How many times have you received a post card inviting your pet to their annual veterinary visit for an examination and vaccinations? How many times has your pet been jabbed with vaccines? How often has your pet been vaccinated while they were at the veterinary office for a sick visit?
Yesterday I had two phone consultations for sick dogs. The first had a disease called Pemphigus, which is a severe autoimmune disease; the second was being treated with chemotherapy and radiation for a cancerous bone tumor on the face. Neither of these dogs was healthy. HOWEVER, they BOTH received rabies vaccinations, even though they were extremely ill.
Here are the instructions for just one of the many vaccinations on the market:
IMRAB 3 is recommended for the vaccination of healthy cats, dogs, ferrets, horses, cattle and sheep against disease caused by rabies virus. Three-year duration of immunity in dogs, cats and sheep.
Not only were these two dogs NOT HEALTHY, they were suffering from life-threatening diseases! Even a University Veterinary College made the recommendation for the dog with cancer to be vaccinated "to keep her legal". Unfortunately, the state of Georgia does not allow medical exemptions for Rabies vaccines. (Great, legislators are now acting as doctors.) The other problem with this dog's vaccination status was that the regular veterinarian insists on vaccinating the pets EVERY YEAR, even though rabies vaccinations are good for three years after the first vaccination booster.
Vaccinations are not innocuous. They require an immune response from the body. Vaccines stress the immune system! These two dogs had enough stress without further compromise with unnecessary vaccines. Please, do NOT allow your pet to be vaccinated with any vaccines when they are sick, not just rabies. Personally, I think vaccinating sick pets is a form of malpractice, as the labels clearly state "recommended for the vaccination of healthy cats, dogs..."
Be your pet's advocate. Stand up for what is right.
