International veterinary passport for dogs and cats

Today, to cross the state border, not only a person needs a foreign passport, but also his pet. If you are going to travel with your pet, prepare a passport for him in advance. And if for some animals (for example, for parrots, turtles, snakes or rodents) it is very difficult to get a passport, then for cats and dogs the documents are done very quickly. The main thing - carefully prepare and make the animal all the necessary procedures.

What is a veterinary passport of an international standard?

Naturally, the passport for an animal is not an identity card, it is a document that will tell the customs service everything about your pet's health.

Therefore, in a veterinary passport for a cat and a dog, data on vaccinations, deworming and chipping of an animal, including the following information, are mandatory:

• An animal's name, date of birth and sex.
• Breed and special marks.
• Number of chip and brand, if any.
• Vaccination dates and vaccine names.
• Photo of the animal.
• Data on the treatment performed from parasites.
• Information about reproduction or its absence (in case of castration or sterilization).

Also in the veterinary passport for dogs and cats are entered the data of the owner of the animal - his full name, date of birth, address and telephone number.

Why do I need a passport

This document will tell the staff of the border veterinary control whether the pet is vaccinated, whether it is a carrier of any disease. This is important, since any state protects its citizens from infections common to animals and humans (for example, from rabies), and from diseases that your pet can transmit to local dogs and cats.

The passport is necessary and to the owner - if the animal is lost or it is stolen, only the passport will help you prove that you are its owner. This is especially true for thoroughbred, expensive exhibition or rare breeds of animals, which often become victims of scammers and robbers.

What is necessary for a passport

The first thing you need to do is to chimp an animal, as some countries pay special attention to the fact that chipping should be done before vaccinations. Although many clinics and chipping, and vaccinations can be done at one time. And the chip must comply with the international ISO standard.

Then make the dog or cat all the necessary vaccinations. The main ones are from rabies, parvovirus and 2 inoculations from the plague. Also vaccinated against major infectious diseases, such as Lyme disease, mumps, adenovirus infection and others. Regarding other vaccines, specify the requirements of a specific country. Note that if you have made all the vaccinations, then you can transport the animal no earlier than a month, but no later than a year. It is also important to remember that there are particularities in the transportation of a puppy or a kitten - for example, it is possible to import animals into the European Union only from the age of 4 months, since the first inoculation is only given to two months old puppies, and the most important one, from rabies, a month after the first vaccination. In another month you can take out the animal. And there are countries that do not require any information for animals under 3 months.

Pay special attention to the vaccine against rabies - not all of them can be recognized at the veterinary control, so specify which ones are accepted unconditionally, and look for clinics where they are made.

Deworming the animal should be done every 3-4 months, which is recorded in the passport, and the last procedure should be done about 5 days before the flight. Also, pre-treat the dog or cat with a remedy for fleas and ticks (with a corresponding mark in the passport).

How to get a document

Having put all the vaccinations and having carried out all the necessary procedures, the owner together with the animal will have to visit the state veterinary station where they will receive a certificate or certificate on the basis of the veterinary passport in the form No. 1-vet. This certificate is needed to cross the border, its validity period is only 5 days.

When crossing the border, this certificate is exchanged for an international veterinary passport. For different countries, it can be different, for example, it is often pink, and in some EU countries it is white.

Where to get the passport

Veterinary passport can be issued in the same hospital, where you do the vaccine to the animal. Only when choosing a clinic, give preference to the largest. Today, the licensing of the vet clinic is canceled, therefore, in order not to be mistaken, it is better to go to the state clinic where the animal will be accurately vaccinated against rabies (vaccines have a problem for small private clinics) and will issue the relevant documents. That is, they can be done anywhere, but at the border crossing the passport of a small clinic, and even designed incorrectly (and this is possible, if the veterinarian has no experience in preparing documents), can be challenged.

What to look for

First of all, start preparing to receive the document in advance and at least a month before the trip, specify the rules for obtaining a passport and the rules for the importation of animals to the territory of the country where you are going. Rules, albeit infrequently, but vary, and it will be insulting, having done such a difficult job, do not cross the border due to some trifle.

Pay attention to how the vaccination data has been entered in the veterinary passport-in special boxes not only the date of vaccination and the name of the vaccine is indicated, but also a special label is attached, which is extinguished by the seal of the vet clinic and is confirmed by the veterinarian's signature. If this is not the case or the vaccination date is not specified, the passport can be recognized as invalid.

Another common mistake is that the vaccination data are not entered by a doctor but by a club or a breeder, while permission for some vaccinations, especially from rabies, is given only to public veterinarians, which means that such an international veterinary passport for dogs or cats will be contested.

Also, you may notice that different clinics may issue different kinds of passports, or the one issued to you differs from what you saw on the Internet or from other breeders. The fact is that there is no single model in our country or in the world, there are several recommended forms. But if you have all the necessary marks in the passport issued to you, you can be calm: the border you will surely cross without problems.

What to do if the international veterinary passport is lost

If you lost your pet's passport, remember that it can be restored. All state and large clinics keep their databases, so contact where you did the last inoculations. In this clinic you will be given a duplicate of your document.

So, it is obvious that if you watch your pet's health and do all the necessary procedures and vaccinations in a timely manner, you will not have any problems with obtaining a passport for your dog or cat.