Minnesota Pet Owners Misinformed On Rabies Shot Intervals

Details. Oh those pesky details.

Over the years, many veterinary clinics have used the pretext of annual "booster shots" to see family pets for annual examinations even when re-administration of the vaccine was unnecessary. It's apparently a difficult practice to break.

Kris Christine, The Rabies Challenge Fund reports:

MINNESOTA: 88.8% of veterinarians responding to a rabies survey from the Board of Veterinary Medicine indicated they give a three-year rabies vaccine; yet 53.3% fail to give pet owners a corresponding three-year rabies certificate (36.2% issue a two-year certificate, 17.1% issue "other"). When asked if they inform clients when they put a different expiration date on the rabies certificate than that on the vaccine administered, 40.9% responded that they did not inform the client. 

A copy of this 12/14/11 report entitled "Rabies Vaccination Survey Report" may be requested from Dr. John King, Executive Director of the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine (651) 201-2844 John.King@state.mn.us

From news reports as recent as a year ago, we know that Minnesota was one of ten states without a statewide vaccine requirement and planning to write them. Kudos to the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine for doing its homework first.