Guide
Can I refuse to groom this dog?
Yes — and the more useful question is what to do in the ninety seconds after you decide, whichever way you decide.
The two arguments you will actually have
Most paperwork problems are boring. Two are not, because in both the customer genuinely believes they have given you what you asked for — and they are half right.
“Here’s his rabies tag”
The metal tag on the collar carries a number and a year. It does not carry the date the shot was given, the term, or the animal’s name. A tag is a receipt, not a record. What you need is the certificate the vet issued.
“We did a titer instead”
A titer is a blood test showing antibody levels. Good numbers are not proof a vaccine was given, and for a legally required vaccine they are not a substitute for one. Keep the titer on file if you like; ask for the certificate as well.
PetVaxRecords files both as documents in their own right — a tag photo is worth keeping — while saying on screen, at the moment it is filed, that neither is proof of a vaccination.
The five reasons paperwork goes back
Sending something back is not an accusation, and it goes down far better when the reason is specific. These are the five PetVaxRecords offers, each with the sentence the customer actually receives:
Could not read it
Pick this when the photo is blurred, cut off, glared or too dark, and you cannot be sure what the dates say. The customer is asked for a clearer picture.
Thank you for sending that over. Unfortunately we could not read the dates on it clearly enough to file it - the picture came through blurry or cut off. Could you send another photo with the whole page flat in the frame and good light on it? We only need the page showing the vaccination dates.
Tag, not the certificate
Pick this when they have photographed the metal tag from the collar instead of the certificate. The tag carries a number, not the dates. The customer is asked for the certificate from the vet.
Thank you for the photo of the tag. We are required to keep the vaccination certificate from your veterinarian on file - the one showing the date the vaccine was given and when the next one is due. The tag number alone is not enough for our records. Your vet can usually email or print a copy the same day if you ring them.
Titer results
Pick this when they have sent a blood test showing antibody levels. Good numbers are not proof a vaccine was given, and we cannot accept one in its place. The customer is asked for the certificate instead.
Thank you for sending the titer results. We know they show good antibody levels, but the rules we work under ask specifically for proof of vaccination, and a titer is not accepted in its place. We will need the vaccination certificate from your veterinarian instead.
Different animal
Pick this when the certificate is made out to a different animal — common in a household with several pets. The customer is asked for the one made out to this animal.
Thank you for sending that. The certificate is made out to a different animal, so we are not able to file it under Bailey. Could you send the certificate made out to Bailey? If they were seen at the same visit, your vet can print a separate one for each pet.
Already past due
Pick this when the certificate is genuine but the vaccination on it has already run out. Nothing is wrong with the paperwork — the animal needs the booster. The customer is asked for an updated certificate afterwards.
Thank you for sending this over. The vaccination on this certificate has already passed its due date, so we are not able to use it for the appointment. Once the booster has been given, your vet can print an updated certificate and we will get everything set on our end.
Written out in full because the wording is the hard part. These are the product’s actual messages, not examples — a salon using something else is welcome to take them.
Grooming the dog anyway
Sometimes you take the animal. The customer has been coming for six years, the certificate is genuinely in the car, the vet confirmed it on the phone. That is a real decision and pretending otherwise is why people stop using the software rather than stop making the decision.
What turns it into a problem is nothing being written down. Eleven months later somebody asks why a dog with an expired rabies certificate was groomed on a Tuesday morning, and the honest answer — “I remember that one, it was fine” — is not an answer.
So record it at the time: who decided, when, and why. PetVaxRecords refuses to check a blocked animal in until somebody gives a reason, names the staff member from their own sign-in rather than trusting anything typed, and writes the lot to a log that has no edit screen and no update endpoint. These are the five reasons it offers:
- Certificate seen at the desk — copy to follow
- Vet confirmed the vaccination by phone
- Booster given today, certificate not issued yet
- Owner is bringing the certificate before pick-up
- No proof available — taken on the owner’s assurance
The last one is deliberately unflattering. Sometimes nobody had proof and the animal was taken anyway, and a list that cannot say so is a list people work around — which is how you end up with a log full of “ok’d” and “fine”.
What good looks like
- Decide before the animal arrives, not at the door. Chasing a certificate on Thursday is a conversation; refusing on Saturday morning is a scene.
- Say the specific reason. “We need the certificate rather than the tag” is answerable. “Your paperwork is not acceptable” is not.
- If you groom anyway, write down why, that day, in words a stranger would understand.
- Keep the refusals too. A salon that can show it turned animals away is a salon whose records mean something.
Related
What vaccinations should my salon require? — deciding the rule you are enforcing in the first place.
The 1-year vs 3-year rabies trap — before you turn a dog away over a date, check which date it is.