AS I WRITE this article, I am feeling a little bit grotty having had my Covid-19 vaccine yesterday – not that I am complaining, I am just delighted to have had my first vaccine; it feels like another step towards normality.

On the subject of vaccination, annual boosters for pets have been something that many of us vets have delayed during lockdown; when we were trying to keep footfall into the practice to a minimum it seemed sensible to postpone boosters where possible.

The reality is that you have three months grace with annual vaccinations so what we did was only do those vaccines that were about to go over the three months limit. What this does mean is that now lockdown is easing we will be in catch up mode for a while, do not worry, your vets will find a way to make sure that all animals remain covered with vaccinations.

It is easy to forget why we vaccinate pets, the diseases that we vaccinate against were hideous when uncontrolled: for example, Parvo virus killed dogs with haemorrhagic diarrhoea, Distemper killed dogs with fever, vomiting and nasal discharge, Feline leukaemia killed cats with horrible cancers and cat flu could be either life threatening or give lifelong chest, eye and upper respiratory issues.

The success of vaccination in the pet population means that we do not see these diseases nearly as commonly now as we would have done thirty or forty years ago but this does not mean we should be complacent. Maintaining vaccinations in pets helps to keep these diseases from re-emerging in the pet population.

* Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083