Comments on Losing Two Lives to One Rabies Vaccination

When I adopted my dog, a great dane, she needed a dental and unfortunately got a rabies vax last December. Arizona state requires a license EVERY year, even if the vaccine is 3 year. My almost 2 year old Papillon got a rabies vax when she was 5 months old.
Animal control has sent me 3 letters -- 2 letters for the Papillon and 1 for my great dane. They are saying records indicate that my dogs are NOT licensed and they are both current. I have a fine for both dogs (the license plus $2-$4 a month per late fee). I dont want to pay because then i will be on record more so.
I dont wanna vax for rabies anymore, but since I am already on the radar how do I opt out???? My state wont accept titers OR medical exemptions. I spoke with Animal control and they said they send letters (reminders), but in some cases they will send a citation to court, as it is a Class 2 MisDemeanor. I could face 4 months in jail or a maximum of $750 fine - or both- depending on how the court sees fit. Are you serious??!
I may be moving next year (same county, different house) and thought about not telling my vets my address -- I cant get in trouble in Animal control doesnt know my address right?? Who is to say I didnt move out of state.. I am just worried that my vet (who isnt too supportive) will tell Animal control when I have been to the clinic :( I only go in ONCE a year for Heartworm Test and then titer every 3 years. I am so nervous,
I found a more understanding vet (no holistic unfortunately), but I am worrried -- new vet, and a new notice sent to Animal control that I am NOT current.
What to do...
I miss my small town in Illinois that had NO animal control.
PS. I can send the letter back saying--
1. The dog is dead.
2. i no longer own the dog
3. I dont live in the county for 30 consectutive days or more
My grandma, who has decided not to vax anymore, sent her 4th letter back yesterday saying the dog is dead.
Could that work?? What about when you go in for yearly exams? Wont animal control see you STILL have a dog???

I am so glad you are putting up this info! About a year ago I started educating myself on vaccines for pets after my mother warned me about vaccines for children. Unfortunately, the laws in our county insist on a rabies vaccine and I can find no way around it. Two months later we are dealing with inflamation in the paws and an itchy belly. I cannot wait for the day when we don't have mandatory vaccine laws.
(BTW don't worry,I found a hollistic vet who helped us with the skin issues so Miss Flossie isn't stuck being miserable.)

The cock- eyed, contradictory laws that have not basis in science need to be changed. Titers and waivers seem like a good way to go. Right now there are only 18 states with provisions for exemptions. In my state they say: No vaccine is 100% effective. Therefore, a domestic animal involved in a bite or non-bite exposure with another domestic animal (or human) is quarantined for ten days WHETHER OR NOT the animal(s) is/are up to date on their rabies vaccination. So, can the officials tell us why are we vaccinating and continue to vaccinate if a dog is going to be quarantine anyway!!.
The situation gets worse when it comes to an animal that was exposed to a confirmed rabid wild animal or unknown wild animal. In this case a dog CURRENT ON VACCINATION is supposed to be quarantine for 45 days, and booster at the end of that time. A domestic animal NO CURRENT on its rabies vaccination and exposed to a confirmed rabid animal, or unknown animal, must undergo a SIX MONTH QUARANTINE. They are not to be boostered until five months into the quarantine!!
How do you think we can change the LAWS in this scenario Dr. Falconer?

It's very difficult to get that rabies waiver signed by a vet, around here the only one I know of was for a 20 year old sick cat.
I asked 3 vets to sign the waiver for my 10 pound dog that receives immunotherapy for allergies....none would sign it.
A friend of mine is looking for an apartment, the policy says 1 dog is allowed (additional monthly fee)
A letter from a veterinarian and proof of current vaccinations required, and the dog must be licensed. And this is out in Maine!
Thanks, Dr Falconer I find the information you provide here very helpful and look forward to the weekly blogs and comments.

We haven't vaccinated a critter (or person) in over 20 years. I have a cat with severe heart disease. Vets are amazed at how well he is doing...they just can't believe it! He was a rescue who was left outside for 3 years by a person who "took care" of him...in Colorado during a couple of really horrible winters. He's been on a raw diet for 8 years and mostly homeopathic care. His heart disease is treated with gemmotherapy from another homeopathic vet. But when I mention any of this to the vets as an answer to "why he seems so healthy with such a severe heart condition", the scoff and ignore. But we get to live with a fabulous cat everyday who climbs trees and plays with one of our other cats, and lays by me while I am working! The ignorance and lack of curiosity are sad, especially from people who are educated and are clearly "smart".
Jane
I have The War of Art on cd's and listen to them at least twice a year. That way I can work while also getting Steven Pressfield's "kick in the pants"!!!! GREAT book for anyone who creates anything!!!

Dr. Falconer,
I follow all your newsletter. They all resonate with me and that feels good, it confirms that I am in the right path.
I have for some time now, emerged myself in the world of homeopathy with great results, from my own animals to my human ones too ;-) .
In my library I have your homeopathy course which I consult when in doubt, it's been amazing.
Bach flowers are still unexplored territory for me, even though I have a battle of rescue remedy, but I love reading about them in your newsletter.
I just wanted to wish you luck on your September gig, and like they say in very simple and direct words...go kick ass!!!! because we all need it.
Have a wonderful day and thanks, always!
Maria S

I agree with Jeri, titers are a must across the board along with waivers being accepted across the board, is what I would hope for in the future, as a good place to start.
I am very excited to see the findings from the RCF, as it's been a long time coming.
In the ideal scenerio, I hope that once we have documented proof from
RCF, we can move towards a one rabies vaccine, say at 6 months, and titer 2 weeks afterwards, and be done for life.
One tought that occurred to me, another possible ideal scenario.
Vets might start doing in house titers, as a way of recouping lost income from less vaccinations.
Preferably, within the period, two weeks after vaccination, as proof they took. Done deal.
Why not let Dr. Schultz set up the master protocol for timing of vaccines, and their titers, to be followed by all vets?
Why not allow the master researcher of immunology, to set these guidelines. AVMA needs to get with the program!
Or, they can stay in the dark ages....and see how that works for them, as
more and more of the masses is self educated.
Until then, " In the age of information, ignorance is a choice."
Donny Miller said it best!

I am fostering a little 3 yr. old chihuahua. She came to Canada from a puppy mill in the US. The rescue (mean well) and the law enforce mandatory vaccination. So, she was spayed, vaccinated for many things, given a heart worm dose and de-wormed. Her teeth had "moderate" plaque. One tooth cracked and fell out shortly after arriving in my house. With Homeo remedies at hand I watched for any infection(none came to her) She apparently had hollow nails (??) that were badly overgrown. Those were trimmed in two sessions apparently. I, upon receiving her, immediately put her on a raw diet. Within a week her plaque softened and I was able to begin scraping it off. Now, 3 weeks later it is 85-90% gone. She began itching and chewing at herself within a week of arriving. Not surprised. I dread giving her up for adoption. Afraid this sweet little girl will get more vaccinations, kibble, and perhaps a steroid to stop the itching. I may have to keep her.
How can we change the views of rescue groups in regard to vaccinations , kibble and other toxins?
Is there a safe rabies vaccine? A nosode perhaps?

I rescued a little poodle mix last year. I'm sure she was loaded up on vaccines at the shelter. When I got her home, she had runny eyes, a cough and itchy skin. I put her on a raw diet and supplements. Her runny eyes cleared up, itch minimized and cough disappeared. I was lucky with this one. She will get no more vaccines for the rest of her life.

I just went through this last week with my Vet...I was notified that my dog needed her 3-year rabies vaccine and a DHLPP booster. By law I have to get the rabies vaccine but I flatly refused the DHLPP booster and requested titers on Parvo, Distemper & Hep. I was informed that the level of antibodies for Parvo and Hep were very good however, the level of antibodies for Distemper was low. My argument was that any positive reading at all meant that my dog had antibodies against distemper and was covered. Is that correct? my only option to vaccinate against Distemper is to have her get a DHPP vaccine because I was told they don't have a vaccine just for Distemper alone.

I'm so glad that I found your web site! They say knowledge is power and now I have the power to say no more vaccinations! My guys are not living on kibble anymore and I can't believe the change in them. Shiney coats, a ton more energy and I can just see a huge change in them. I'm kinda scared with the rabies law requirements and I was wondering if you still see these horrible reactions in dogs given radies shots that aren't overwhelmed with other vaccinations and on a raw diet?

We've just spent our own year in Hell with our rescue dog, Tucker. I'm happy to say he is in recovery, finally, but what a roller coaster ride it has been. We believe that he may have had 2, possibly 3 rabies vaccinations within a 12-18 month period. His original puppy shots, once again when he was picked up as a stray and landed in a shelter, then again, for sure when he was transferred to a no-kill shelter from where we adopted him. He was, of course eating some nasty, cheap kibble too. He adjusted to his new life in our home pretty well and sure liked the raw diet we fed him, but he had a rabies vaccinosis lurking in his system and it emerged first as a small sore on his left, rear foot and before we knew it he was REALLY itchy - all down his left side. I won't bore you with the 18 month saga that we've been through, but it took homeopathy, diet changes, nutritional supplements, socks & t-shirts to protect him from his own scratching, many holistic veterinary consultations (no one local - we did it all over the phone) and a great deal of faith in the path we were on. At one point his system was so compromised that he got mange and on top of all his other problems, we had to administer mange treatments. At one point he had about 50% of his hair left and his weight was down by almost 15 pounds. He looked like the walking dead so skinny and hairless, red sores all over his head and body. But the good news is that he's back! We are still dealing with a few environmental health issues, but we have our shiny black dog back. To anyone out there dealing with this now I say - have faith. It is a long road, but stick to your convictions, follow your holistic vet's lead and don't listen to the nay-sayers!
Thank you to Dr. Falconer for your efforts to educate people about a better way to care for our pets. Because I had been reading your blogs when Tucker got sick, I looked into finding a holistic vet that would consult with us over the phone. I believe Tucker would not have survived this under traditional care.

I have heard the argument from vets that if the time lengthens between vaccination requirements, they will see their clients less because so many are not diligent about check-ups. To that, I have replied that that would be the case regardless of what the length of time between visits happened to be: one year, three, or more. Some will come in and will want shots only, some will want some shots, and some none. Why should animals suffer dangerous side-effects because vets aren't educating clients?
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it makes me angry that I had to be the one to educate myself re: titers. While our mainstream vet runs the titers I want, not once did he ever attempt to tell me about them! WHY? Clearly we are not of the group which wants "bare minimum" or "just the shots" - and I don't believe for one moment that we are alone either!
All of that brings me to the fact that the laws governing rabies MUST change. We cannot allow vets to continue to hide behind the "Well, we won't see animals in time to help them if we lengthen time between visits" excuse. That group - the ones vets lament - wouldn't come in on time no matter WHEN they were asked to do so. They cannot be the reason to keep the laws status quo. That's like saying because some fathers won't pay for child support, we shouldn't have laws that are too strict re: payments! You set the laws to protect the innocent, not the guilty. In this case, the innocent are the animals.
When the laws change - and change they must (even if the push to do so comes not from the vet profession, as it should, but from angry, frustrated pet owners) - titers must be acceptable across the board. They exist for people, and they exist for animal export. There is no reason they should not be included in the new laws. Waivers need to be acceptable for illnesses (and perhaps even a notation that that can include ANY chronic OR more serious illness) - and no state vet or bureaucrat should have the authority to override that waiver if granted by the local vet. Ideally, the vaccination protocol would be pushed back to the limits of the studies: 5 or 7 years, but with the resistance to change from the vet community, I'd settle for universal titer acceptance and waivers under the conditions stated.

Something in the comments--a mention of immunity through exposure to the urine of another animal with antibodies, makes me think there is a safer route to providing immunity that Dr Whitecoat could embrace, even though it's all natural.
Since the vaccine manufacturers are going to lobby against any threat to or suspension of their profit generating vaccine schedule, proposing an alternative means for them to get their profits may make the ultimate showdown easier for us to win. In any scenario, we're going to get the laws changed for the better. By simply refusing to comply with the current vaccine laws on the grounds covered in these articles, and citing the lack of scientific evidence supporting vaccine efficacy, we will win this eventually, but perhaps we can get a win-win-win scenario: Health-producing natural immunity methods, better protected pets, and jobs for the manufacturers who are smart enough to embrace alternatives.

Having just adopted a lovely little dog from a local rescue, here is what I'm looking at - in the course of 3 weeks the poor dog was vaccinated, spayed, and then GIVEN A BOOSTER as well as rabies before she came to me. While the intentions are good with rescue groups, what they are doing to the potential health of these pets border on criminal. If I was feeding her Costco kibble I can't imagine where she'd be in life. (Speaking of which, a friend who feeds Costco kibble and has more than enough dough to feed raw was just telling me her 7 year old dog has 3 lumps that need to be biopsied. Bet you can guess what my response was. I truly just don't get people who are smart but so unmotivated to do well by their pets, who I know they love).
With the help of Dr. F I started her on 4Life Transfer Factor and will hope and pray that, raw food, supplements and a lot of good luck from her immune system will find her getting through it ok. If symptoms arise you can bet I'll be doing homeopathy FIRST.
Laws have to change, rescue groups have to figure this stuff out.

the only way to win the war on vaccines is not to play. there is a third party at fault here. the person who owns the dog and does not do the due diligence that should be required as education, since the information is all over the internet and is easily accessed.
no vaccines. none. period. and let's see how our dogs are in six or seven generations of kibble and vaccination free environments.