Vets often don’t put in the date of implantation - after all it may not have been the same vet who did it. However Pet Control at Calais insist on the implantation date. There is no problem if you have the old passport with you, though. I think Calais are getting it wrong, but they are the ones who can stop your dog going to the UK! Worth mentioning this to the vet, and ask him to humour Calais in future, whatever his guidelines say. We now carry two full passports as well as the new one, every time we cross the channel, purely because of this confusion. Tip: it’s also worth having your latest vet receipts with the pet passport in case of arguments, as proof of purchase of the checkup and worm tablets also rabies cover.
If this is your dog’s first passport and the implantation date is not entered before the plastic sheet goes on, I fear Calais won’t accept it. You will have to go back to the Vet and ask him to replace the passport as it isn’t valid, referring to the points I made in my original post. He must enter the chip code, date of implantation and chip location, all before covering the page with the plastic sheet. My French vet made this mistake and I checked it with Calais before the old one expired. Calais condemned it but passed the unexpired one so Floss came to the UK without problems. UK Vet was then asked to provide a new passport before we went home to France.
On page 8, it is unclear whether a stamp is needed, but if your vet’s stamp includes his name, address, phone no. it will be fine so long as his signs it. However most stamps are bigger than the box… It will only be valid if he sticks one of the clear plastic labels over both boxes: vaccine details and vet details.
Page 14 (page 12 in the UK passport) is about the rabies blood test and is blank in Flossie’s passport since the rules for dogs vaccinated in EU countries changed. It would be needed if the dog were vaccinated outside the EU.
Always pay attention to the worm treatment entries, ensuring the date and time are not only correct but legible and that the vet has stamped and signed their box. Same applies to other vaccines which must also be up to date. Remember you have five days after worm treatment to enter the UK. If you are held up you will have to repeat the treatment and have the passport updated by another vet at least 24 hours before you are due to enter the UK. Calais won’t let you on the boat or train until the 24 hours have passed, we’ve gone off for a burger at Calais and had to go back to Pets to collect the passport before we could leave. When we had a week at Colmar before going to the UK last summer we made an appointment with a vet there well in advance and the dog was wormed three days before we went to England.
Currently awaiting the arrival of son, daughter in law and niece with their two dogs (Flossie’s parents) and then younger son, very pregnant girlfriend and their dog, so we have a busy week ahead followed by a day of crossed fingers that none of them has problems with pet passports going home.
Sorry if I’ve worried anyone, but it is very confusing, particularly for vets who don’t often get asked to stamp pet passports. Better to be well informed before things go wrong, though. Bon voyage, let us all know how things go, Jayne.
