Tyler pet owners soon will get a break on how often they are required to vaccinate their dogs.

On Thursday, the Tyler Animal Care Advisory Board approved reducing required vaccinations from annually to every three years. Smith County approved a similar measure in February.

A veterinarian on the city’s board, however, suggests cats continue to receive annual vaccinations for health reasons.

The board’s decision is not final, and the ordinance change will be written by the city’s legal department before going before the City Council.

Board members said the county’s decision played a role in the ordinance change.

“It’s real sticky, because of where the dog comes from,” Dr. Mike Maris, board member and veterinarian at Shelley Drive Animal Clinic, said. “If it’s in the county, it’s legal, but if it’s in the city, it’s not – that’s a problem.”

The new ordinance is proposed to give flexibility in writing tickets for cat owners if it has been less than three years since vaccination. Pet owners will still be allowed the flexibility to get their pet vaccinated annually.

“Owners can vaccinate every three years, but it’s not mandated to every three years,” Shelter Manager Shawn Markmann said. “That discussion is between the pet owner and their vet.”

Officials said the bulk of cases are dogs, and the vaccines for dogs are safer because of how the animals’ immune systems work.

Three-year vaccines can give cats tumors, Maris said. One-year vaccines are safer, he said, because they require a lesser immune reaction for them to work.

“It’s a reactant in the vaccine – something that makes the body react to the particles in the vaccine that cause the immunity,” Maris said, adding the animal has to have a severe reaction to cause a three-year immunity.

The tumors can form at the injection site because of that inflammatory reaction.

“We quit using (those) vaccines in cats, and we have seen zero (tumors),” he said. “We used to see two or three a year. That’s not many unless it’s your cat. These animals are like family, and we can’t in good conscience give them a three-year vaccine.”

Three-year vaccines are routinely, and legally, used, but for those health reasons, the board chose to give the new ordinance flexibility. 

Dog owners don’t need to worry – the immune reaction isn’t the same, Maris said.

“I haven’t seen a problem with dogs,” he said. “We don’t vaccinate dogs that have autoimmune disease because vaccines do stimulate the immune system.”

In dogs, the vaccines last for three years, but pet owners should take their pet to a vet if it’s bitten by a rabid animal. The pet is generally fine if it has its rabies vaccination.

“If they get bitten by a known rabid animal, there’s a series of shots they can take,” Maris said. “If they are bit by a rabid animal and haven’t been vaccinated, they euthanize them. (Rabies is) 100 percent fatal if you show signs – and that goes for people, too. That’s the main reason we get them vaccinated is to limit transmission to people.”

Markmann said the city would reach out to local veterinarians to notify them of the change.

Twitter: @TMTFaith