Their health: It is good to know that…

Vaccinating your dog and cat.
You need to follow your vet's instructions in order to vaccinate your cat or dog.

Beware of frauds
When buying or adopting a puppy, check its health certificates are complete and faithful. If the puppy has been vaccinated, the date, the vaccine's label, the stamp, and the vet signature must appear on its health card, besides all information about the dog: its age, sex, date of birth, and microchip number.

And if it comes from abroad?
To meet all requirements provided for by the Eu legislation and ensure a correct prophylaxis, an imported pet should be older than 111 days (minimum 3 months old before entering Italy plus 21 days from the date of the vaccination against rabies which is requested for issuing the passport).

Import and export of pets
The Eu has established precise prevention rules against the illegal trade of pets, indicating the directives for legal and controlled import of pets.

Cats, dogs and ferrets under 3 months of age both imported for commercial reasons or travelling with their owner or person in charge cannot enter Italy(circular letter of the Italian Ministry of Health referring to Regulation (EC) No 998/2003, section 5 sub-section 2).

Laws to be observed, otherwise there is an illegal trafficking
A huge number of puppies are imported illegally from Eastern Europe countries to Italy every year.

As the puppies do not receive any vaccinations, they can spread some malignant diseases (such as distemper, parvovirosis, hepatitis, rabies, etc.) into Eu countries, which can endanger both the life of the animal itself and that of other animals already living in the territory.

Very often some unscrupulous traders, who fuel a shameful illicit market, import puppies who are younger than permitted (25-30 days old), without any health coverage, in very poor sanitary conditions and, obviously, without any passport.

At the end of their journey, puppies are placed in some complaisant pet shops' windows. A reliable breeder fond of pets will never cede his/her puppies to such shops.