Did you know?

It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.

The certificate of vaccination (sometimes called a vaccination card) is one of the most important documents of your pet. This contains information about your pet and all the vaccines that has been given to him. Sometimes this document may also contain important records of other preventive health programs such as the de-worming history and anti-tick and flea medications.

It is important that the vaccination certificate is always valid and updated. Here are some reasons for this:

  • You will always bring your pet's vaccination certificate every time you take him to the veterinary clinic. The vet may need the certificate to rule out certain diseases or give recommendations for your pet basing on what has already been given to him;
  • You need to bring the vaccination certificate along when you travel your pet to other cities and provinces. If you want to take your pet to other islands, you will need to secure a shipping permit for your pet from the Veterinary Quarantine and Services Department of the Bureau of Animal Industry. They will check for your pet's updated rabies shots prior to the issuance of the permit. It would be wise to have the rabies shots updated and in effect before the scheduled travel;
  • If your pet has bitten a person you may also need to show your pet's rabies vaccination certificate to the victim's physician. The physician may need it to determine the course of action and the type of shots that the patient may need;

For a vaccination entry to be valid, it must contain the following:

  • Date that the vaccine was given;
  • Manufacturer of the vaccine used;
  • Lot or batch number and expiry date of the vaccine;
  • Veterinarian's signature above printed name;
  • Veterinarian's PRC ID number;
  • Veterinarian's PTR and TIN numbers.
These data will tell us:
  1. if the vaccination entry is current;
  2. that the vaccine given came from a legitimate manufacturer and is not expired;
  3. that the person who administered the vaccine is a licensed, practicing Veterinarian;
  4. that since the vaccine was administered by a Veterinarian, it was given properly and in accordance to label instructions;
  5. that since the vaccine was administered by a Veterinarian, we can assume that the Veterinarian has examined and found out that the pet is healthy at the time of the vaccination.
The Rabies shot is probably the most important entry in the vaccination certificate. Aside from being a requirement in the Philippines, it also serves as a guarantee that the pet is free of this deadly zoonotic (transmissible to man) disease. Therefore, this entry should always be valid and updated.