(Photo: Kaly White)
In this modern day of technology, it may seem strange to save papers, but please do! When it comes to vet visits and vaccination certificates it is very important you keep them in a safe, known place. We have seen it all before, you bring that cute puppy or kitten to the vet and they get their first vaccination and a cute little record book with their weight, temperature and vaccination information, you leave the office and lose it. The next time you go in you don't have it because who knows where it went. Here are the reasons why those papers and booklet are so important.
1. It is a record of how old your pet is! We often ask pet owners how old their pet is and shockingly they don't know! You may be laughing but it happens more often than not. So, your conversation with the vet to figure out age is linked to some random event, like when Billy broke his arm, we got the kitten to help him feel better then we must figure out how old was Billy when he broke his arm? Then we must ask how big the kitten was when Billy broke his arm and so forth. So, moral of this story, take care of that booklet, it lists important information that will help you with the treatment of your pet.
2. Keep those certificates handy! Treat them as if they were birth certificates. They are very important. Vaccination certificates list when the vaccines were given, who gave the vaccines, how old the animal was, and most importantly these certificates are proof of ownership of that animal. It is a legal document to prove you are the owner. The certificates also list when the next vaccine is due. These certificates need to be kept in a binder or folder and kept in a safe location. You may need those certificates for boarding and grooming your dog, taking your pet camping, walking at the local dog park and if you lose your pet.
3. We often are asked for more than one rabies tag for pets because the one issued when your pet was vaccinated fell off the collar and was lost. You only receive one rabies tag, it's a common misconception that the tag is proof of a rabies vaccine. It is not, the certificate with your name, address and description of the pet, along with due date of vaccine, is the legal proof. The reason why is some people have been known to put a Rabies tag on a pet that doesn't go with that pet, another reason to always keep that certificate in a safe place. A Rabies tag can be used to identify a pet or link to an owner if the tag lists the place where the vaccine was given. It can be traced back to the owner of the pet, if the pet went missing. If you lose your pet's Rabies tag and you are concerned about him getting lost, you can simply find a place that makes engraved pet tags and put your contact information on a new tag. We also recommend putting each tag on the collar individually, so if one tag falls off you still have another as backup.
We hope these tips help you to keep your pets' records and vaccination certificates together and in a safe place easy to find when you need them.
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