Pet passports for dogs

[Guest BB]

Just an update on the 2 year validity of the rabies vaccination debate, which may be of interest to other dog owners. Our dog was first vaccinated in Nov 03, and the vet put a 2 year validity, with revaccination due in Nov 05. Our dog has been abroad with us to France and Spain 5 times now. We had the revaccination done in Nov 05 as required, by our local vet, again with a 2 year validity. We have just returned again from France and Spain, and at no point has any vet or port official so much as raised an eyebrow or given a Gallic sniff when perusing the paperwork. We have used Seafrance, Shuttle, and SpeedFerries. I hope this is reassuring to others who are nervous about the 1 year/2 year difference between vets in the UK and France.

[Guest peter goddard]

We use "Dogs Away" to book a vet for our dog of course but I assume they can arrange for a cat. The vet in Dunkirk is Dr Michel Deberg, 9 rue Paul Machy, Dunkerque. 0033 328210128. The easiest camp site to use is Camping Municipal de La Licorne, 1005 boulevard de l'europe (0033 328692668) which is only about 300 metres from the vet. Hope this helps.

[Guest Nick Miller]

I can only say take care BB. Should rabies raise its head in France again as it did a couple of years ago all 'foreign'dogs will be under renewed scrutiny.It is always the same.Security is never invoked until there is a public perception of a problem. From experience i can tell you that should rabies re appear in France.Campsite owners and municipalities will again be keen to be able to demonstrate that all transiting dogs on their sites fall within the French understanding of the Rabies regulations or vaccinated annually. Lets hope it never happens again. I agree you are right but since when has that bothered the French. N

[Guest david lloyd]

Very reassuring BB We have just booked our eurotunnel crossing for 27 May. We 'acquired' a rescue King Charles Cavalier last year and of course had her vaccinated ready for this year. At the time I asked our vet about the controversy over 1 or 2 year vaccinations. He explained that it is because the French vets use a different vaccine that does indeed have a one year protection and so campsite owners etc may not know about the difference. The majority, if not all, of British vets use the 2 year vaccine so it is best, if asked, to point out the RE-VACCINATION DATE rather than debate the two year vaccine in the UK. He maintains that it is perfectly safe and advised against unnecessarily vaccinating our other dog - an elderly Yorkshire Terrier - and so we go in May with one dog due for re-vaccination in September this year and the other due in September next year. Fingers crossed but I am sure it will be OK. Regards, david

[Guest martin]

... the system is no problem now, any any vet within 50k of the ferries is well up to speed. There are nasty things in the forests we don't have: for example those nasty "caterpillar trains" which our dog nearly went to investigate last Easter. I've some pictures of what to look for if anyone doesn't know about them.

[Guest Pat Price]

This is a difficult one. The Pet Passport is necessary to re-enter Britain. It is, however checked by the French at the port of departure on French soil. There have been cases of missing/migrated microchips that have caused pets to be held in France for some considerable time until all the paperwork has been sorted out. Could they do the same with a pet with, what they consider to be, an out of date vaccination certificate? Personally I would not like to risk it. Until DEFRA give an undertaking that they will support anyone caught in this confusing situation I will be getting my three(!) boosted annually. Pat P

[Guest bb]

The point is that the French are checking the paperwork in Calais or wherever to enable the dogs to return to the UK. Presumably, even if they did disapprove of the different vaccination regime approved by DEFRA and valid in the UK, they would be only too pleased to send your pet back home. Why would they want to prevent it travelling to the UK?

[Guest Mel B]

BB Don't assume anything, when we came back from France in September last year our dogs' paperwork was checked 3 times, twice on the French side, once in England, so they are VERY keen. I believe that one of the checks to come back from France is actually carried out by British customs officers, not French, but that doesn't mean that they'll let you back in if there are any perceived inconsistencies like your vaccination date being over a year previously. It's the British customs who don't want dogs that may pose a risk back, the French may not be that bothered! Don't forget that the trip to your vet to get the rabies booster is also a health check (which you are NOT charged for, just the booster) so we are quite happy to pay for it and try to time it so that it is about 6 months apart from their normal British annual boosters. Having to leave or delay bringing one of our dogs back through customs doesn't bear thinking about. Apart from the hassle factor what do you do with the other dogs? Does one of you return with them in order to get them back within the 48 hours timeframe for return, thus leaving the other dog stranded with your other half? Then what? How much would all that cost not to mention the worry, delay returning back to work etc. Is it really worth the risk, not for us.

[bjphillips]

I'd advise caution to anybody proposing to have an older dog vacinated against rabies.Our 10 year old Basset Beagle was vacinated in preparation to go abroad as soon as I retired,the result of the blood test showed she hadn't passed so our vet recommended she had another dose.That result was even lower than the first,she wasn't quite her old self after that but we didn't connect it to the jabs.The drug company offered 2 more small injections free of charge so & said this would definately do it,her health went down rapidly after that ,she didn't eat sleep or want to go out until during the night she was so bad I had to call the vet out who had to put her down.They insist it was nothing to do with the injections but others have since said she was too old to have them let alone 3 lots.she was a bundle of life before that!!!! (?) :'(

[Mel B]

bj Sorry to hear of your doggy, very sad. We had our elderly dog, Piggy, vaccinated at the grand old age of 15, she was a cross Jack Russell / German Shepherd (mother was the Jack Russell) and was a very tough little cookie. She didn't have any bad effects at all. As with all vaccinations there is always some risk, unfortunately your doggy appears to have been very unlucky and reacted to it, although I agree that having more than one lot of the vaccine may have caused extra stress to the immune system. Many condolenses.

[mike.T]

Martin Re nasty "caterpillar trains" see MMM April 2005 !! Issue there is information about these "Processionary caterpillars " any problem's geting hold of this email me amd will send you a copy of the report Mike T

[Pat P]

I too have had a fourteen year old dog vaccinated twice against rabies with no ill effect whatsoever. He is a crossbreed too and again a tough old cookie. How awful about your poor dog. A friend of mine blamed some medication for arthritis that her dog had for hastening his end but I think that sometimes it is just a coincidence. If and old dog is having a few problems and then we add in a further challenge such as vaccines or pain relief then sometimes it is not as beneficial as we would want. We must remember that we do the best we can at the time and that is all we can do. :-S Pat