USDA Vet MUST do the PETS work?

We had all of the initial steps done by our local vet in San Antonio....the rabies, blood test and microchipping....he filled out my 3rd country Cert (998 form) and sent it to Dallas (where my cats are staying with my sister)....

I found out a week ago that my vet was NOT USDA accredited. Does this matter as long as it is sent to the Texas USDA Vet to be certified or do my cats have to go into a USDA accredited vet to be re-checked out and have the paperwork filled out again?

You  only have to have the paperwork acredited, not the cats!

The vet must be an accredited vet, but not necessarily the USDA vet - there's usually only one or two of these per state!  Call your USDA vet's office and tell them you'd like to check if your local vet is accredited - they'll check the vet's name against their list, and as long as  it matches then you'll be fine.    The paperwork is the only part that has to go to the actual USDA vet, right before you leave for the UK - but your local vet does need to be accredited.

Hi OpenIntro,
I am in the process of going through the PET scheme to get two dogs over. I found the articles in this forum very helpful "Pet Scheme for Dummies" part 1 and part 2. The website you should go to in order to find an accredited vet is on the Dummies Part 1 thread. I bumped it up for you. The link to the website is in the very first post of that thread.

When you locate the USDA VS for your state, give them a call. Ask for the "Export" office. Give them the name of your vet (not the office name, but the actual name of your vetinarian). They can tell you whether or not he or she is accredited. You can also just ask your vet. But if you want to make 100% sure, call the USDA VS for your state.

Right, but I asked my local vet that did all the work....he is NOT USDA accredited, but he did all the work. My sister is scheduled to take them into the vet today (with all the paperwork showing what has been done) to get a USDA accredited vet to sign the 998 form.

So do they need to go to this vet to be rechecked or can he just sign the form and then send it to Austin (where the USDA in Texas is located)?

Call the USDA vet in Austin and find out - there's no sense in hauling them in for an extra visit if it's not necessary, but they'll tell you whether or not it *is* necessary.  Seriously - all we can do here is tell you what we've been through and what our personal experiences are, which is helpful but doesn't amount to a hill of beans when it comes to DEFRA's paperwork requirements.  The USDA vet/office will be able to tell you what's going on, one way or another.  If they can't, call the USDA office in Georgia (where I went) and ask them - I *know* they know what they're talking about. 

I just went through this entire process for my two cats three months ago - it's incredibly confusing and stressful and I did find a lot of reassurance from asking UKY folks about their experiences and advice.  As far as I know, though, no-one here is a USDA vet, and so we can't tell you definitively one way or another what to do. 

Just for reference....

I called the USDA and they said that it is fine that my local (non accredited) vet did the work but they paperwork does need to be filled out by n accredited vet, which means they DO need to go in so they can verify the microchipping and all that jazz....but it is totally fine for him to verify and sign the paperwork before it is sent off to be certified

Thanks for all the info....amazing how stressful this is....

Glad to hear you've gotten a straight answer!

My (accredited) vet screwed up our paperwork, which I didn't find out about until the USDA vet checked it over - so I wound up having to drive three hours round-trip a SECOND time to get the whole mess redone (since I hadn't, you know, brought the cats along with me the first time - if I had, they could have just checked them out then and there and been done with it).  The last few days before we left were incredibly irritating and stressful, to say the least!

The last few days before we left were incredibly irritating and stressful, to say the least!

Welcome to my world

Thanks for the help though!

Welcome to my world

I just kept telling myself, "it's this or quarantine. it's this or quarantine.  this has got to be the better way.  really.  it's this or quarantine...."