It's Summer Again!

Some tips and reminders to pet owners this summer:

• Provide cool drinking water at all times to your dogs and cats. You may need to replace the drinking water several times in a day because they would prefer fresh water.

• If possible avoid activities on the warmer parts of the day. Take advantage of the cool mornings and evenings for walking with your pet.

• You may provide ice as lick or you may use ice in cooling the drinking water.

• March is Rabies Awareness Month! Please take time to review their vaccination cards. Make sure that their vaccines are current. Rabies and DHLPPi vaccines are given anually.

• Please DON'T LEAVE your dogs or cats in a parked car! The temperature inside can kill them!

• Keep your pets properly groomed! Those with thick coats may need to have a shave to keep them from overheating. 

Announcement: As of 10 January 2013 we've moved our Rizal Ave. facilities to our main clinic in Santa Monica Highway, right after Bulwagang Princesa.


RECENT UPLOADS:
Anemia in Dogs 10/17/2012
Pet Supplies and Accessories are Now Available  10/15/2012
Ticks, Ehrlichia and Your Dog 10/5/2012
Canine Distemper: Cause, Signs, Transmission and Prevention 8/30/2012

VRVC 2013, Thailand

In IMPACT, the venue of VRVC 2013 in Thailand.

Anti-Rabies Act of 2007: Responsibilities of Pet Owners

FYI: The Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 enumerates the following as responsibilities of pet owners:

Responsibilities of Pet Owner. - All Pet Owners shall be required to:

(a) Have their Dog regularly vaccinated against Rabies and maintain a registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their Dog, for accurate record purposes.

(b) Submit their Dogs for mandatory registration.

(c) Maintain control over their Dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any Public Place without a leash.

(d) Be a responsible Owner by providing their Dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter.

(e) Within twenty-four (24) hours, report immediately any Dog biting incident to the Concerned Officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such Dog under observation by a government or private veterinarian.

(f) Assist the Dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victims injuries.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9482 (2007) AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE CONTROL AND ELIMINATION OF HUMAN AND ANIMAL RABIES, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Rabies Awarenss Month in Pets United: More on Rabies

March is Rabies Awareness Month. Rabies being a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans is of importance because it's a public health concern. It's so special that there's even a law for the "control and elimination" of this disease here in the Philippines. It's Republic Act 9482 which became a law 2007. At present rabies (in Tagalog, rabis) is still a threat specially here where in not 100% of pets are vaccinated.

What pet owners should know about rabies:

-Rabies is a disease. It is a viral disease. It requires a bite from an infected animal to infect another. The virus is shed via saliva of an infected animal.

-Dogs or cats are not born infected with rabies. Animals with the virus die, because it's a disease.

-Rabies is preventable. Vaccines against rabies is widely available and are highly immunogenic. This means that healthy animals when vaccinated usually produce good antibody response which protects them from the disease. In the clinic, we have sent blood samples to European laboratories and all of them showed good immunity against rabies. (It's a requirement for exporting dogs and cats.)

-Vaccination here in the Philippines is annual. It is every three years in some countries because they are free from rabies.

-Vaccination is usually done beginning 3 months of age, and annually thereafter. It is done to maintain the antibodies against the disease, which provides protection for the entire year.

-Rabies vaccine is safe. (I have encountered someone who refuse to have their dog immunized because their dog died after rabies vaccination.) A requirement prior to the immunization is a health check done by your veterinarian. The temperature is usually taken and a thorough physical examination is conducted including history taking. This is to ensure that the pet is healthy to (1) make sure that the animal would have a good immune response to the vaccine administered and (2) make sure that the animal's immune system would not be suppressed by the vaccine given.

-Rabies vaccine is cheap! Post-exposure treatment for rabies is costlier if you or a family member is bitten by a rabid dog. It could cost you a few thousand pesos but the anxiety and paranoia is much more difficult to handle!!!

And please, tell your neighbors to have their dogs vaccinated too!