Comments on Rabies Vaccine Waiver? Meh.

We rescued an 8 year old Cocker Spaniel with autoimmune issues, hypothyroidism, ear infections, gum disease, yeasty paws and no hair from her chin to belly, and unhealthy fur! She’d been given a series of vaccines by the shelter Vets. Now three years later, working with our “holistic “ Vet she is healthier and we’ve refused any more shots or boosters! She eats a raw food diet from VIVA RAW. Her shampoo is from Four Legger! Her coat is thick and healthy with exception of the patch on her chest. Her ears range from good to poor so I clean them daily. She takes a 25mg. Levothyroxin pill 2 times a day! She’s never out of our site by her choice and a single pet, although other pet and people friendly! I am a Natural Bioenergetics Practitioner and have studied Homeopathy! I’m searching for a Homeopathic Vet to compliment our care for Talia and support our no vaccine future for her! Our Vet tells us what’s compliant, but softly agrees with our decisions. We don’t challenge the system, just fly under the radar and out of places requiring proof of cure rabies shots!

I'm in Ontario, Canada. Since taking your rabies, homeopath, etc. courses, and learning why dogs get so sick and how to help them, I stopped the rabies jab. I only gave it because of that vet push. I innately knew not to give the other vaccines.

Where I presently live, the 'dog catcher' saw me walking my dog on many occasions last year so I had to register him, but no request for the rabies jab. I sign a waiver with the kennel for those useless jabs, and use the other method previously suggested for rabies. So far, so good.

I adopted him four years ago. He'd been in the rescue for three years so had every jab there was for three years straight. I recently took him to the vet just to take him in there to meet them just in case. First words out of the receptionist's mouth of course: 'Let's get him on heartworm.' 'No thanks', I said. I had had them trained on my other dog never to ask me to give her anything. I hope that will be my last trip in there, and it will be homeopathy all the way barring any accidents.

He's now eight, and so far no health issues. He's on organic raw of all proteins along with a little fruit/veggie and some natural supplements. He has an amazing coat.

I now work with my human homeopath to get him over his vehicle/dog/human fear aggression. The previous two homeopath vets did not work out.

Thank you for all you do, Dr. Falconer!

I wish this was more helpful. "Fly under the radar" means never leave the house. Because I've been on a walk on a trail and been attacked by other peoples off leashed dogs on three occasions. Now LE wants to see everyone's paperwork, luckily they are legit. So can't NOT get a vaccination or a waiver. Where I live the waiver requirement is punitive. If you have a waiver then your dog must always be leashed and muzzled when outside. So my 16 year old blind dog with DM is exempt from further vaccination in her twilight years but must be muzzled in my fenced yard?

What you suggesting is really playing Russian Roulette with home ownership. Some neighbors dog breaks into my yard to eat my chickens and animal control wants everyone's papers. It would seem that you really need to let us know the towns and municipalities where waiver work. Vets that will provide them, and the States that are sympathetic. What treatments can be given to counteract the vaccination altogether.

Otherwise we are always looking over our shoulder. Always wondering when animal control will take notice. Become second class citizens. I can't live like that. Oh, and I am a licensed attorney. If I get caught breaking these rules I can lose my law license.

I have 3 dogs - one with meningitis (SRMA) who is on prednisone; one with heart disease, liver disease, and kidney disease; and one who is healthy. I have a waiver for the one with meningitis (and expect it will be renewed) and the rabies vaccination requirement is coming up in December for the healthy one. The one with heart, liver and kidney disease could probably get a waiver, but we are flying under the radar so far. She had a titer done two years ago and showed a high level of immunity. County animal control goes door to door looking for unlicensed and unvaccinated dogs - that's how I was caught last year. I'm planning on moving out of the area before December so hope to avoid having to revaccinate the healthy one, and flying under the radar with him after that for as long as possible

Hi, Dr. Will,

I am late replying to this thread (11/2019)! I have had 3 totally unvaccinated dogs since 2002 by flying under the radar. I have never registered them in my township, have a homeopathic vet who continues to treat my unvaccinated dogs, am very careful to walk them where there are no other unleashed dogs and , above all, would never call animal control for any reason. Before 2002, I had one dog vaccinated with the 3 year vax when she was 7 years old and she died of hemangiosarcoma a few months later. That was a HORRIBLE experience.I think the rabies vaccination triggered an underlying condition causing her to get HSA which is prevalent in the breed. BTW, I have been raw feeding for years and use no toxic applications internally or externally. Thank you for all of the holistic information you have imparted over the years. You are a gem!

I just re-connected with an old high school friend, who has a cat. I sent her information about rabies vaccinations, and then she told me that she lives in a HUD housing situation, and they require her to have her cat vaccinated every 3 years.

I don't know anything about this. Moving is not an option for her, so I wonder if there's anything else she can do.

We had our vet draw blood for a rabies titer. The blood was sent to Kansas State University. The titer came back almost 3 weeks later showing Spence has immunity to rabies. So now the vet will fill out a NJ Waiver...we will submit a copy with our town, keep copies with us, in the car, at the house, etc., etc. Done. We will have to do this yearly. It was very easy, tho not cheap as our vet seemed to triple the fees by Kansas State University. Check out Dr. Jean Dodds website for more information, and KSU. You can find various state waivers on the internet...just google it...

When I took my boy to be castrated the vet noticed that he had not been vaccinated so she took it upon herself to "bring him up to date" WHILE HE WAS UNDER ANESTHESIA! I did not authorize any vaccines or other treatments while he was there. It was only upon arrival to pick him up that I noticed on my bill there was a charge for vaccinating him. I was livid. When I confronted the vet she said to me, "we vaccinate dogs all the time while they are under anesthesia!" Long story short, I filed a report with our State Veterinary board and fired that veterinary practice. I do not vaccinate my dogs for anything. I asked my conventional vet to stop sending reminders to me and they did. We only use the conventional vet for things my holistic vet cannot handle, which isn't much! I just say no to vaccines.

Fly under the radar yes. Never license. Pre screen vets. Lie about being vaccinated. Buy rabies tags without getting the shot

I have not vaccinated any of my dogs over the age of 10 for years. When their rabies vaccine expires (our state requires every 3 years) I just stop licensing them as we live in the country and no one can see how many dogs we have. I have found since I stopped vaccinating so frequently my dogs are living to be 14 or 15. I currently have a 14.5 year old Lab, 2 13.5 year old pugs (no vaccines at all since about age 4 as both had anaphylactic reactions to the rabies vaccine in the vet office and they did write a letter for me to not have to vaccinate them), a 12 year old Pug, a 12 year old Am Staff -- all not vaccinated for years. One vet tried to put pressure on me to give rabies to the 12 year old Pug when we were in for something else but I refused and we just see one of the other vets there who never brings it up. My 3 year old French Bulldog did not have his first and only rabies vaccine until age 14 months and will never get another as his uncle (who belonged to me) had an autoimmune reaction to it that slowly killed him over a two year period. We tried everything including acupuncture, Chinese medicine, etc. but lost him at age 4. I found a homeopathic vet who wrote a letter that he should not have any vaccines and submitted it with my license applications and they accepted it. I wanted the license as I compete in agility and travel over state lines. I carry the letter with me in case it ever comes up. I will titer him next year. I also am no longer giving heartworm medication and have never used the topical flea/tick preparations on my dogs as I can't see how they would not be harmful as they are a poison. I am an RN and do have to give some vaccines in my practice but IF a patient asks I do support them giving less vaccines or breaking them up. I myself refuse to get the flu vaccine and have a letter from my MD excusing me from getting it (required at my job or you are fired) and my job did accept i.

I haven't had a dog licensed in over 15 years. Fly under the radar. Adopted a non vaccinated puppy and use nosodes instead of vaccines. I took the puppy classes and agility classes, being creative of course. I wanted my puppy to be social with other puppies and increase immunity by going to puppy classes and adult dog training classes. We meet occasional similar dogs to play with. We do all kinds of dog walk events, we walk in parades, go hiking on the trails, etc. My puppy is so much healthier than previous puppies and dogs that were over vaccinated. We do a mostly raw diet of organic whole raw eggs with frozen or fresh veggies and grind up 2 small garlic cloves and egg shells (for calcium) blend in a blender. Then we add some raw or cooked meat, and cod liver oil. Cranberry gel tablets to prevent urinary tract infections. Sea Kelp iodine tablets to protect the thyroid. Raw soup marrow bones for chewing. We use the onlynaturalpet chemical free flea tick tag. I am now looking to hire a holistic veterinarian within a few hours drive for a European spay or just remove only the ovaries or only the uterus. I am not going to use the chemical pain meds but instead using the Arnica Montana as a 15 year holistic vet specializing in spay neuters, said to use in IVC integrative veterinarian magazine. Give the Arnica pellets in the mouth right before surgery and right after surgery. I am buying that as the article says so we will be prepared not to use chemical pain meds. We now always search for alternatives for everything and with research I have learned lots of tips and tricks to be creative as needed from many comments of others or just searching and finding a way to get what I need to be creative to maintain a healthy holistic homeopathic pets. It is a learning process. I have learned so much and am still learning. VitalAnimal.com has been the most amazing help and a confidence builder to do what is right for my pets.

Curious if anyone's gone to the vet and they force you for proof if the dog has been revaccinated for rabies elsewhere? Or can you just decline?

Awesome article, Dr. Falconer! Discovering your blog has been so eye opening and made a world of difference for my dog's health. I am hesitant to share this article on my FB page as I Don't want someone who doesnt "get it" to report me, so I will just leave a comment here with what I have been doing. My dog's last rabies shot was in 2013. It was a 3-year. I don't remember how many rabies shots she's had before that one. But she is 8 years old and I know she has had at least 2 in her life. Probably more. I didn't know better back then. I thought I was being a good pet owner when I got that card in the mail and took my dog to the vet right away to get her shots and her monthly preventatives, and ran to the pet store to buy the most expensive, best looking bag of kibble I could find. My dog has had so many issues and I won't get into that here, but I will tell you this.
I fired my old conventional vet and found a new vet that said it was ok for my dog to come to the clinic without being "up to date" but we still did not see eye to eye on a few things. So I stayed with her while I found another vet who is AMAZING! This vet is going to be writing my dog a rabies waiver but I won't be taking it to the town. I'll just be holding onto it in my tool box in case I ever need it. I'm afraid if I go to the town with the waiver, they'll still reject me and force me to get the vaccine and I won't take that risk. My dog is extremely well trained and I take her off leash in the woods all the time and if I ever see another dog or person, I call her back, leash her up and we keep walking or I have to neutralize the oncoming dog the best I can because even though my dog is sweet, I don't know anything about the oncoming dog, and if there is a dog fight, I have a dog who is considered not "up to date" and then I'm in a bad situation. I know my rights and I'm very well educated in the matter thanks to you, and I would fight for my rights, and I know my vet would back me because we've talked about it, and also Dr. John Robb who I've spoken to said he would drive to Massachusetts and appear in court with me to fight it. I won't stop taking my dog off leash in the woods though because thats what she and most dogs love to do and I won't take that freedom away from her. I just have to be very careful and I'm pretty strict when it comes to that so I don't think Ill have a problem. But I'm prepared if there ever is one.
I also saw a commenter on one of your blogs in the past that said she could help people get around this and I've taken steps to do this. It's friggen crazy but I would do anything to protect my dog. She has already had stage 1 mast cell cancer which was "cut off" by the conventional vet 2 years ago. They or Tufts University School of Vet Medicine could not help my dog AT ALL. I was and still am FURIOUS with them.
So basically I suggest really searching for the perfect vet, preferably holistic or a integrative proactive wellness veterinarian that agrees with not over-vaccinating and is ok with and actually PREFERS you to get a titer for rabies instead of re-vaccinating. My dog's rabies titer was "extremely high" that I did with Kansas State University. Too high. Wayyy too high. Definitely not a good thing. Right now we are compiling the list of reasons my dog should not receive another rabies shot to put on the waiver. Such as, being given way too many antibiotics and steroids in her lifetime, the never-ending GI issues she has had, the amount of toxic HW and flea and tick medicine that she has had, all the vaccines she's had, the kibble, her anxiety, the cancer, the list goes on.. She will NEVER receive another vaccine for anything for the rest of her life.
My dog is now thriving more than she ever has in her entire life. She's on a complete raw diet with lots of variety, and everything I do to prevent things is natural, safe and non-toxic and is a proactive approach in health care and well being. She's on cannabis oil as a prevention for cancer and for general well being, and I make my own flea and tick powder using food grade DE, neem and yarrow, an essential oil spray, some rose geranium applied behind ears, neck, armpits and legs, I feed her garlic every night... for deworming, I use raw ground pumpkin seeds sometimes.
Her life has really turned around because of the choices I've made for her in health, training and just lifestyle overall. Her water is double filtered and I use non-toxic cleaners for washing bowls, doing laundry, I bought an eco-friendly rug that doesn't emit toxins.. I'm friggin crazy I know but there are so many things we can control, why not do them if we can. I know she wont live forever but I'm hoping I can keep her around for as long as possible. she's only 8 and I'm hoping I have at least another 10 years with her.

Who gets to decide this B.S. Dr. Falconer? Is it Abbott & his gang?
If we continue to let big pharmaceutical companies win, soon we will have to get rabies shots every 3 years!

We are having a difficult time finding a vet to come to our home (we are both disabled without transportation ) and it is a real struggle! It is disgusting that my 10 yr old schnauzer( who has already been vaccinated 5 times!!) cannot find care because vets want to make extra money. He has allergies, a heart murmur, gastrointestinal issues....This is pure evil! It makes me so sad. I haven't used heartworm, flea medications or let the vet vaccinate him for anything else since 2014. Thats when I opened my eyes & realized the damage I was causing to my Boogie. Dr. Whitecoat claimed that he would loose his license if he did not vaccinate my dog.
It is a sad time to be alive these days. So much horse manure????????????

Nora, I love the affirmation, "you are already healed." Thank you for sharing that. I have been telling my cat that he is a great self-healer, but I like your statement better and will start communicating it to him.

I concur that 4Life Transfer Factor (TF Plus) helps the immune system. Give 2-3 times the maintenance dose for cancer and other serious health issues. Dr. Will sells the 4Life animal products (they are excellent!), so please check his website. Also 4Life Canine Complete or Feline Complete (same formula, just different doses for dogs and cats) provide complete vitamins, minerals, probiotics--everything your animal needs. My 7-year-old cat has autoimmune disease from yearly vaccinations. He is allergic to fleas and develops plaques at the site of flea bites. It takes about 8 months and a lot of diligence from "mom and dad" for the plaques to heal. We are giving him the above products, plus Rick Simpson Oil (RSO), homeopathic remedies, and energy work. If cannabis is legal in your state, grow your own indica-dominant plants and make your own RSO or get some from a trusted source. Do not buy it from a source you do not know about, because it may not be good oil. Read about it & get instructions for making RSO on Rick Simpson's website, phoenixtears.ca or find him on Facebook (Rick Simpson official). CBD oil is mainly for pain, not for healing cancers or other health conditions, as it is the THC in the RSO that heals. CBC oil does not have THC. During our cat's last annual checkup we declined vaccinations, stating his health was compromised. The vet did not object. Of course, it is more of a challenge if you have dogs due to licensing. Kudos to those who have found ways to "fly under the radar." Thanks to Dr. Will for his informative newsletter!

Sometimes a waiver will get you an exemption from the state. I have a friend whose dog almost died with the rabies vaccine. A local dermatologist wrote her a waiver which she sent to the county, bureaucracy took a year to sent her license back but she got it they exempted her forever.
The Doctor has said she would died if she ever had another shot.

After losing my last golden at 7 1/2 to liver cancer, I researched so much and decided no vet or state was ever going to tell me that I had to inject my dogs with yearly shots again.
My new golden pup got his rabies shot at 3 months old and when I took him back a yr later, I told the vet - he is NOT getting his rabies. She is the one who told me the 1 yr rabies is actually a 3 yr shot, but they want you to get it again after a year, then every 3 yrs in PA. She is fantastic vet and totally agreed with me. She is very much against over-vaccinating.
When checking out, the vet tech told me he was over due for his rabies, it was the law, etc. etc. I argued with her in front of everyone. She said I could get a $300. fine. I told her in no uncertain terms - it's my dog and it's my choice and no one is telling me other wise. It got pretty heated until the vet came over and said - Oh, no - he can not get his rabies shot. He has lymes and I will give you a wavier. She did that because she knows how I feel about shots and she stood up for my decision and did not try to change my mind.
He had 2 puppy shots - 1 at the breeders, then we waited until he was 4 months old to get his 2nd and final one and he had 1 rabies shot.
He is almost 3 and he is done with shots as far as I am concerned.
I did have titers done last fall and everything is good. But I know states do not recognize titers for rabies - which makes no sense to me.

We are about to get 1st titers for our 2 dogs. 9 yr old pit/viszla mix with seizure history was due 3 yr rabies last November (we didn't). 4 yr old chi mix had her puppy shots and then one 3 yr rabies vaccine which is due again in September this year. I was surprised but pleased that my vet (who supports titers) actually suggested we not bother with the exemption and just to 'fly' under the radar with both of them.