A while back I wrote a Q & A about that puppy rabies case in Colorado. The Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act Program (PACFA) , which handles licensing, inspections, and enforcement of animal care facilities in the state, as an offshoot of the state’s Department of Agriculture, established new Colorado vaccination rules for the facilities here and for rescue groups and shelters bringing in animals from other states. There’s going to be some fallout.
New Colorado Vaccination Rules
The vaccination rule changes in Colorado that kicked in mid-July 2025 mostly affect animal shelters and rescue groups that bring in pets as transfers from other states. But, it affects other pet businesses too.
The new Colorado vaccination rules require all dogs, cats, and ferrets brought here from out of state to receive a rabies vaccine before coming to the state. Obviously, some exemptions apply for pets not yet old enough to get the rabies vaccine (typically 16 weeks for puppies). In addition, puppies older than 6 weeks also need vaccinations for parvovirus and distemper 2 weeks before coming to Colorado.
So, That Means? What’s the Fallout?
Well, what’s interesting is that I don’t think anyone ever said HOW OLD the puppies in the rabies scandal were. If they were younger than 16 weeks, then these new Colorado vaccination rules would NOT have made a difference. However, for puppies transferred into Colorado shelters and rescue groups who are older than 16 weeks, I guess it helps protect them and people.
In addition, the new rule about parvo and distemper vaccinations needing to be given 2 weeks before puppies get transferred to Colorado for adoption, means that the original — often overburdened — shelters and rescue groups in other states will have to KEEP the puppies longer. That’s not ideal, in many cases.
New Colorado Vaccination Rules Also Affect Other Businesses
These new rules about vaccination of pets in Colorado also affect other local businesses such as dog daycares, boarding facilities, and groomers. The new rules require them to keep records of CURRENT vaccines for:
- Rabies (pets over 16 weeks)
- Distemper (dogs over 8 weeks)
- Parvo (dogs over 8 weeks)
- FVRCP (cats over 8 weeks)
We’ve talked before about how different people define CURRENT differently, often based on titer testing. It’s one of many reasons I do not board my dogs (which means we don’t really travel either) and don’t use other pet services. Simply put, after what happened to our original canine heroine, Lilly, when a routine rabies vaccine became fatal, I will NOT over-vaccinate my dogs based on others rules.
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