[PennysMum]

Having worked at veterinary hospitals for several years, I've spoken with representatives from rescues several times when they called to check on owners. They typically ask if the owner's pets are up to date on their shots-- vaguely like that-- and if the owners take good care of their pets. I know that a few times animals were not up to date, but if I provided the information WHY we didn't vaccinate a certain animal-- age, previous reactions or whatnot-- the reps from the rescues seemed to respect that. My advice would be to be forthright with your vet as to why you don't want to vaccinate against certain things, and have them make a note in your file so that if someone calls for a background check, the nurse or staff member that speaks to them will have enough information to advocate on your behalf. Most people who work at vet hospitals are big animal lovers and like to see their clients help out pets in need, and certainly don't want to stand in the way of an adoption to a good family!

The hospital that I work at hardly ever vaccinates anybody against Lepto. There's just too many risks associated with it, and in our region the risk of exposure is very very low, so we really only vaccinate dogs whose owners request it because they travel to higher risk areas. We also don't vaccinate against Corona because there's research out there that suggests that natural exposure to it builds up immunity better than the vaccine. I don't vaccinate my dog for either of those, but she does get DHPP, Rabies, and Bordatella-- and when we lived in Michigan she was vaccinated against Lymes because of how prevalent it was in the area.