VACCINATION READER FEEDBACK

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/19/2008: Lori from Terryville, CT writes: "You asked for experiences concerning vacinnation side effects in pets. I had a very traumatic first hand experience that led to my dog's death within 10 days from the time a 5 in 1 booster was administered. It caused Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. I felt so guilty for agreeing to the shot - no one ever told me that this could be lethal in a dog. We spent nearly $4,000 trying to keep our poor puppy alive but he just kept on failing. We had to make the painful decision to put him down. Since then I tell everyone I know to do research on what these vaccines can do. My dog was a mixed breed - dobie, rottie & shepherd. I now have a four year old chocolate lab - he's had his initial puppy shots but I am very careful about the boosters - I have a vet that will do titering which is a bit more expensive but I feel it's safer to find out if a booster is really needed "on schedule". It's interesting today parents have to sign waivers for their children when vaccinated but vets aren't required to alert pet owners to the dangers.."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/19/2008: Jennifer from Wantagh, NY writes: "Hi, My 4lb. Chihuahua Sprite reacted to Vacc.. I think the Rabies. He is now 8yrs old.. but when he was younger I noticed hard tissue under his skin where shot was given. At first I didn't relate the shots.. I was worried he had a tumor.. so took him to the vet and they actually told me they needed to remove the "mass" to biopsy it. So he had surgery.. well after surgery the mass was found to not be cancer, but only told it was inconclusive to what it was. Then another time given shots he developed the hard tissue again and has permenant hairloss too (at exact shot location). So after this I knew it was from the shots.. this past year I got the basic shot (against parvo, kennel cough & distemper), but no Lepto & Rabies. Which this time he has not developed any hard tissue or hairloss. So scary with these little ones.. and now my friends 5lb Chihuahau CoCo got her shots a few days ago and seems to be having a reaction.. wheezing and tired. I hope she'll be ok!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/18/2008: L. Demmons from Lacombe, Canada writes: "six months ago our year old Dashchund had booster vaccinations for kennel cough, rabies, and combination vaccination for distemper etc. The next day she developed a huge lump at the vaccination spot that stayed for 3 weeks. The vet gave us anti-inflamitories. On April 2, 08 she had all her boosters for above vaccinations again. A few days later she got a rash all over her stomach that is still visible now and today just over 2 weeks later her neck is swelled and she has a lump on top of her head. Can this just be allergies? or something more serious. I hope we can manage without anymore shots, only kennel cough which is required for placing her in the kennel."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/14/2008: Theresa from Palm Springs , California writes: "I have two Italian Greyhounds, sisters, 1 year 3 months. They had their dhtpp, rabies, and bordetella vaccines on Friday, April 11th. I have noticed a change in their personality as of Saturday.They have been sleeping almost all day long.They get up to move to another position and pass out again. Saturday my blue IG had an accident in her bed, which she never does. Then Sunday night she had diarrhea all over her crate and all over her. The eating habits have not changed. She does seem a bit dehydrated. I haven't seen her drink much. My fawn is just sleeping and does not seem to want to play like usual. Any advice?? Let me also say that my blue had broken her leg 7 weeks ago and had to under go surgery to have two plates in her front right leg. Could she have not been well enough to get her vaccines???? This is all very upsetting. They are like my children and I hate to see them in any kind of distress."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/14/2008: Mary from West Haven, CT writes: "My 7 year old Bichon Frise received the annual bordetella intra-nasal vaccine. The next day he sounded like he had whooping cough. He seemed better the following day, but the next day he had a bloody nose from the nostril which received the injection. He was also experiencing severe pain on the side of his neck. I brought him to the 24 hour clinic and was told he was probably having a reaction to the vaccine. My Vet called me the next morning to say that it was not possible, to bring him in for an exam. He was at the Vet all day and I picked him up with a "so called" clean bill of health. The next morning he was having trouble breathing; rushed him back to the Vet; and he was dead within ten minutes after I got there. After death an x-ray was taken which showed his chest cavity full of fluid. A review of the x-ray from the previous day showed the beginning of fluid, but it wasn't addressed at the time. My dog was a healthy and active dog. I truly believe his death was a result of this vaccine."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/14/2008: Tracy from Burbank, California writes: "Duramune Max 5 and Canine CoronaVirus Vaccine for my 9 week old Aussie male. He had a terrible reation which lead to a steroid shot and pills. He has a swollen face poor little thing. I am worried?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/14/2008: Dee from Redmond, OR writes: "Beardsley is a two year old Miki; mix of Maltese, Papillon and Japanese Chin. My vet mentioned that about six weeks after the injection some of the small dogs loose the hair at the site of injection. Instead, five weeks after the injection Beardsley has developed an autoimmune neurological disorder, White Shaker Syndrome. He has fairly violent full body tremors. Steroids are slowing them down, but I have yet to see if the steroids will put him into a full remission and there is a possibility of relapse under stress or with annual vaccinations for the rest of his life. A holistic vet tells me it is possible to get a waver for the rabies vaccine with a neurological disorder. It seems a bit late, but perhaps he will gain a full remission and become himself again. His former animated self is under the bed the majority of the time and quivering uncontrollably, especially with noises like the phone ringing. I did this so he could go to an obedience class, that he can not now attend. Ironic, eh?! -Dee L."

Needless to say I no longer let my dogs be vaccinated."

She'll NEVER had another vaccine until the Rabies titer tells us she needs it."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/07/2008: Katie from Fortuna, CA writes: "I just had my short hair tortishell calico/siamese mix spayed female vaccinated for the three main feline vaccinations, ie rabies, lukemia and distemper. My wife and I are hoping to train her as a therapy cat. She is the most friendly happy cat we've ever known. She is also the thinnest cat we've ever had. We call her the skinny kitty. We had her shots given at around 11 in the morning on Saturday. We then spent the day out and about, and didn't get home until after 4. She ate and drank while we were out, but when we got home she became very listless. Our other two cats (indoor only) groomed her constantly. They also assisted her to and from the litter box. On Sunday she refused to eat and drink, and cried if we tried to pick her up. She wouldn't even lift her head, and her eyes wouldn't focus. We noticed a crust around her eyes, and she seemed to have a hard time licking. After much searching, we found a dropper and started to force water in her. We then went and purchased kitten formula, and forced this down her as well. We had to hold her head up so that it would go down her throat. After doing this every four hours, she now sits up and did some minor grooming. Because she is so thin and had no fat reserves, we believe the only thing that saved her was us forcing the fluids. IF you find your cat in a similar cirumstance, please don't hesitate to use a dropper and give them fluids. I feel this may prevent the worst of the liver and kidney failure I've been reading about on this site. It's now Monday, and even though she hasn't left her bed, she did lift her head and purr this morning when I went to say goodbye."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/06/2008: Vicky from Falmouth, Maine writes: "I had all three of our cats vaccinated in January for rabies and feline leukemia. Even though all are inside cats, I thought it best to vaccinate against feline leukemia because they were going on a plane to Florida with my sisters cat, who is an outside cat and I thought he might carry the virus. What a terrible mistake. Within a few hours, all three of my cats were weak, lethargic amd breathing very shallowly. I called the vet and they said that this is a normal reaction and to watch them. The oldest cat, a nine year old persian, was the worst. Her eyes leaked out a brown color liquid. The other two, a 6 month old male and a two year old female did a little better, but they didn't eat for at least 24 hours. It was a terrible scare, but this isn't over as yet. Our beautiful young male manx mix (Mickey) got very sick 10 days later. I took him to the emergency vet after he vomited repeatedly, was disoriented and had a fever of 105. The vet gave him a shot of anti-biotic and liquids and sent me home with (baytrill) antibiotic for 10 days. My vet said to bring him in if he exhibits any more signs of illness. Approximately 2 weeks after the antibiotic was finished my cat became very ill again. This time the emergency vet took an xray and my cat had pneumonia. The emer. vet gave me two weeks of antibiotic and told me to make sure to take him to my own vet after the antibiotic is finished. I just took him back and my vet put him on another week of antibiotic and then he will xray him to see if his lungs are clear. It goes without saying that I really think that this was caused by the rabies and feline leukemia shot given all at the same time. I feel so stupid for doing this, but I didn't know that an animal can get so sick from vaccinations. I know now. I won't be giving my beautiful cats any more shots. Please pray for my Mickey..."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/06/2008: LylahRose from New London, NH writes: "I have several Chihuahuas and a large Cat.Yesterday they received their routine RabVac and today they are all ill with fevers,some vomiting,no diarehea, lethergic and in pain. I only recall this or simular effects in the past two years. My tiny Chi- is extreemly ill. I gave 12 ml and 22 ml to my larger Chi's- benadry but I am afraid they are dehydrating as they are not drinking. They received FortDodge from a Vet."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/27/2008: Carmen from Silver Spring , MD writes: "My cat (4 years, female, indoor-outdoor) got three days ago her distemper shot( renewed after 3 years) and for the first time the feline leukemia vaccination. Hours later she appeard tired, apathic, lack of appetite, desinterested and had a feaver. The vet gave her then shots of benadryl and steroids. Within hours she was better. But after another 24 hours she is now again tired, no appetite, hiding under beds, desinterested. I am veryconcerned. I am going back to the vet tonight."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/25/2008: Glenna from Estacada, OR writes: "Some one please give me hope. I have a 10 week old Chihuahua Puppy who is failing fast after a puppy booster 5 in 1 with no lepto. I have read through other comments but I just don't see anyone else having gone through this. I have three other pups from a bottle fed litter, this one is a blue female I got to help ease the loss of the blue mother to my bottle fed babies. The bottle fed pups are 9 weeks old and they are all doing fine from there shots. This one is lathargic, aggressive, cries when I pick her up, and tries to get away when I try to pick her up. She runs in circles, wants to eat but drops the food everytime she gets it in her mouth. She is either crying running in circles or sleeping with her eyes open looking half dead. The vet thinks the shot may have caused hydrocephalis- HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF A SHOT CAUSING THAT?- I guess she does look a bit more dome like, but i wonder if this is the shots fault or if it is merely coinsidence. I keep thinking if I continue to plung wet food and puppy formula into her, keep her warm... give her whatever meds the vet gives me... maybe she will pull through? But can someone tell me how long a vaccine reaction can last. The vet has already given her prednisone, and a steroid shot that was supposed to counteract the reaction... I just want to know what is wrong with my puppy, she was the happiest most playful one of the bunch before her shot and now I feel like I am loosing her and no one can tell me what to do?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/20/2008: Michele from Key West, Florida writes: "My 5.5 month Maltese puppy went into shock after receiving 3rd vaccinations of Bordatella/intranasal, Rabies, & DA2PPLC"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/20/2008: Beverly from Port Ewen, New York writes: "My 6 yr. old Yorkie-Poo was given the first vaccine on 3/13. This was the first of two; it's a new dental vaccine by Pfizer. Within 2 hours we knew we had made a mistake. Interested to know if there are others out there who have tried this vaccine."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/20/2008: Billy writes: "Hi I seen your website, and you said to let you know if anyone has experienced side effects. I never knew there was any problem with side effects. Last Friday we took our 6mnth old kittens in for a rabie vacination they are siamese mix. The one kitten is fine, but we noticed the next day after the vacination the other kitten started sneezing, then the sneezing is a lot know , he doesn't want to eat, he acts like he has a hard time swallowing, because when he tries to drink its like he can't really do it that good. He has dried stuff on the side of his mouth, and oddly enough he just started 2 days ago giving off this foul smell like chicken poop. (sorry, but that's the only way to describe the smell. He lays around now and he is having a hard time breathing it sounds like he is so congested with like pneumonia or something. He was fine before the shot.I just wanted to let you know so you can use this information.Thank You for bringing this matter attention, God Bless"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/19/2008: Lori from Rockford, Illinois writes: "my dog got his rabies shots last week, and now, a week later, he is nauseous, vomiting, he isnt eating, or drinking water, he has a fever, and seems very fatigued. I seem to remember him having this same problem last year about this same time, but I didnt put two and two together until this year. He is 9 years old. He is half Chiuaua and half pomeranian. He also develops skin problems every year about this time as well. severe Itchy skin, redness, he pulls his own hair out."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/19/2008: Melissa from Hudson, New York writes: "Hello on March 11th my 2, teo yr old chihuahuas, one male and one female, had their annual vaccines. The following mymale whi is usually very excited to come outta his crate in the morning, came out and slowly walked to a corner and layed down, this was very strange for him. He screamed whenever he was touched. I could not find a specific spot that was causing his pain. He didnt eat or drink all day. He was very letharigic. He usually sits on the couch with me and when I get up, he gets up and follow s me. I was very worried about him. By the following day he recovered and has been fine. My female chihuahua was fine after her vacination atleat til yesterday, one day short of a week after her vaccines. She began violently scratching her face,and nawing on her feet and legs. I thought maybe she had picked up a flea or two, I applied her monthy dose of promaris. She contiued itching for hours she couldnt sit still, the scratching was constant. I wiped her with doggie wipes everywhere except where i applied her flea preventitive thinking maybe she got something on her while she was outside that was irritaing her.This didnt help. The worst part of this stared at 11pm, well after the vet was closed.By the time I was tryiong the wipes it was close to 4am, by now she was letting out little whimpers. I didnt know what else to do. It was then that i thought of my male chihuahuas prednisone that he takes for his collapsing trachea. I gave her one of those and this seemed to help with in about a 1/2 hour. Today she itched a bit on and off but ws better over all. I called the vet and explained what had happened and what i did. He told me with the prednisone if she continues itching BUT if i continue with it be sure to wean her off of it. I gave her one more prednisone tonight but she seems to have recovered. I will deffinately have my dogd titer tested before I have them vaccinated again to besure they actually need the vaccines in question."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/18/2008: Patricia from Hampton, Va writes: "my 2 year old boston terrier received her shots today . i took her home and left her for about 3 hours, when i returned she was favoring the hind leg where she received the shot. she was wimpering a little when i picked her up, but she was ok once i got her up in my arms. she will not put that leg down on the floor. please tell me if this is normal after shots are given. i dont remember her being this way last year when she got her shots."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/18/2008: Sherry from Hanover Park, IL writes: "I just took my 3 yr old Papillion into the Vet because her hair is falling out and there is a quarter size scaly bald spot on her hind quarter. The Vet says this is a reaction to the rabies vaccination because it disrupts the blood flow to hair. She is on a Rx and Vit E. Two pills a day for three months. Should I take her to another Vet?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/16/2008: Tom from Tampa, Florida writes: "We have a 3 year old Silky Terrier. We took him to the vet for his annual rabies shot. The Vet suggested the 3 year shot,so we did it. The next day our dog started out limping and got worse to where he could not walk. The question I have.Is this a side effect from the shot? We called the vet and he said no. My wife has taken him to a different vet for a different opinion, and I am home a nervous wreck!"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/16/2008: Rebecca from Baltimore, MD writes: "My miniature schnauzer had her first allegic reaction to the PARVO vaccination at the age 9 and it continues to get worse each time. THe first time it happened her lips swelled so much that her beard was up to her eyes and her eyes were swollen shut as big as golf balls and she was panting non-stop. This occurred about 3 hours after the injection - I was giving her liquid children's benadryl while driving in rush hour back to the vet where they gave her two injections and told me to keep her on Benadryl for the next three days. Now when she gets her vaccinations I am supposed to administer benadrul for 2 days beforehand."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/16/2008: Susann from Clayton, GA writes: "I went to a clinic 4 weeks ago and had my 3 cats given the 3 year rabies and the feline lelukemia shot. All 3 stopped eating the next day and hardly ate for a week. One cat started throwing up a few days later but got better in a week. Then 3 weeks later started throwing up again and I noticed then he also had lost weight. I took him in to the vet and after blood work which indicated a gall bladder infection and he had lost 10 lbs(he was 22 lbs). He was admitted Friday(3/7/08)to the hospital for the weekend. On Sat. the vet called and asked to bring in my food as he wouldn't eat theirs. He had an IV and they had to force feed him. I picked him up on Monday and when I got home and took him out of the carrier he couldn't even walk he was so weak. For several days I gave him 4 medications and had to force feed him and force water in him. On Fri(3/14/08) had to take him back in for blood work but 2 of the vets looked at him and he's gums and skin were yellow indicating liver failure. I then had to say goodbye to my Morgan who was 9 yrs old. The vet said the rabies shot caused a reaction that was 1 in 100,000. Now after reading the posts on this site I feel so guilty for giving him the 3 yr rabies shot and all the pain he went thru. I also have 3 dogs and 2 cats now and I don't think anyone should give the 3 year rabies to any dog or cat. A $15 shot has now costed me over $800 but that is nothing compared to the fact my cat is gone."