Really Big Problem here

Back in Jan I had my dog microchipped and vaccinated by my vet, so that I could do the quarantine thing here instead of the UK.  Lola passed her titre (sp?) test.  I was just waiting for the paperwork from my vet and planning on leaving here in July. 
I called my vet only to be told he was no longer doing international health certificates due to the "potential liability" if the paperwork isn't correct.
 I was told to call another vet who "has a lot of experience with this kind of paperwork and health certificates".  So I did and they had my Lola's records faxed over to them.  It turns out that Lola should have received a rabies booster shot that she never got.  I was told to contact DEFRA to see if I can get a waiver.
  My feeling is this is not going to happen.  If I don't get that waiver Lola will have to start the whole process all over again, including doing the quarantine time.
  My husband has been over in London since January, waiting for me and Lola to come over.  If things don't work out, we may be stuck here until November now. 
  I'm in shock.  I will not be going back to this vet, one I've been using for years.  It's obvious he didn't know what he was doing and now it looks like we'll be paying the price for that.

EDIT: I just scrolled down and read the message from another member with the same problem.  Sorry for the similar post.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with your vet we know that agony all to well unfortunately. something similar happened to Dh & I so my cats had to do the whole 6 month process again. fortunately one of my friends & my sister helped Dh & I out of our jam with the vet screw up because I was already in the UK. we found a really great kennel on-line that my cats stayed in Indiana for the 6 month waiting period. my sister took my cats to the kennel where they would be staying & she checked on the cats every couple weeks or so to make sure they were being taken care of properly an they were being well looked after & somewhat spoiled by the kennel people. my cats were the only cats there the rest were dogs. so my cats had a huge room all to themselves with a huge window that they could look out. so long story short we hired a pet courier service so we wouldn't have anymore snags or hiccups with getting my cats to the UK.

  My husband has been over in London since January, waiting for me and Lola to come over.  If things don't work out, we may be stuck here until November now. 
  I'm in shock.  I will not be going back to this vet, one I've been using for years.  It's obvious he didn't know what he was doing and now it looks like we'll be paying the price for that.

I'm so sorry.  We really struggled to get the cats here, and I still messed up (6 months from the titre, not 6 months from the shots) so they were still in quarantine here fore 3 weeks

Have your husband find a good kennel here and arrange to do the quarantine here. There are kennels that even specialize in the whole process and they work with vets in the US so between them, no mistakes. Although it is costly, it is no more costly than doing it at home, and probably not more costly than you continuing to live in two homes.  Besides, if Lola is here, you can at least go visit her while she is in quarantine. 

Good luck!

If you had your dogs vaccinated in January of this year, they shouldn't need a booster. The booster is only needed if a year has passed since their last rabies shot.

If you had your dogs vaccinated in January of this year, they shouldn't need a booster. The booster is only needed if a year has passed since their last rabies shot.

unless you're vaccination is only good for 6 months (usually its a year) then you're not due for any boosters yet. I think someone has told you wrong info.

just in case -- someone might be confusing the six month waiting period after the blood draw with the booster date... they are not the same.

unless you're vaccination is only good for 6 months (usually its a year) then you're not due for any boosters yet. I think someone has told you wrong info.

Is a 6 months vaccination common? I've only heard of the 1 year vaccine (Technically mine is good for 3 years, but I know they still hold them to the yearly booster). Even if it's only good for 6 months, she should still have time. May is only the 5 month.

The problem is that he totally overlooked giving her the rabies shot, period!  He chipped her and drew her blood and sent that in.  But the biggie-the rabies shot, he didn't do!

ETA: Whoops, made the same error as Aless.

If your pet has been previously vaccinated and the vaccination is current, there's no need to re-vaccinate before the blood is drawn and tested - it's just a precaution to make sure there are enough rabies antibodies in the blood before the test is performed. 

From what I remember, the animal has to be vaccinated after they are chipped (even if they aren't due for a vaccination) and it doesn't seem that happened in this case.

Otherwise, there is no "proof" that the animal that was vaccinated is the same as the animal that is chipped.  The microchip number is the key to everything.  It has to be on all of the documentation.

From what I remember, the animal has to be vaccinated after they are chipped (even if they aren't due for a vaccination) and it doesn't seem that happened in this case.

Otherwise, there is no "proof" that the animal that was vaccinated is the same as the animal that is chipped.  The microchip number is the key to everything.  It has to be on all of the documentation.

That's right. Chipped then vaccinated. One of my cats had just had a rabies shot 2 months before, but we had to do it again.

Hiya...just butting in, because I actually work for DEFRA! :-)

As far as boosters go, your pet must be administered booster vaccinations in accordance with the vaccine manufacturer's instructions.  So if the original vaccine advises a booster every year, then you must do it.  Some vaccines, however, are good for up to 3 years, so it all depends.  Therefore, your original vaccine is probably still good, but you'd have to ask the vet.  The intial rabies vaccine MUST be given AFTER microchipping!!

You will need to wait 6 months from the date of the ORIGINAL blood test before entering the UK.  So long as the animal is boostered on-time with accordance to what I outlined above, no further blood tests are needed.

Not to rain on your parade, but e-mailing DEFRA will not get you a waiver.  Waivers are only granted in EXTREME circumstances.

Feel free to PM for further advice.  I cannot issue "official" advice on a forum like this, but I can tell you what I know in my capacity of answering queries very similar to yours on a day-to-day basis :-).

EDIT: Sorry, I failed to realise that your vet didn't actually do the intial rabies vaccine after microchipping...I thought you were referring to boosters after the initial PETS process is completed.  Please read my reply to Yael below for clarification!!

However, based on what you posted, you sound fine...

So, the animal does not need to be vaccinated after they are microchipped?

How does someone prove the animal was vaccinated?

So, the animal does not need to be vaccinated after they are microchipped?

How does someone prove the animal was vaccinated?

Sorry, I must not have read it properly - I was mostly responding to her concern about booster vaccines!

Yes, the rabies vaccine MUST be made after the microchip is inserted.  There are no exceptions to the this rule.  If your pet was microchipped after vaccination, they will need to start the process over again.

Sorry if that was unclear.  I confess I only read the original post & not the reply.

Unfortunately, if your vet did not give a rabies vaccine AFTER the microchipping, you will have to start over again with a fresh rabies vaccine, blood test & subsequent 6 month wait.  Defra do not make exceptions & if you don't do this, your animal will require 6 months' quarantine upon arrival in the UK at the owner's expense.

yep. Aless, obviously, since she works for DEFRA, is right. No vax, no entry... full stop. No way around the rules for this one. Next step for you is the vax asap. Then the blood test, again, as soon as possible after the vax that the rules allow, then begin your 6 month wait. If you enter the UK before the 6 months is up I think you can do the rest of the quarantine in a kennel (meaning you may not have to do an entire 6 months. If you've done 2 months wait already at home you might be able to just do 4 here but I'm not totally sure)

This is a good example of everyone needing to know the rules themselves. Ultimately its you and not your vet who is responsible for knowing the rules. I'd suggest you become intimately familiar with the process so you don't get screwed again by the vet. You dictate to the vet what you want to happen, rather than relying on them to drive the process, and you shouldn't have any issues. [PS, I know this sounds snarky but I promise I don't mean it that way. Just trying to help you and others who are starting this process. This is the best piece of advice I can give about any immigration stuff whether its a person or a dog!]