronic microchip identification and have a blood test showing a rabies vaccination response, under the state's strict guidelines, are allowed to bypass quarantine.

Pets that don't meet the early release rules are subject to confinement of 30 days if vaccination and testing requirements are met, or 120 days if they are not.

Only about 12 percent of all animals being processed by the state go through the 120-day quarantine, which was the norm before 1997, officials said.

Ramey said her move to Hawai'i was unplanned, so she didn't have time to get Walaze's final rabies shot in time to bring him with her. Instead of placing him in quarantine, she decided to leave her dog with friends in Las Vegas for a few months.

"If I had pre-planned my relocation and didn't leave so abruptly, it would've been a walk in the park," she said.

However, some pet owners still criticize Hawai'i's quarantine as cruel, costly and unnecessary.

"It's cruelty to animals, absolutely," said Chris Quackenbush, founder of the Community Quarantine Reform Coalition.

Quackenbush, whose golden retriever was quarantined for 30 days in 2000, said there's no need to "jail" animals, because rabies vaccinations work.

"The practice of quarantine was begun in 1912, before the advent of vaccines," she said. "It's simply a bureaucracy that's outlived its usefulness."

Hawai'i remains the only state with a pet quarantine.