EC 998 Form Questions

Hi all, we have passed our blood titre tests, so I am preparing for the next step of getting our vet to fill out sections 1 thru 5. I have some questions on what to state for several areas. I appreciate any speedy help - I have the appointment on Thursday!


1)   Country  of Dispatch – I assume United States of America or would simply “USA” suffice?
2)   Serial Number of Certificate – What serial number are they asking for? Is this from the FAVN, or the rabies batch info?
3)   Owner/Accompanying of animal – We aren’t sure which of us is going to pick up the cats just yet. Can we put both our names on the form? Or would that confuse DEFRA?
4)   Contact Info: I assume that we have to put a UK address here. The only address we could use would be his parents, altho we don’t plan on living there with the cats. Would that be ok, or can we use a US address?
5)   Microchip Number – should we list both of their chip numbers, or just the ISO one?
6)   Location of Chip – Both our cats have 2 chips. I have no idea of the physical chip location in their bodies. The vet scanned and found both of them in both cats, but there was no notation of where they were in their bodies. Should the location of both chips be noted, or just the ISO chip? Without taking the cats back (and getting charged for an office visit), can the vet just put anything down here for location?
7)   Signature/Sign-off – Should I expect our vet to use an official stamp or raised seal? What if they don’t have a stamp?

Cheers! 

1. Yes

2. The USDA vet should fill this in.

3. Both names should be fine.

4. I'd put some sort of info on both sides of the Atlantic - DEFRA won't be seeing this until your pet flies, so this will be used in case they need to reach you on that day.

5. I'd list both, and put in a note about which one matches the documentation. If they happen to scan the wrong one first you want them to keep looking for the other one, not toss your cats in quarantine.

6. I guess note that there are 2 chips? You'll need to go in to the vet 24-48 hours before check-in, so you could have the vet find the chips then. (I was paranoid and made sure the chips were there on every vet visit, because my first visit my cat's original chip was gone so we had to re-chip.)

7. I think my vet had a stamp with their practice name/address, but it wasn't "official" or anything. They used that and signed it.

Just to add...

6.  The VAST majority of chips are between the shoulder blades.  If your vet hasnt mentioned that they are anywhere else, I'd assume they are there.

7. It most likely wont be a raised seal or anything; more like a return address stamp.

By USDA vet, do you mean the regional one, or my vet that is USDA certified? I guess I'm just wondering what serial number from what certificate is being asked for?

I plan on accompanying them on same flight. So at that point, they really wouldn't have any way to get into contact with me (as I won't have a cell phone), but my husband should have a cell but we won't know that number yet since he hasn't moved over yet. I guess we could just use his parent's home number & address just now.

When the vet was trying to find the chips, it took her several minutes to find both of them. The chips have migrated away from their shoulder blades since they were inserted 5 years ago. At the time, I can't remember where she found them. So would putting down 'subcutaneous' be specific enough?

Equest, you said for your pet, the original chip disappeared? Now you've got me worrying a bit that when they go in for their flea/tapeworm treatment that the vet won't find the chips. What would our options be at that point?

USDA vet = the official regional one who will sign off on your paperwork.

Thats fine to use your in-laws contact information.

So would putting down 'subcutaneous' be specific enough?

No.  The entire reason they ask this question is because chips can move around after time.  They dont want to spend a long time looking around for it.  You need to take your animal back to your vet and have them locate the chip.

Equest, you said for your pet, the original chip disappeared? Now you've got me worrying a bit that when they go in for their flea/tapeworm treatment that the vet won't find the chips. What would our options be at that point?

I think it's pretty uncommon. I'd had the chip done in 2006, and by 2009, it had migrated somewhere unscannable - probably behind a bone or something. The new chip he got in 2009 is still fine, though.

If that were to happen, you'd have to re-chip and start all over, since the chip (inside the animal) is what links all the documentation/bloodwork together to prove nothing was falsified.

I think it's pretty uncommon. I'd had the chip done in 2006, and by 2009, it had migrated somewhere unscannable - probably behind a bone or something. The new chip he got in 2009 is still fine, though.

If that were to happen, you'd have to re-chip and start all over, since the chip (inside the animal) is what links all the documentation/bloodwork together to prove nothing was falsified.

I wonder how common it is as this happened to us as well. Sometime between 1998 and 2009 the chip disappeared. Our vet seemed quite surprised.

Andy

Here are someone else's scans of all their forms. It helped to give me confidence as I filled out the forms for the vet: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=53014.0.

Andy