POTENTIALLY fatal diseases affecting family pets could be on the increase unless dogs and cats are regularly immunised, a West Devon vet has warned.
Only half the dogs and cats in the UK are fully vaccinated and unless pet owners make the effort to keep up with regular immunisations, infectious diseases could spiral out of control as they have on the continent, warns Horrabridge vet Christian Bamber.
Mr Bamber said: 'If your unvaccinated pet contracts one of these diseases, it is effectively helping maintain that disease in the country.
'If one infected dog spreads the disease to four dogs it meets out for a walk — and each of those four spreads it to four others, in the space of an afternoon, that's 20 new cases of disease!'
Mr Bamber said it was a 'dangerous myth' that immunity lasts a lifetime, or that old dogs have built up immunity to most diseases.
He said it was 'absolutely necessary' to vaccinate pets annually.
Mr Bamber's practice is holding a 'vaccine amnesty' for a limited period this Christmas, when vaccinations will be offered at reduced prices to dogs and cats who are 'out of date' with their boosters. For information, call Town Farm Veterinary Group on 01822 854255.