| by Linda
Fudala
Anew
law in Florida will make it possible for pet owners to vaccinate
their canines or felines with a 3-year rabies vaccine. But it may
not mean that annual county licenses for pets will be up for
renewal every three years.
" People
often refer to the annual license renewal as the 'rabies'
license,"
said Debra Parsons-Drake,
executive director for the Suncoast Humane Society. "This
new law will leave it up to the counties whether or not to keep an
annual pet license renewal system in place. The option for pet
owners is that now they can have their pet vaccinated for a three
year period."
Florida now joins 34 other states that either
require or recognize three-year rabies vaccinations. Only 14
counties in Florida recognize a three-year rabies vaccine,
Charlotte and Sarasota Counties do not.
" With
the transient nature of the population in this area, I think that
the annual license requirement may stay in place here,"
said Parsons - Drake. "As
we l earned last summer, there can be weather events that can make
keeping track of pets extremely difficult. Three years is a long
time not to keep tabs on a pet and its records in light of the
aging population here as well as the transient nature of
residents." |
The good news for dog owners, as well as cat
owners, is that the new law will enable all counties in Florida to
recognize a three-year vaccine. Most likely however, an annual
county license renewal will still be necessary in order to be able
to track lost animals. This group of canines, beloved pets all,
was photographed in Boca Grande earlier this year.
The shelter
took in 650 displaced pets after Hurricane Charley and is currently
trying to adopt out its last Hurricane Charley refugee.
Feeding
Debra Parsons-Drake Executive Director, Suncoast
Humane Society
shelter
animals is now an easier job not dependent on donated food. (See
related story on page 5 - printed edition)
Charlotte County Animal Control Officer, Lt. Brian
Jones concurs with Parsons-Drake regarding the annual license
requirement. "The
tag is our tracker for animals we pick up. Without the annual license,
the information on the animals can become outdated making it difficult
to link up pets and their owners."
In order to incorporate the new provisions into local
codes and ordinances, the implementation date has been set for January
1, 2006.
|
According
to a press release from the Florida
Animal Control Association,
the organization that
spearheaded
introduction of the bill that
was signed
into
law on May 27, "Local
governments
can realize a cost savings on
tags, forms, and
administrative costs
on three-year vaccine and
license
requirements.
A standardized rabies/- license
certificate will be required.
Veterinarians
will still have the option
of using a rabies vaccine of
either one
or
three year’s
duration of immunity in
their
practices."
An issue
of over-vaccination was another reason the bi-partisan bill was
created, said Lois Kostroski, executive director of the Florida
Animal Control Association.
"Thousands
o f currently
vaccinated animals are
being required to be re-vaccinated for no justifiable medical
reason due to local laws. The public has become increasingly aware
of
the over-vaccination issue."
The bottom line however, says Kostroski, is pet
owner responsibility. "It’s
up to the pet owner to update medical records and shots. A yearly
visit to the veterinarian isn’t
only about rabies shots, it's
about the overall health of your animal."
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