Bonnie Karwat
After reading many of your articles and others, I am more than convinced that I lost my beautiful four year old mixed breed dog because of a Rabies Vac. She was in perfect health, running agility with me and had no medical issues at all.
I brought her to my vet's office one Saturday morning for a nail clipping and he informed me that she was due for her Rabies three year vac. I was very hesitant, but he convinced me that she would be fine, has had it before with no issues and it was the law. Within 48 hours of receiving the injection, she was not breathing right.
To make a very long, heart-breaking story short, over the period of the next eight days, her breathing became so rapid and labored, and her lungs were filled with fluid. I had her in a specialized emergency hospital, where she spent the next six days in their intensive Care Unit, receiving oxygen, medications and intravenous fluids. They performed countless tests, but no one could tell me what was wrong with my baby. We rushed her up to University of Penn, and again, no one could tell me why she was so gravely ill. We finally decided to let her pass to the Rainbow Bridge. This was the most painful decision I have had to make, and though it has been almost 4 years, I still get tears when I talk about her.
I now have two more beautiful rescue dogs who do agility with me, and I am terrified to ever give them a Rabies Vaccine again. I am so torn, as it is the law in PA. BUT I cannot live through this pain again with another precious friend.
I wish someone could have told me what happened to my girl. No one will admit that the vaccine could have caused this illness, but no one will also tell me that it did NOT!!