Posted by
isonoawabi
13 yrs ago
My 10-year-old was bitten in a finger by a pooch. It was one kept by either the owner or an employee of a hair salon. He was there with helper for a haircut. While waiting for the helper to finish her part, he went to play with the pooch and was bitten. It did not result in a deep puncture wound but there was a little bleeding. The salon people alleged that the dog had been vaccinated against rabies (so my helper said. I wasn’t there.) I had taken my child to a hospital right away for a rabies jab. Four more jabs to go within the next 4 weeks. I plan to go to the salon later today and ask to see the vaccination certificate of the dog. I just want the comfort of knowing that the dog is not at risk of being infected. Does anyone know if a vaccination certificate is registered with the Agricultural and Fisheries (is this correct?) Department? What I am worried is that I don’t know how to verify the authenticity of any document that may be shown to me by the salon people, if they are going to show me any.
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Ed
13 yrs ago
I've had a couple of dog bites in the past two years... both times I knew the dogs were vaccinated but I still got the shots for peace of mind... shots are in the shoulder using a small needle so just a mild annoyance...
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All dogs MUST BY LAW be registered with Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department. All dogs aged 5 months or older must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies and licensed. Vaccination and re-licensing must be repeated every 3 years. The rabies jabs are not pleasant especially for a child so if the dog is licenced there will be no need for a rabies jab. I would insisit that the salon owner/dog owner show you proof that the dog's vaccination is up to date and you will be able to see this by looking at a valid Dog Licence. In order to see if the Licence is authentic it has the AFCD Chop on it with the date it was chopped, on the right hand side you can see the Micro chip no. and dog licence no. and date valid until.
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Ed sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience and thank you for the reply.
JJ Chan many many thanks for the information. Just a couple more questions:
Is the micro-chip no. the same as the dog licence no.?
Is either number tattooed onto one of the earflaps of the dog?
Very sorry to bother you. Guess I'm a bit nervous about the kid being bitten. Thanks again.
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You'd need to take the dog to a vet where they can scan the microchip and verify that the number shown on the microchip reader is the same as that shown on the licence.
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wonton nom, thank you! It's comforting to know that Hong Kong is relatively low-risk when it comes to human rabies. And yes, my child has taken rabies jab. It's better to err on the side of caution.
I'm going to the salon again later today to check the dog's papers. When I went yesterday, the lady who owned the dog said she did not have the dog's papers with her. I think the decision to go for the jabs in any event has been correct. It's hard to say how long this finding-out-whether-the-dog-is-vaccinated is going to take. However, I would still want the owner to provide information on the update vaccination status of her dog. I hope the owner is responsible enough to have kept all vaccinations update since that salon is patronised by kids and adults alike and I have heard that the dog has bitten a hairdresser in the salon before.
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The micro chip is actually injected into the dog. I agree with WonTonNom. I would ensure that that dog has a valid dog licence and if you are in any doubt then contact the AFCD and ask them. The onus will then be on them to check with the Salon owner. Most dog owners are responsible but there are those that are not and a dog that is allowed to be in a Salon or near people SHOULD BE VACCINATED.
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