Dog Friendly Office Project Point 2: Vaccinations
In the spirit of ‘Enriching the Workplace with Your Dog" at free stitch, we started the ‘Dog Friendly Office Project’ in September 2019.
Since then, we have listened to the feedback from our customers about how their workplaces view bringing pets to work and we have created a set of guidelines for our staff who come to the office with their pets.
Through a series of blog entries, we hope to expand on and explain some of the reasoning behind the guidelines that we created in the consent form.
This time, we will focus on rule 1 of the guidelines:
- Pets must have been recently vaccinated against rabies and viral infections (For dogs: vaccinated with 5 types of mixed vaccine. For cats: vaccinated with 3 types or more of mixed vaccine).
This is a standard and straightforward requirement of travelling with your pet, putting them in a pet hotel or taking them to the vets.
Vaccination against rabies prophylaxis is a common practice and is required by law in Japan at the responsibility of the owner. Commonly misunderstood as a disease that affects only dogs, rabies prophylaxis is in fact a zoonotic disease that can affect all mammals, including humans. Having your dog vaccinated against rabies with the DPT vaccine is not mandatory in Japan but is strongly recommended to prevent the spread of the infection to other people and pets just in case an incident occurs.
Many owners who have pets living an indoor lifestyle may think that because their pet does not go outside much or live in a very hygienic environment, there is less chance of being infected with viruses or disease. As many infections are airborne, owners may inadvertently bring them inside the home and, as a result, may cause the pet to become infected, so it is highly recommended to make sure your pet is safely kept up-to-date with their vaccinations even if they do not spend much time outside.
At free stitch, we make sure all our staff comply with our regulations to have their pets vaccinated for the health and safety of everyone. Staff who wish to bring their pet to work are required to present original copies of their pet’s latest rabies vaccination and general vaccination certificate issued within the last one year by an accredited veterinarian in Japan. The certificate is then scanned and kept on file digitally. Only after the correct evidence has been submitted will the employee be allowed to bring their pets to the office.
The rules on vaccination may seem a little stringent, however it is for the health and safety of everyone concerned that our pet friends are protected so they can continue to be loved by everyone.
For more information on the dog friendly office project, please click here.
Check out the Dog-friendly Office Project on SNS
