Pet Vaccinations Prevent Disease & Promote Health

Vaccinations can help keep your animal healthy and happy. At San Pablo Animal Hospital, we recommend vaccinations for your pet depending on age, lifestyle, and risk of exposure on an individual basis. While some vaccines are administered annually, others are recommended every three years.

Dogs

• Distemper/adenovirus/parainfluenza/parvovirus—These four diseases are debilitating and can cause death. Nearly every dog will be exposed to them during his or her lifetime, making this vaccination a must. A combination vaccination for all four diseases is recommended every three years after the initial puppy series.
• Rabies—This is a fatal viral disease that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including dogs and humans. We vaccinate every three years after the initial vaccine. This vaccine is required by the state and the city of Jacksonville, and you are required to renew your rabies tag every year.
• Leptospirosis—This is a bacterial infection that can damage your dog’s kidneys. Other dogs and even humans can become ill after contact with infected urine. This disease can also be spread by wild animals like raccoons. We vaccinate every year based on the risk of exposure.
• Bordetella bronchiseptica—This is a highly contagious virus and bacterium causing a dry hacking cough that can persist for six or more weeks. It is commonly known as kennel cough. We vaccinate every year depending on exposure to boarding kennels, dog parks, obedience schools, and veterinary hospitals or grooming facilities.
• Heartworm test—Mosquitoes transmit heartworms. The larvae transform into adult worms and eventually block blood flow through the heart. This causes congestive heart failure and death if left untreated. Dogs should be placed on heartworm preventive at eight weeks of age and continue on this medication for their entire life. A simple blood test is performed annually to ensure that your pet is free from heartworms. This test also includes a screening for two tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis.

Cats

• FVRCP—This vaccination helps protect against three feline viral diseases: rhinotracheitis, calici virus, and panleukepenia, which is also known as distemper. All are highly contagious viruses that are easily transmitted between cats and can be fatal. We vaccinate every three years following the initial vaccine series.
• Rabies—This is a fatal viral disease that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including cats and humans. We vaccinate every three years after the initial vaccine. This vaccine is required by the state and the city of Jacksonville, and you are required to renew your rabies tag every year.
• Feline leukemia—This virus severely suppresses a cat’s immune system so the cat’s body cannot fight off diseases. It can cause serious illness and death in cats. There is no successful treatment, but there is a vaccine to prevent it. Testing for feline leukemia should be done prior to vaccination. It can be transmitted from mother to newborn or can lay dormant in the cat for years before symptoms are present. We recommend vaccinating all kittens up to one year of age. Vaccinations after that are based on risk of exposure.