Will Falconer, DVM Moderator
I so hear your heartbreak, Lorna. It's indeed a tragedy to lose a middle-aged dog like Bella, all from believing what you were advised to do by your vet. Your anger is entirely justified and hopefully, it'll be the fire that sets you onto a new natural path so that Bella's loss won't be for nothing.
As I look at her history, the key point others can learn from this is that Bella suffered from her very first rabies vaccine with the commonest chronic disease in dogs: itchy allergic skin disease. It's been the #1 reason dogs visit vets for well over a decade as I write this. To then battle that and hear that the vet recommended another vaccine while that sickness persisted is simply malpractice. ALL vaccines, rabies included, have a label in force saying the vaccine must be given "only to healthy" animals. She should have had a note added to her record: "Waived on all vaccines while ill." Instead, her system went wild after the 3 year vaccination and the rest is history, all too often repeated in conventional medicine.
All my best to you and your family.