PETS Scheme Timeline- Pls Verify

All
Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease.  I thought that the UK would have been equipped with the scanners to read this chip.  It is such a popular type of chip in N. America, and I have not heard of any problems at all from the folks who have relocated to the UK.
It is just my nerves now that I am in my final days before flying.  I just want to make sure that all of my four legged friends get through their checks without issue. 

i was reading the posts here and im a bit confused about something.......maybe its because its a puppy...........its my understanding that once the microchip is done.....then you administer the rabies vaccine......then you must wait 6mths for the blood test.......am i misreading something?

i was reading the posts here and im a bit confused about something.......maybe its because its a puppy...........its my understanding that once the microchip is done.....then you administer the rabies vaccine......then you must wait 6mths for the blood test.......am i misreading something?

This is easy to misunderstand -- I thought what you thought at first, but no, it's:

1) microchip first (make sure the date of this is documented or recorded so that it can be filled in on the 998 form to show it was done before all else)

2) rabies vaccination or booster shot

3) take the blood two to three weeks after the vaccination just to give it time to create a good, strong number of antibodies in the animal.

THEN....your 6 month "countdown" begins on that very day of the blood-draw. The results come back in about four weeks but as long as they pass, you are still on your countdown. So if for example, the blood sample is taken on Jan 1st, (and the later result is a pass of course) technically your animal will be heading toward a fly-date of June 1st or after.

Just to add to that, the point of the 6-month wait is to prove that your animal didn't end up catching rabies the day before you vaccinated him. (Which is unlikely, but possible.)

So if he got bitten by a rabid animal on Dec 31, you vaccinated on Jan 1, he passed his bloodwork and those results came back Feb 1, by May 31 he could still be rabid because he was vaccinated after he was bitten. (The incubation period, which is how long it takes between getting bitten and testing positive/showing symptoms of the disease, is a few months.)

Obviously this is a highly unlikely scenario, but that's why the PETS scheme has the 6-month wait. (And why the bloodwork is done first, followed by the 6-month wait.)

Hope that helps clarify things. <End geekery>

Just to add to that, the point of the 6-month wait is to prove that your animal didn't end up catching rabies the day before you vaccinated him. (Which is unlikely, but possible.)

So if he got bitten by a rabid animal on Dec 31, you vaccinated on Jan 1, he passed his bloodwork and those results came back Feb 1, by May 31 he could still be rabid because he was vaccinated after he was bitten. (The incubation period, which is how long it takes between getting bitten and testing positive/showing symptoms of the disease, is a few months.)

Obviously this is a highly unlikely scenario, but that's why the PETS scheme has the 6-month wait. (And why the bloodwork is done first, followed by the 6-month wait.)

Hope that helps clarify things. <End geekery>

Yes, what equestrianerd said. The six months that you wait out following the testing of the blood sample, is in effect an "at home" quarantine to wait and see/prove that truly all is well, and which replaces the "in the slammer" quarantine pets used to have to go through once in the UK. 

All
Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease.  I thought that the UK would have been equipped with the scanners to read this chip.  It is such a popular type of chip in N. America, and I have not heard of any problems at all from the folks who have relocated to the UK.
It is just my nerves now that I am in my final days before flying.  I just want to make sure that all of my four legged friends get through their checks without issue. 

This time last year, I was a total basketcase.  Checking, double checking, triple checking...and then starting over because I might not have been thorough enough.  Around and around and around. On the upside, I let myself focus all of my panic  and anxiety on moving the cats and it made the rest of the move seem pretty easy. 

wow im glad someone cleared that up because i surely thought otherwise......i could have made a big mess-up there

This time last year, I was a total basketcase.  Checking, double checking, triple checking...and then starting over because I might not have been thorough enough.  Around and around and around. On the upside, I let myself focus all of my panic  and anxiety on moving the cats and it made the rest of the move seem pretty easy.  

It is certainly my turn.....I am a basket case right now.  I have gone back to eveything, triple checking on anything that could be wrong.  I cannot find anything (yet).  You would think that I would feel OK, but I will continue to be going nuts about it until they pass all procedures in the UK.  
This really does make the rest of the move a total breeze.  But I certainly could not have done the PETS process without all of you good people.  I have been given some awesome advise