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Does PetSmart Give Pet Vaccines? Store Facts & Care Tips

Gregory Iacono

By Gregory Iacono

PetSmart

PetSmart is the largest pet specialty retailer in the United States. It provides practically everything that your pet could need, especially dogs and cats, but there are supplies for other cuddly critters too. It has many in-store services under one roof, including boarding, grooming, and pet training. PetSmart works with local veterinarians, who are on-call in case of a medical emergency involving a pet.

One question that many people have about this company is: Does PetSmart give pet vaccines? Pet vaccines are indeed available at PetSmart, but PetSmart nor their employees provide the vaccinations. Instead, an independently run organization, Banfield Pet Hospital, provides all the veterinary care that a pet might need, including vaccines.

This means you can go to your local PetSmart retail location to vaccinate your pet if it has a Banfield Pet Hospital there. If it doesn’t, you will have to take your pet to a local vet for their vaccinations. Do you want to learn more about PetSmart and Banfield Pet Hospital and their valuable pet services? If yes, read on!

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Which Pets Can Be Vaccinated at PetSmart?

Banfield only offers vaccinations to the most common pets, including dogs, cats, and ferrets. For most other animals, you would need to visit a vet who specializes in exotic animals to get your pet vaccinated. To find out if your PetSmart has one at its location, you can use Banfield’s helpful online location finder.

What Pets Need to Be Vaccinated Most?

Humans keep a lot of animals as pets, it’s true. From dogs and cats to ferrets, mice, hamsters, snakes, birds, pigs, horses, chimpanzees, and even tigers and bears, many of these animals can and should be vaccinated, especially for rabies. Rabies is a disease that affects all mammals and can be spread from one species to another, even humans.

Most people have dogs and cats as pets, and we know both need their vaccinations. For other pets, however, it’s a matter of circumstances. For example, parrots and other birds can be vaccinated for polyomavirus, but it’s not necessary in many situations. Many people own ferrets, and in some places, they must have their ferrets vaccinated under state law.

What’s more telling, however, is that zoos worldwide have started to vaccinate many of their animals for COVID-19, including tigers, bears, hyenas, and even great apes. If zoo animals are being vaccinated, it’s a good bet your pet could benefit from the shots too. If you’re wondering about vaccinating your pet (and they’re not a dog, cat, or ferret), your best bet would be to ask your veterinarian for their expert opinion.

veterinarian giving injection to a cat
Photo Credit: Africa Studio, Shutterstock

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Do Indoor Pets Need to Be Vaccinated?

Many pet parents are under the false impression that since their pet stays inside the house at all times, they don’t need to have their pet immunized. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as indoor pets can be exposed to dangerous diseases.

For example, cats, dogs, and ferrets are well-known for sneaking out of the house at any opportunity. A quick run-in with another mammal (or their poop) and your pet could come home with rabies or several other, often deadly, diseases. Bats, rats, and mice can enter your home and come in contact with your pet inside.

All it takes is a quick bit of mucous, spit, poop, or a scratch, and your precious pet could be infected. For these reasons, vaccinating your pet, even if they’re an “indoor” animal is critical.

Are Vaccinations Safe for My Pet?

Statistically speaking, vaccinations are safe for pets. Yes, there are risks, as with any medical procedure. However, adverse reactions to vaccines are rare and usually mild. The truth is that billions of animals have been vaccinated since the first one in 1879, and vaccines today are better and safer.

In other words, the risk of a negative vaccine reaction is tiny, but the benefits to your pet can be huge, especially if the vaccine saves them from a deadly disease like rabies or feline leukemia.

dog vet injection
Photo Credit: Photographee, Shutterstock

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How Do Pet Vaccinations Work?

Vaccines stimulate your pet’s body to have an immune reaction without causing the actual disease. Your pet’s immune system will then create antibodies to fight the disease the vaccine is intended to prevent.

If the actual disease in the form of a germ, virus, or bacteria shows up in your pet’s body, the antibodies will be ready to mobilize against the invaders and destroy them before they can cause an infection. It’s like having a perpetual army ready to do battle inside your pet’s body. As long as your pet is making antibodies, the amazing micro-warriors will be able to fight off the invading disease army.

Fewer Vaccine Boosters Today

In a New York Times report about pet vaccinations, Dr. David Emery, an assistant professor at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, mentioned that many veterinarians had over-vaccinated pets in the last few decades due to a lack of information and current data. The good news is that vaccines are much more effective today, meaning fewer booster shots are needed. For example, many dog and cat vaccines that used to be boosted annually can now be boosted every 3 years.

veterinarian with a syringe euthanizes a pet
Photo Credit: fukume, Shutterstock

Is PetSmart a Good Company?

From all of the research we’ve done, it appears that PetSmart is a forward-thinking, eco-minded company that truly loves pets and offers several services to help them and their owners. With nearly 1,700 locations in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities brings adoptable dogs and cats to PetSmart stores from 4,000+ animal welfare organizations. The project has helped over 10 million pets get adopted, more than any other pet-focused retail organization. With in-store veterinary care, thousands of excellent products, and caring employees, PetSmart is a great pet ally and has your pet’s best interests in mind.

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Final Thoughts

Does PetSmart give pet vaccines? As we’ve seen today, technically, they do not. However, many PetSmart locations have a Banfield Pet Hospital inside the stores, providing vaccinations and other professional veterinary services by trained vets and their assistants. For this reason, visiting your local PetSmart to have your pet vaccinated is possible as long as there’s also a Banfield Pet Hospital at the location.

PetSmart does many wonderful things for pets and helps millions get adopted every year. We hope today’s information about PetSmart and pet vaccinations has given you the information that you were looking for and the insight you needed. For pets of all shapes and sizes, PetSmart is a viable ally that will keep them happy and healthy.

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Featured Image Credit: PetSmart (Anthony92931, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0)

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