Hello, dear Petfinder members,
I've just been reflecting upon the numbers of people who have been complaining of buying pets from various sellers, and having the pets die from disease shortly after. In some cases, the sellers had advertised the pets as having been vaccinated.
When I take my cat to the vet clinic for her annual vaccination, the vet always puts the clinic's official chop in Maneki's record book, and signs it.
I need this proof of vaccination at the boarding place where she stays when I travel. She cannot check in without it. The booklet also reminds me when I must take her back for her jabs the following year. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that she is fully vaccinated.
If I were going to buy a pet, and the seller told me it had been vaccinated, I would ask to see the certificates with the vet's chop. As far as I'm concerned, if there is no proof of vaccination, the animal
is not vaccinated.
I just want to plead with buyers: Be smart! Don't believe everything a salesman tells you -- ask for proof. Responsible sellers should be able to show you the vaccination paperwork with correct chops & signatures. If they can't, you either take your chances or walk away.
I suppose some sellers may claim that they buy the vaccines and vaccinate the animals themselves, so they don't have any of the proper paperwork. In that case, I would wonder, where are they getting the vaccines? Are they effective? (Vaccines will go off if not stored properly.) I still wouldn't trust this answer.
We have many reasons to be angry at irresponsible sellers, but we also need to be responsible buyers, no?