Dr. Margo Roman and her dogs
The antibody titer is used to determine your pet’s need for a booster immunization and whether a recent vaccine caused a strong enough response from your pet’s immune system to protect them against the specific disease.
Since 1996 we have been doing antibody titers instead of the traditional vaccine protocol of yearly boosters for Distemper and Parvo, and Panleukopenia for the cats. Read more »
Smokey’s Life and Death Struggle With Vaccination
Smokey
After “annual vaccination” for parvovirus, Leptospira, Bordetella and a rabies vaccination given long before it was due, Smokey fell terribly ill. “Smokey was diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (ITP) — extremely low platelets — as well as Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) — a serious blood disease. The combination together is called Evans’ Disease. Smokey’s immune system is attacking both his platelets and his red blood cells, bringing his platelet level down to about 4.6% of normal and his red blood cell count far below normal, though we won’t know how far below until this afternoon. As the vet explained it, our 95 pound German Shepherd has the platelet and blood cell count of a sick Chihuahua.”
Your veterinarian, kennel owner, trainer, day care provider or groomer says your dog should/must be vaccinated against kennel cough, but you’re trying not to over-vaccinate.
What should you do?
More and more, people are finding another vet, kennel owner, day care provider or groomer — or keeping their pet at home! Vaccination is a serious medical procedure with significant risks.
If that weren’t bad enough, the “kennel cough” vaccine is unlikely to prevent kennel cough! It can even produce kennel-cough like symptoms. The WSAVA Guidelines say, “Transient (3–10 days) coughing, sneezing, or nasal discharge may occur in a small percentage of vaccinates.” It can also cause a serious anaphylactoid reaction. Look up anaphylactoid. You won’t like it.
Regarding facilities requiring this vaccine: In general, if they have good ventilation and practice good hygiene, kennel cough shouldn’t even be an issue. Bordetella is not for dogs playing together in well-ventilated areas — like dog parks or backyards or living rooms. It’s for dogs in close quarters, like kennels. That’s why it’s called kennel cough! Read more »
Zsazsa before the tumor erupted
Zsazsa, Angela Moran’s much-loved Chihuahua, developed an injection-site tumor after rabies vaccination.
Angela writing Monday, October 12, 2009
I had to have my Zsazsa put down this past week. The vet who helped me care for her said the only way to determine 100% her cancer was from the rabies vaccine was to do a biopsy. We agreed to have it done just for our piece of mind and to have her count if this vaccine caused her death. Dr. Amy went to the company who created the vaccine … and she feels the vaccine caused it and explained we have her brother who we are concerned about as well. [The manufacturer] has agreed to pay for the biospy and claim they have no reports of this vaccine causing this cancer in dogs. They are interested in the results. I applaud the Dr for contacting the company and getting them to agree to pay. She warned we couldn’t sue the company but it’s not about that, it’s about the dangers of the rabies vaccine and the numbers not being accurate.
by W. Jean Dodds, DVM Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association May 1, 2001
GUEST Editorial
There is increasing evidence in veterinary medicine that vaccines can trigger immune mediated and other chronic disorders (i. e., vaccinosis), especially in certain apparently predisposed breeds. 16 Accordingly, clinicians need to be aware of this potential and offer alternative approaches for preventing infectious diseases in these animals. Such alternatives to current vaccine practices include: measuring serum antibody titers; avoidance of unnecessary vaccines or over vaccinating; and using caution in vaccinating ill, geriatric, debilitated, or febrile individuals, and animals from breeds or families known to be at increased risk for immunological reactions. Read more »
“… AVMA recognizes some animals might require a waiver from rabies vaccination because the vaccination poses an unacceptably high risk to the health of the individual animal, or a waiver might be necessary for research purposes. If adequate steps can be taken to minimize the chance of exposure to rabies virus, the AVMA recommends that such animals be granted a waiver from mandatory rabies vaccination, upon recommendation of a licensed veterinarian and with the concurrence of the appropriate public health authorities.”
35 state laws/regulations currently do not allow medical exemptions.
Read the Waiver language here: http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/annual-rabies-vaccination-waiver.asp
The AVMA has also provided an Annual Rabies Vaccination Waiver Form.
16 STATES currently have MEDICAL EXEMPTIONS: AL, CA, CO, CT, FL, IL, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OR, VT, VA and WI. It is possible your state may have an undiscovered exemption that is not part of the main law. Such was the case in Illinois. And CA regulations changed county to county. If your area has anexemption unlisted here, please contact the Rabies Challenge Fund. They are working to provide more medical exemptions for unhealthy animals.
Additional articles of interest:
Rabies Vaccination Medical Exemptions for Unhealthy Dogs
Vaccinating Unhealthy Pets: Beware Reactions & Vaccine Failure
Rabies Vaccination: 13 Ways to Vaccinate More Safely
What to Do When Your Dog Has a Vaccine Reaction
1. The only vaccine required by U.S. law is rabies. 16 states, and some localities, currently offer medical exemptions for animals with serious health problems and more exemptions are likely coming since the AVMA now approves. Not all states require cats and ferrets to be vaccinated, but all states require vaccination of dogs. Click here to see your state rabies laws. Note: laws change with little fanfare and not all veterinarians know current regulations. In addition, although all 3-year vaccine drug makers guarantee 3-year immunity, and despite the increased health risk from unnecessary vaccination, some localities continue to require more frequent “boosters.” Check with your local Animal Control for details. Find a list of states working on exemptions.
2. There is little or no research showing that annual revaccination for core vaccines boosts immunity. Studies show that the important “core” vaccines Read more »
How long does immunity from a vaccine last? Here are the results of canine duration of immunity (DOI) studies by Ronald Schultz, PhD.*
The study warns: “The minimum duration of immunity data does not imply that all vaccinated dogs will be immune for the period of time listed, nor does it suggest that immunity may not last longer (e.g. the life of the dog). The percentage of vaccinated animals protected from clinical disease after challenge with canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus and canine adenovirus in the present study was greater than 95%.”
For our pets, the rabies vaccine is a legal requirement. There are similar requirements for a variety of vaccines for children entering school. Officials even considered making the swine flu mandatory for U.S. residents, though this threat has not yet manifested.” Here are suggestions on how to prevent the potentially deadly adverse effects of vaccination. Plan ahead, and be prepared! (For a 1-page summary that you can copy and paste to make for easy printing, click here.)
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