# Dog with no medical records



## cocoabeagle (Aug 4, 2009)

Hi all, this is my first post here. 

I adopted a 2 yr-old beagle/dachshund mix female from a local dog rescue last Saturday. At the time of the adoption, which was held in a Petsmart, the rescue representative told me they would mail what vet records they had on the dog because the dog files had already left for the day (this was at the end of a very hectic three-hour adoption session and they were trying to speed me through the process to finalize the adoption before they left).

I did not receive the files in the mail. I followed up but got no reply. I called the woman who had been fostering the dog (for three months) and she told me that she thinks they do not have any records for the dog, as she was owner-surrendered three months ago with no records, and never went to the rescue's facility, but rather directly to her (the foster).

I was somewhat upset, because I was expecting to find out more about this little dog, and they hadn't told me on Saturday that they had no records. I have made a vet appointment for next Tuesday. The only thing she had was a rabies-vaccine tag dated 2006. And she appears to be spayed.

Now my question, to tide me over til next Tuesday's vet visit, is--what happens when a dog has no traceable medical history? She's not a puppy anymore, but would she get the vaccines a puppy would get? Is that safe considering she may have had them before? I also need to get her started on heartworm preventative, and she appears to be in good health otherwise (has energy, eats her food, sleeps well, poop looks fine, coat eyes etc look good).

Sigh...I feel a little foolish for having rushed into adoption with this rescue after spending a lot of time getting qualified for the more rigorous adoption process my local Animal Welfare League has. But she is a great little pooch and we're getting along fine, so I just hope she doesn't have any medical problems we don't yet know about.

Another question: should I avoid taking her outside for long walks, to the dog park, or avoid contact with other dogs until I get her to the vet? Both for her and other dogs' safety??

thanks in advance! I've already learned a lot reading these forums.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Not to worry. I have never gotten vet records for any dog I've gotten. In fact, I took a stray Irish setter to a vet to be spayed, only to be told that she was about 9 years old and had already been spayed.

The vet will advise you about what vaccinations to get and will assume nothing. I would not avoid walks, but I'd probably minimize interactions with other dogs until after the visit, but only because I'm a cautious sort.

Congratulations. You have a cross between the first two dogs I ever had. Your life will never be the same. (Mostly, it will be better, but there will be times when you'll think, "What HAVE I done?")

Oh, and the rabies tag might lead you to a vet who may have some records. If not, don't agonize.


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## cocoabeagle (Aug 4, 2009)

Hi, RonE:

Just wanted to say thank you for your reply. I did call the vet listed on the rabies tag, and they found my dog's records! And then I took her in to the same vet because it's one that's convenient and was well-reviewed online.

So my girl is good and healthy! And now I know her birthdate, at least according to these records. She's heartworm negative, she's three years old instead of 2 as I was told (still great!), and we updated her on vaccines as well as doing basic bloodwork and fecal test.

It turns out that her previous owner had paid for his vet bills with bad checks repeatedly... at least he was taking her in though. I wasn't responsible for those bills of course, but I'm so glad my little bit of detective work paid off.

She's a great dog and I'm very lucky.


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