Meeting the health requirements of a boarding or daycare facility involves cost and inconvenience to pet owners, so why do places require these vaccinations and tests?
Woofers Pet Resort requirements are admittedly stringent. Why? Simple: to safeguard your pet's health. Obviously, if every animal through the door has been vaccinated for common diseases, tested for internal parasites, and treated for externals pests, yours is less likely to contract anything. In the long run that saves you time, anxiety, and money.
Here are the reasons for each of our requirements...
Bordatella vaccination -- Bordatella, or "kennel cough," is a catch-all term for a myriad of respiratory illnesses. As with the human flu, kennel coughs come in many strains, some (but not all) of which are covered by the bordatella vaccine. This means that vaccinated dogs can contract a kennel cough. Dogs can, and do, get them almost anywhere dogs congregate. In fact, he or she is more likely to contract kennel cough on, say, a public trail, at a friend's house, or at a dog park, places where not all dogs have been vaccinated rather than at a kennel where they have. Semantics aside, young, healthy dogs usually weather most kennel coughs well, but younger and older dogs can have trouble. Kennel coughs are potentially deadly for any dog, but our main concern is that they are highly contagious.
Rabies vaccination -- This one is obvious. Any dog with rabies must be euthanized. Rabies can be fatal to humans. And almost every community in America requires all dogs be vaccinated for rabies. Any remotely responsible dog owner will vaccinate for rabies.
Parvo/distemper vaccination -- Parvo is a serious, contagious illness that can be fatal. The treatment is very hard on a dog. Many dogs don't survive treatment, so this is an illness you want to avoid at all cost.
Flea/tick/lice treatment -- Dogs can contract multiple diseases, some of which can be fatal, from ticks. Prevention is inexpensive compared to veterinary treatment. Fleas and lice are pests that can infest people, bedding, carpet, etc. and make a house almost intolerable. If you've ever tried to rid your pet and home of fleas and lice, you know how expensive and maddening that can be. In decades past, our harsh winters killed off most of the flea population. Not anymore. We now routinely see fleas and lice on dogs year-round. We sure don't want a dog or cat to enter our facility and infest other dogs and our building with these pests. Again, prevention is cheap and effective, and veterinary treatment comparatively time-consuming and expensive.
Fecal sample test -- This test insures a dog doesn't have intestinal parasites that can be spread to other animals or people. If a single dog has, for example, worms and defecates in our outdoor or indoor play yards, other dogs will contract worms from the turf and soil. In this way, one dog can pass intestinal parasites to others, who defecate and pass it to others, who...you get the picture.
So although our requiring vaccines, preventatives, and treatments imposes inconvenience and cost on the front end, it saves you time and money on the back end. Also, it gives everyone peace of mind that their animals are less likely to contract a pest, parasite, or illness while boarding or in daycare. Strong health requirements make a kennel, daycare, or pet resort a safe place for a dog. And to us there's nothing more important.
So we require proof of rabies, distemper/parvo, and bordatella vaccinations, a parasite-free fecal sample, and prevention for fleas, lice and ticks. If you have questions or concerns about our health requirements, please call us at (605) 720-1364. We are always happy to discuss this with you.