Why you need to Vaccinate your pet

I have no idea why owners of companion animals feel that if their pets do not mix with other animals that it is not necessary to vaccinate. I am sure that there is a belief (even though it is wrong) that animals can only become infected with contagious diseases if they have direct contact with other animals.

Every year we are presented with dogs with Parvo and cats with Cat Flu where the animal lives by itself and does not mix with other animals. That includes animals that live on boats or on farms.

Every time, we are informed by the owner that they felt that the animal did not warrant vaccinations because they felt the vaccinations were unnecessary as there was no obvious contact between their animal and other animals.

There were two factors that played a role in coming to this decision not to vaccinate;

1. It was too inconvenient for the owner to bring the animal to the pet hospital for the vaccinations
2. Some owners felt that the cost of the vaccinations was too high and that they could not afford to get their animal vaccinated

To answer these issues, here are my responses to these clients;

• The viruses that cause these life-threatening conditions in our pets can live in the ground for up to one year in the case of Parvo, and for a few days with the Cat Flu
• The virus can be transported to the home environment via the owner’s shoes, car tyres and other objects that come in contact with the ground
• In the case of cats – there are a number of feral cats that travel through your environment at night and can leave behind the virus that can affect your pet
• We supply a service to your clients where they can leave their animal with us for the day so they can do their shopping. The animal is kept in an air-conditioned environment in a secure and comfortable area in the hospital. We extend this service to all clients of the hospital at any time that they feel is inconvenient to get to the hospital for vaccinations

The cost of the vaccinations is broken into two parts;

1. The cost of the vaccination itself
2. The cost of the examination of the animal to ensure that they are in good health and can have the vaccination

Remember that the cost to treat these diseases is hugely greater than the cost of the vaccination itself. Parvo, for example, can cost over $1,000 to treat.

Your animal’s health depends on you to make these decisions – it is best that you are  aware of these facts before you make up your mind on if you should put your animal at risk

To schedule your vaccination Contact Us today