Comments on: The Rabies Vaccine and Your Dog: Side Effects

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:12:52 +0000

Hi Angelina. It’s very important that you get all your dog’s reactions detailed in his file. Get a copy of the file, and get the reaction page signed. You’ll want to apply for an exemption next time.

Make sure you report the reaction to the vaccine manufacturer. You’ll need brand and lot #. Ask you vet to report it, too, and follow up to make sure it gets done. Check the label. I bet your vet gave a shot containing mercury (thimerosol). If it doesn’t, it will say TF or thimerosol free.

I find your vet’s behavior unacceptable. Your dog should have been seen right away and the vaccine should have been immediately suspected. Since you weren’t warned about side effects, you should report your vet to your state veterinary medical board. This is the only way things will change.

Find a vet with training in homeopathy. There’s a referral list at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/vets This is your dog’s best chance for recovery. Keep advocating, and tell your friends.

If you’re anywhere near So. California, come to our Safer Pet Vaccination Seminar on March 28. It benefits the study of the rabies vaccine.

By: Angelina Heleloa-Bader

Angelina Heleloa-Bader — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:26:27 +0000

My 17 week old Malti-poo was given his rabies shot. As a new puppy mom I followed the advice of our vet to have him vaccinated. I was not advised of any risks or possible side effects.(Stupid me, I am now an avid online researcher) My 6lb. pup began having tremblors. This was on a Friday.I called the vet and asked if it was related to the vaccine. I was told probably not, but give him some baby Benadryl and if it didn’t clear up call the vet on Monday. On Saturday I took him back to the vet’s office and an assistant didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but again advised me to call on Monday. By Tuesday, my little guy looked like he had Parkinson’s, his little head shaking back and forth. We rushed him to the emergency where he was kept for two days, given a battery of tests and x-rays, I.V. and hundreds of dollars later, I brought him home. He is now going through metal detox. Had I known about the dangers of this vaccine, I would have never put my baby through it. It’s imperative to be your pet’s own advocate!!!!

By: Kris

Kris — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:11:53 +0000

Jan,
Thanks for all you are doing to educate the public. As a dog rescuer of many years, I have seen many preventable tragedies caused by vaccines. Last year, a shelter asked me to take a 3 lb Chihuahua who began having seizures within 24 hours of getting his first rabies vaccine. While the public is beginning to grasp that all dogs receive the same dose of vaccine, most don’t realize that the dose of vaccine is 1/2 of what a 1200 horse receives: 1 ml for dogs versus 2 ml for a horse. Naturally, the vet refused to admit that the rabies vaccine caused the seizures, and wanted to put the Chihuahua on phenobarbital immediately. He told the owners that it would cost $200 a month in blood tests to check the phenobarbital levels. They returned the poor Chihuahua to the shelter because they could not afford to keep him. I was asked to take him, and had them put him on Milk Thistle immediately. Many “seizures” are caused by liver inflammation brought on by vaccines, and Milk Thistle has helped many dogs here. The little Chi, Ignacio, is doing wonderfully, and is medication-free. Sadly, I am afraid to adopt him out because he can NEVER have another vaccine, but most vets would vaccinate him anyway. Most adopters, even after signing a contract to not vaccinate, will allow the vet to bully them into vaccinating. I have had vets agree to not vaccinate dogs with seizures before their client adopts the dog, and turn around and try to push vaccines on their first visit with the dog. It is at the point that I tell people, “If you want your dog to live a long, healthy life, avoid veterinarians”. With the exception of surgeries such as dentals and spaying and neutering, it is my opinion that the vast majority of vets cause more harm to dogs and cats than help. The creed of medicine is, “First do no harm”, yet vets are causing horrible illnesses and death in many pets with vaccines. Whether it is greed or stupidity driving them, only they can say. With so much overwhelming evidence regarding the danger of vaccines, I can’t grasp why aren’t connecting the dots, other than they are making a great deal of money vaccinating and treating the damage caused by vaccines.
Thank you again for your life-saving website!

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:30:13 +0000

Cathy, vets generally don’t want to attribute vaccine reactions to the shot they have just given, even if common sense says it has to be attributed to the shot. Here’s some info, from the founder of the RabiesChallengeFund.org:

Immunologically, rabies vaccines are the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and “are the most common group of biological products identified in adverse event reports received by the CVB [Center for Veterinary Biologics].”[2][2] They are associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy “resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness.”[3][3] Auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[4][4] autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel, and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine. [5][5] [6][6] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.

Here are two webpages to check: http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/education/why-challenge-current-rabies-vaccine-policy and http://www.dogs4dogs.com/dog-seizures-and-vaccination

I don’t want to upset you, but why wouldn’t your vet suggest seizure meds? Or consult a holistic vet to see if anything could be done?

I hope you’ll contact the manufacturer of the vaccine and report what happened. Also make sure your vet does the same. He/she should already have done this, but my guess is that he/she didn’t.

I hear heartbreaking stories like yours all the time. I hope you’ll support the http://www.rabieschallengefund.org. If you happen to live in So. Calif., check out our Safer Pet Vaccination Seminar. http://www.petseminar.org

There are many of us with dogs suffering from rabies vaccination. I hope you’ll join us. And please accept our condolences.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:53:59 +0000

We had our 10 year old Rottweiller vaccinated for rabies to get his license renewed as required by Michigan law. Almost exactly 24 hours later he had a major seizure. He had never before had a seizure. Less than an hour later he had another major seizure. When he came out of the seizure he staggered about -running into things and walking in circles. He dragged his feet on one side as he walked and was unreposive to us. We took him back to the vet,who felt that he had a stroke and did not think it was related to the vaccine-but Ihave my doubts. He was quite healthy up to that day. We made the painful decision to have him euthanized as his condition continued to decline rapidly. He had rabies vaccines his whole life without incident, so we don’t know what to think.

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:39:48 +0000

Hi Valerie. I don’t have any stats, but it is my belief that your best option is homeopathy. Dogs having problems with rear-end function can be victims of rabies vaccinosis. Find a vet who understands homeopathy. There are referral lists at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/vets Don’t expect this to just go away.

By: Valerie Cook

Valerie Cook — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:55:35 +0000

I do dog rescue and recently had a batch of dogs spayed/neutered and rabies vaccinated (on Feb.3rd). After I got them home I noticed that one was breaking with kennel cough which is not unusual as all of my rescues come from shelters. However, about 2 days after his vaccine, I noticed that he seemed to be ‘off balance’. It was subtle at first, but has progressively gotten worse. He stumbles around sideways and sometimes even falls over now. He does not act sick, he is hopping around, wagging his tail and is eating. I began to wonder if it wasn’t a reaction to his rabies vaccine. I see here that it can effect the CNS.
I will be contacting my vet but I was wondering if you know if this is usually a permanent or a temporary type reaction.
He is a 2 yr. old Poodle mix.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Valerie
Phoenix, AZ

By: Janice

Janice — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:23:18 +0000

Hello again Jan ! I was question #120 on Dec. 4, 2009. This is a follow up. Our dalmatian had another blood test with Jean Dodds on Jan. 12, 2010 and his Alk. Phos. levels went back down to high 200 range from 1200 previously. He has been on Soloxine for approx. 6 wks now, so it looks like we found a good Thyroid level, according to the bloodwork. HOWEVER, since we started the Soloxine, our dog now has had an ear infection. The infection started after 2 wks. of the initial “high dose” that is traditionally given for 4 wks to find out a “maintenance” dose. After 2 weeks of the high dose of Soloxine, our dog went nuts with drinking excessive water and head shaking (ear infection) so we bumped up the next blood test so we could reduce the Soloxine level sooner. I read that excessive Thyroid hormones can cause ear infections, so I was wondering if anyone else had this happen to them after Soloxine, and what they did about it long term. Otomax has helped a bit, but after 2 long 8 day and another 8 day (can’t continue to give because of steriods) our dog still has a bit of swelling and reddness down inside with Vet’s otoscoping.
SHOULD WE JUST LEAVE HIS BODY TAKE OVER AND HEAL ITSELF NOW ? THE VET KEEPS RECOMMENDING MORE OTOMAX AND T8 FLUSHES,,,CAN WE BE OVER-TREATING HIM ?
He NEVER had ear problems in his 9 years, or allergies before. This can NOT be just a coincidence with the start of the Soloxine. We would appreciate any other comments or shared stories on this. THANK YOU !

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:18:42 +0000

Carolyn, how exciting! A happy story.

I’m so glad Jean and I were able to be of help and am delighted you have donated to the Rabies Challenge Fund. BTW, do you know about my Safer Pet Vaccination seminar in San Diego in March? Drs. Dodds and Schultz are speaking and it benefits the RCF. If you’re anywhere near here, I hope you’ll come. And please tell your friends. http://www.PetSeminar.org

Thanks so much for writing. The sad stories tend to be so depressing and people don’t often follow up on the happy endings.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:13:08 +0000

Horrifying stories, all of them. Mine has a happier ending which I want to share as encouragement. In 2007, my 11 lbs. malti-poo developed a golf-ball sized lump 4″ from the rabies injection site 2 wks. later. She’d also had DLP in the opposite shoulder. She was about 7 yrs. old and had had annual immunizations and then 3 yr. immunizations previously, on “schedule.” The lump was horrible and scary-looking. It was needle-biopsied: “foreign matter inclusion” bodies. Luckily the lump disappeared just prior to scheduling surgery to have it removed 6 MONTHS LATER.

Thanks to receiving “Scared Poopless” as a gift, I had the links to further research vaccination reactions and decided that’s what my dog had probably had. Her vet totally resisted the idea, does not “believe in” titer tests etc. I actually contacted several vets and they either didn’t seem to know about, or wouldn’t admit to, any problems with vaccinating, and said it “couldn’t be proved” that had been my dog’s problem.

Long story short, I got the titer test and found my girl is very well protected against distemper, parvo and rabies. With this info in hand, I’ve finally found an understanding vet. Jan and Dr. Jean Dodds were so helpful and encouraging, I am so very grateful. At age 10, my girl will likely will never need a vaccination again. Yes, I have donated to the Rabies Challenge Fund and will continue to do so as funds permit. This vaccination insanity must stop.