Vaccinations are needed right from the start of our life to shield ourselves from illnesses. Ditto in dogs as well. When you vaccinate your pet at the right time, it keeps them away from several life-threatening conditions.
Proper and adequate vaccination helps your dog live for a longer time as well. Besides vaccinating your pet from time to time, it is also important to maintain a record of the different vaccinations your pet has received up to date.
If you have a kid at home, you may have maintained a record of his or her vaccination schedule since birth. Right? The same applies to your dog as well. They are like your kids or rather your kids. You’ve got to be meticulous when it comes to handling their vaccination documents. This will give your vet better insight into your dog’s medical history, helping him to carry out future treatment with ease.
Now, the problem may arise when you’ve lost or misplaced your dog’s vaccination records. It’ll be a very difficult situation then. Yet there are ways in which you can take the trouble and retrieve the records for rebuilding your canine’s medical history. Read on to know more.
What to Do When You Don’t Have Your Dog’s Shot Records? 3 Important To-Dos
There may be umpteen reasons why you may not have your dog’s shot records. Perhaps your house went through a renovation, and things seem scattered all over the place.
Or, it could be that you have shifted lately to a different accommodation, and your dog’s shot records are among the few things that you missed taking along.
Chances are that you adopted this dog from a kennel and missed asking about his previous health records. The causes could be several. But, it’s essential to revive the shot records at the earliest. Here is all that you need to do:
1. Contact Your Veterinarian
The first thing that you should consider to retrieve the lost shot records is to call the veterinarian. The vet’s office may have details of your dog’s vaccination if that’s where you’ve got your dog vaccinated.
Upon your request, they could mail or fax you a copy of your dog’s shot records. They may even ask you to log in to their portal to gather the information. You also must provide accurate information at the vet’s office to help them retrieve your dog’s records effectively. These include your dog’s name and your name as well. Any misinformation, you won’t receive your dog’s records.
2. Retrieve Information From Previous Veterinary Clinics
If you’ve shifted to a different state and missed out on bringing your dog’s shot records along, there isn’t much to panic about. You still have chances to retrieve them by getting in touch with the previous veterinary clinic. Send them a mail or fax along with all the other essential details needed to retrieve your dog’s records.
If you’ve got a new vet for your dog, you can make him get in touch with the previous vet to get a detailed insight into your dog’s vaccination and medical history. That’ll make things easier for the new vet.
3. Reach Out to Your Dog’s Previous Owner (if applicable)
If you’ve adopted the dog from a kennel, shelter home, or privately, then it is quite natural that you won’t have any of his records at hand. If you’ve been handed over his medical file during the adoption procedure, then that’s fine.
If that has not happened, then you would have to get in touch with the shelter home or the owner and ask for the dog’s vaccination records, alongside other medical details as well. This will help you become aware of the pet that you are going to adopt or have adopted has any underlying medical condition and if he has been vaccinated for the same or not.
Rebuilding Your Dog’s Vaccination History
If you are fortunate enough and have managed to retrieve the lost shot records for your dog from the vet’s office, then the onus lies on you to rebuild your dog’s vaccination history. You’ve got to keep them safe this time. Here’s what you must do to rebuild your dog’s vaccination history:
- Take out a hard copy of the details you received from the vet’s office. Enclose them safely in a hardcover file, and label them as “(Your dog’s name, Vaccination Records). Also, make one or two photocopies of the same.
- After you’ve made the file, you should also make a special note of all the upcoming and pending vaccinations for your dog. In that way, you won’t miss out on any appointments.
- Several pet clinics offer vaccine forms. It will help you keep a record of all the vaccinations your dog has received to date. Whenever he gets a new vaccine, do not miss out on updating it in the form. In this way, you’ll have an updated record of your canine’s vaccination. Pet vaccine forms are available online as well. This will be even more helpful for you to save in your system.
Tips on Keeping Your Dog’s Shot Records Safe
Here are some interesting tips that will help you to keep your dog’s shot records safe and prevent them from getting misplaced. Take a look at some of them:
- An electronic copy of the vaccine records should be saved in Google Drive, One Drive, and so on. This will prevent you from losing the records.
- Maintain a hard copy in the form of a file record as well, where all of your pet’s immunization details will be preserved safely.
- You should always remain in touch with the vet’s office where your pet was vaccinated. In this way, you may revive the records if you misplace them by chance.
FAQ’s
What happens if you do not have any shot records for your pet and there’s an emergency?
In case your pet falls sick, and you do not have any records to validate if he was vaccinated for the disease he has been affected with, then it could be worrisome. Right? Well, if that’s the case, then the treatment must begin anyway.
Your vet will prescribe blood work. The treatment will begin first. Then the vaccination part can be taken care of. For instance, if your dog is affected by rabies, your vet will start the treatment at first, irrespective of the fact he is vaccinated for rabies or not. Upon recovery, your vet might think about the vaccination part.
Why should you keep your dog’s vaccination records intact?
Well, there are several reasons why you will need your dog’s vaccination records. Firstly, when your dog suffers from any serious disease, the vaccination records will help the vet know if he was vaccinated for that particular condition or not. This will make the treatment procedure way too easy.
There’s also a legal reason behind the same. In fact, in several states in the U.S., where dogs should be vaccinated against rabies.
How to determine if your dog has been vaccinated for a certain disease or not?
One of the easiest ways to determine is through a vaccine titer. It helps to determine the immune of your dog to a certain disease. When a dog tests positive, it means that he has developed immunity against that particular disease.
When it tests negative, that means the dog doesn’t have immunity to a certain disease and requires vaccination. Say, if you have a full-vaccinated canine, and he tests negative for titer, then it could mean he isn’t benefitting from that particular vaccine. The vet may have to give him a booster dose of the same.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, the importance of vaccination and the records as well for your dog is no hidden fact. Some of the infectious diseases on the list for which your dog should compulsorily be vaccinated include rabies, canine distemper, canine influenza, and leptospirosis. Setting an appropriate vaccination record at hand will be helpful not just for your dog but for you as well.
Elena Gherman is a highly skilled and knowledgeable animal care expert. At the start of her career, she gained practical expertise with multiple animals. In addition to that, she works as a DVM veterinary editor for Joy Pet Products, which focuses on offering reliable information on pet health and wellbeing. She meticulously reviews each piece of writing before it is published to make sure pet owners get the most precise and updated information possible.