Important: What to tell the vet...
I need to make an important decision really soon, and I desperately need input. Our vet called today, and wanted to talk about Polo (our ~5 mo old CzW who was shipped to the US). We told her the breed of the dog, she did some research and found that in the US (or at least in Washington State) Polo would still technically be considered a wolf hybrid, and that she would continue to see him but we would need to sign paperwork saying that he was a wolf hybrid.
She also told us that there was one big danger in this. She said that the rabbies vaccination hasn't been 100% proven to work on wolves or wolf descendants (even though it is likely to work), so according to legislation if Polo ever bit someone he would have to be put down so they could examine his brain for presence of rabbies.
Obviously I freaked out when I heard this. The way I see it I have 2 choices. The first is to sign the waiver and continue to see my current vet (who is very good) and assume that this will never be an issue. I am already working very closely with Polo and he's a great dog, so I don't necessarily anticipate that there will ever be any problems. The second option is to go to another vet and claim that Polo is a "shepered mix", and not reveal his heritage.
I really don't know what the best course of action is. I don't want to be caught in a situation years down the line where Polo bites someone or another dog appropriately in self defense and suddenly has to be put down because of this law, that would obviously break my heart.
What should I do? Does anyone have suggestions &/or past experience with a similar situation? Thanks.
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