When Sylvalyn Hammond started practicing veterinary medicine in 2018, she rarely encountered pet owners who wanted to skip their dogs’ vaccines. The first time it happened, “I almost thought they were joking,” she recalls. “I was so shocked that I think I might have laughed.”

Now, just a few years later, Hammond deals with anti-vaccine sentiment at least a few times a week at her office in Charleston, S.C. “We're seeing vaccine hesitancy in pet parents rising exponentially,” she says. “I'm much more prepared for these conversations now, because I understand that I usually have one chance to win these pet parents back and place credible data and information in front of them.”

Experts say that growing misinformation and concerns about vaccines for pets—happening in tandem with plummeting

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