It's this time of the year where a number of "dog checkers" roam around the city to advise owners to have their dogs registered. Annual dog registration is mandatory in Marikina City, although there's no such ordinance pertaining to it in their website. A fee of 75 php accompanied by the dog's picture is required to complete such registration in the Marikina City Veterinary Office.
For detailed information on Marikina City's annual dog registration, let this poster be your guide.
To have your pet registered, you will have to visit the Marikina City Engineering Office.
There you'll fill up the data form and provide them with a picture of your dog.
This is the Marikina City Veterinary Office front.
According to the annual dog registration poster, anti-rabies vaccination is required. So before you go to the office, you should either: 1. Have your dog's proof of anti-rabies vaccination with you. (or) 2. Bring your dog to have him vaccinated in the Marikina City Veterinary Office Impounding Area.
The 75 php payment is done at the cashier's office.
Once you're done here, you may proceed to the impounding area with your dog to have him vaccinated of anti-rabies for free (except for the registration, of course.)
Since the last three posts were mostly about rabies, I'd like to end these series with a more detailed guide schedule for vaccinations approved by the Veterinary Practitioner Association of the Philippines & Philippine Animal Hospital Association.
3 weeks old- Deworming
6 weeks old- Canine Parvovirus (1st Shot) and Deworming
2 months old- Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Para-influenza (2nd Shot. They usually come in 5-in-1 or 6-in-1 vials) and Deworming
11 weeks old- Booster Dose (3rd Shot) and Deworming
3 months old- Anti-Rabies, 6-in-1 and Deworming
5 months old- Heartworm Test and Ehrlichia Test
9 months old- Anti-Rabies (2nd dose. With street dogs, we only this once a year.) and 6-in-1
Annually- Immunization against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvo-virus and para-influenza, Anti-Rabies and Deworming
Lyme-disease is pretty rare in the Philippines. In fact, I haven't heard of dogs having such cases. However, Leptospirosis vaccination is a must as we are prone to floods during rainy seasons.
Most purebreds being sold in the country have already had their first shots and deworming done.
I was reading through the Anti-Rabies act of 2007. This is a Philippine Law which summarizes the rules of what rabies is, what designated people's responsibilities are, and what penalties are to be imposed.
Interestingly, here's some important sections I'd like to share.
SEC. 5. Responsibilities of Pet Owners. – All Pet Owners shall be required to:
(a) Have their Dog regularly vaccinated against Rabies and maintain a registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their Dog, for accurate record purposes.
(b) Submit their Dogs for mandatory registration.
(c) Maintain control over their Dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any Public Place without a leash.
(d) Be a responsible Owner by providing their Dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter.
(e) Within twenty-four (24) hours, report immediately any Dog biting incident to the Concerned Officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such Dog under observation by a government or private veterinarian.
(f) Assist the dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim’s injuries.
Unfortunately, it doesn't mention how old a pup should be to have him vaccinated. There was a number of penalties involved in not following rules. What I was disappointed with was that they never mentioned about rules regarding dogs who've had their rabies shots biting a someone.
Sec. 11. Penalties. -
(1) Pet Owners who fail or refuse to have their Dog registered and immunized against Rabies shall be punished by a fine of Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00).
(2) Pet Owners who refuse to have their Dog vaccinated against Rabies shall be liable to pay for the vaccination of both the Dog and the individuals Bitten by their Dog.
(3) Pet Owners who refuse to have their Dog put under observation after said Dog has Bitten an individual shall be meted a fine of Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00).
(4) Pet Owners who refuse to have their Dog put under observation and do not shoulder the medical expenses of the person Bitten by their Dog shall be meted a fine of Twenty-five thousand pesos (P25,000.00).
I understand that the owner is required to pay for the medical expenses of the victim, but does that include vaccination even though the dog has already been observed to not have rabies? It doesn't exactly specify what to do in that kind of scenario.
The term "medical expenses" and "incidental expenses" weren't included in the glossary of terms, so it can be perceived as either "bitten area's prophylaxis and hospital expenses" alone or "bitten area's prophylaxis, hospital expenses and vaccination".
I'm not a lawyer so I don't have the answers. *sigh*
RA 8485 was Amended last October 2013. To view the changes done on RA 8485 known as the "Animal Welfare Act of 1998. Just click on the link to download the PDF now.
The article before this post talks about
a brief overview on Philippine doggy registration and its perks for dog
owners living in certain cities. Owners get a free rabies vaccination
once a year once they get registered in Marikina. In my city, rabies
vaccination is free for all. All we have to do is go to the center where
our address belongs to, wait in the line and viola, free rabies shot. Each area has a designated schedule.
Some
US cities require their first rabies shot should be given at the
age of 3-6 months of age. Giving it a younger age than the one cited
above can be ineffective as the puppy's body won't be able to take
action. Besides, at such age, they aren't often exposed to potentially
infected animals. I'm sure this logic also applies in Philippines. Of
course, the best way to determine when the best time would be is to ask
the local vet. I'm sure they wouldn't charge anyone who'd call and ask.
According to my dog's proposed vaccination schedule (this is the little handbook given by the vet), the first rabies shot is to be given when Fido is 3 months old. A second dose is recommended when he's 9 months. After that, it is to be given annually.
We already know what rabies is. It's that virus that causes neurological problems to both the biter and the "bitee". It's known to us that whenever a dog who has rabies bites a human, most likely this dog will die within 2 weeks. It's a rare case that an animal having rabies doesn't pay the price of having bitten.
Look at Old Yeller, he had to be shot by his own master because he went crazy. The first time I saw this movie, I had tears streaming in my eyes even after the credits were rolling. I was such a sucker for dog movies back then... 'til now.
So my first question would be, are there dogs with rabies who survives the biting? I think I'll have to further research on that.
Back to the main topic, the prevalence of giving your doggy rabies shots differ from state. In our country, we're encouraged to have our dogs vaccinated once a year. Since most of the people here cannot afford veterinary visits, the mayor either mandates a visit to the dog pound or the ones doing the shots go to every portion of the city wherein people can bring their dogs to a center near them to get vaccinated for free.
Some cities in the Philippines require dog registrations. Although a hassle, I personally prefer that kind of system. With each registration is a free vaccination. People pay approximately $1-2 to have each dog registered.
In Marikina City, all dogs in your household require registration. Owners need to provide a picture of the pooch to be included with the papers. This is different from what they call "papers" for purebred dogs. Once a dog is successfully registered, the owner can now bring him to the dog pound to be injected.
Not everyone follow these rules. However, the perks of having your dog registered is that whenever he gets caught wondering the streets, you won't have to be fined an exorbitant amount ranging from $10 or more. A neighbor of ours eventually gave up on paying for her Japanese Spitz because it was caught twice. I was pretty disappointed at them because they felt that it wasn't practical anymore to get their Spitz out of the pound due to the expensive fine. Had they registered him, this wouldn't have happened.
MARK THIS DAY, UNKNOWN HUMAN. I bit you because you were standing in front of me.
I bit someone because that's what I usually do when someone when messes with me or unjustifiably annoys me. But apparently Mistress did not feel any kind of justice to what I have done to protect my space. Our neighbor was just standing there across my tempted teeth and I bit her. I couldn't help it... although I shouldn't have.
When my master arrived home, she got the news. She went to our neighbor's house and was almost treated with a cold shoulder by victim's mother. She tried to assure them that I already had my anti-rabies shot. Nonetheless, they were still stubborn and refused to trust what she said. Oh well, they'll see in a week or two.
NOTE: According to Organic Pet Digest, if the animal is found to have been properly vaccinated, it should be observed for 10 days. If not, it should be held for up to 6 months and vaccinated at least one month prior to release.
Here are additional references to learn more about rabies:
