People who have adopted a galgo from Spain need to check the dog's passport, if they are considering taking it back to the UK, either for a visit or permanently.
Errors have been found on some passports, notably that the microchip has been done after the rabies vaccination. Also, blood tests have not been carried out to check the level of antibodies.
Information on requirements can be found on the DEFRA website, where this .pdf document is available.
This is what one adoptant says:
The blood test costs (we paid over €70 for the test and a further €20 something for the vet appointment) so it might be better to only do it for dogs that need a U.K passport, and charge the prospective owners extra. Also the blood test is not always successful, and sometimes needs to be done again.This is because the U.K requires 'proof' that the dog has rabies antibodies, because sometimes the vaccination doesn't 'take'.
The dog then has to wait 6 months after the date of the successful blood test, before it can be taken into the U.K.
This is because actually having rabies raises the antibodies level too, so if the dog has rabies antibody on the blood test, and then lives for 6 months after that without showing rabies symptoms, then the U.K can be sure that this dog is not bringing rabies into the country!
Unfortunately we've just heard that - although our dog has obviously been vaccinated against rabies, his antibody level is not high enough to pass the blood test. He is supposed to have more that 0.5 and he has 0.03. This means that we need to get him vaccinated again, wait a month, and get him blood tested again, and then wait a further 6 months from the date of that blood test.
It all seems rather strange, considering it has been proven that bats carry rabies.
Related article:
Problems for Galgos going to the UK
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