Different Vets and Length of Available Travel

Hi, I'm back again. I read through the DEFRA Fact Sheet 4 and several of the posts and think I'm ready to go back into the vet tomorrow or maybe Tuesday and tell him what I want to happen. I just have a couple of questions that I hope someone will be able to clarify. My dog has already been micro chipped with an AVID Euro chip. He then had his rabies vaccination after the chip a little over a year ago. The thing is, my vet in Baltimore administered all of this. I'm now in Nebraska and I'm sure the first thing the vet here is going to want to do is give him another rabies shot. I don't want to pay for another shot nor wait to have the blood tests taken. Will this be a problem with the paperwork? I read the following post by equestrianerd:
"I don't think it matters if different vets fill out the paperwork (I'll be doing my last visit with a different vet than my first one). The only possible tricky bit is if you and your friend live in different states, as then the state USDA vet (who endorses the EC998 form) might question signing off on a vet from another state. You can check with the USDA office for your/your friend's state(s), though, to make sure."

I guess this means my best bet would be to 1. call the Nebraska USDA office to see if they will accept the info from multi states
2. check if my vet in Baltimore was even USDA approved and find out if they still have all of Blinker's records on file?
Couldn't I just have all the vaccine microchip info sent over to the new vet and have him sign off on all of it? I'm looking at the 998 form right now and there doesn't seem to be administration blanks for different vets. What do you do? Fill out 2 different forms?

Sorry that was really long winded...Next question quick...After you go through the blood testing and 6 month wait ONCE yadayadayada...does this mean that your dog can travel multiple times to the UK if you get a new certificate each time you travel and you never let his vaccination period lapse? Is there a maximum time (ie 5 years) as to how long you are allowed to wait to get a certificate to travel?

Thanks so much!

Hi ,I'm not sure about the first part of your post, the multiple vets. I was going to have a different vet do my cats tick and tape worm ,and that was Ok. I would up not going that route due to the expense.

But as for your second question, once you get to the Uk, you can get your dog a pet passport,from your UK Vet.Then there are certain pages in there that the vet fills out instead of all this paperwork.This info is also on Defra's website I believe.

I have so far used the passport once. It was wayyyy easier than the original paperwork nightmare.


                                         Good luck!

I haven't used multiple vets yet (still figuring out when my pets will go so after that I'll get a different vet to do the tick/tapeworm treatment).

I would do what you listed...check with Nebraska USDA people that it's OK that multiple vets do the procedures vs. paperwork, then check with the Baltimore vet to make sure they have documentation that all of this happened

I guess the two tricky bits would be:
- will your dog pass the bloodwork given that the vaccine was given a year ago (I would think yes, but I'm not a vet )
- you'll need the vet who signs off on the paperwork (presumably in Nebraska) to verify that the microchip/vaccine were done in the right order and the bloodwork test results are fine...that means a Nebraska vet would have to sign off on the Baltimore vet's work...you may want to check with the relevant parties and make sure they're all fine with it

Also, check with the Baltimore vet and see if they can send you exact records proving the chip/rabies...my USDA vet said they needed documentation of the date(s) involved with all of this (though then they never checked the paperwork I brought  )

Assuming all that checks out, though, and it should if everyone's USDA approved and you have documentation for all the steps, you should be fine.

Sorry that was really long winded...Next question quick...After you go through the blood testing and 6 month wait ONCE yadayadayada...does this mean that your dog can travel multiple times to the UK if you get a new certificate each time you travel and you never let his vaccination period lapse? Is there a maximum time (ie 5 years) as to how long you are allowed to wait to get a certificate to travel?

As Smocha said, once you're in the UK you can get an EU passport which makes things much easier. FWIW, though, my USDA vet claimed that you could renew the paperwork/skip re-doing the 6 month wait for 2 or 3 years. I don't know if that means there's an actual "time limit" on the bloodwork or not, but that's what he said.

Was your vet given a 1 year or 3-year rabies vax?  If it was a 3-year vax, then you are right hat he/she doesnt need another one.  The form doesnt ever ask WHO adminstered the rabies vaccine as that is really not important.  What you need to do is simply get the vet in Baltimore to send the records to the vet in Nebraska.  The vet in Nebraska will need this proof in order to sign on legally on the EC998 form since it asks for date of rabies vax.  And you will need a copy of the rabies certificate to submit to the USDA also.  
However, you may want to talk to your new vet about the likelyhood that your dog will still have the necessary antibody levels after 1 year (I imagine he will, but if he doesnt, then you will need to wait much longer than if you just re-adminstered the vax in the first place)

It will only be your current vet who fills out the EC998 form and only he or she who needs to sign off on it.  The vet who administered the rabies vaccination does not need to sign the form.

Just thought I would provide an update on one of the questions that I had concerning how long the blood tests are valid. I sent Defra an email and the guy there wrote that there is "no requirement for another test at any stage unless there is a lapse in vaccination. Please note booster vaccinations must be administered prior to the expiry date of the previous vaccination to maintain compliance with the Pets Travel Scheme."

Which sounds like good news if you are not sure when you will be travelling!

I have responded, inquiring how the vaccination and booster record must be documented for proof seeing as there do not seem to be blanks available on the EC998. I will let you know what I find out!