For years, I’ve hated it when someone refers to bordetella bronchisptica as “kennel cough.” I’ve hated it even more when veterinarians, groomers, or dog walkers called it that! Call it what it is — “canine cough” or “bordetella” — since a dog can catch it anywhere there are other dogs (such as a veterinarian’s lobby, so maybe we should call it “vet virus,” or at a grooming salon so call it “salon sickness,” or out with a dog walker so call it “walker wheezing”).
There’s absolutely no reason to associate bordetella with any overnight or dog daycare facility, whether it’s in San Francisco or elsewhere. In fact, according to this month’s Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s “Your Dog” newsletter, “[r]esponsbile kennels that insist on proof of vaccination against the illness before taking care of a dog are among the least likely places your pet will end up with the infection.” (Your Dog, February 2014, page 11, emphasis added)
At Pet Camp, we require proof of vaccination for rabies, DHLPP and bordetella. In fact, we state that it is our preference that your dog gets the bordetella vaccine every six months, though we will honor it for a year if that is the practice of your individual veterinarian. You can’t bring your dog past our lobby — for a tour, a swim, or a bath, let alone for dog daycare or boarding purposes — without proof of these vaccines. Frankly, we wish our counterparts throughout the dog care community were as stringent. We really hate it when we hear about a dog coming down with vet virus, salon sickness, or walker wheezing. A responsible dog boarding or doggie day care facility, in San Francisco or anywhere else, will take simple precautions to guard against these conditions.
Thanks for reading!