Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Combination Vaccines
Posted by Janna (Austin, Texas) on 08/22/2007

If your pet has suffered a vaccination reaction or if you have questions about what to do regarding future vaccinations, I strongly urge you to visit www.Alt4Animals.com. I found Dr. Falconer after my completely healthy female Weimaraner died due to a vaccination reaction. She spend 4 weeks in intensive care at one of the leading veterinary schools in the country and they could not save her. This website is loaded with great free information. If only I had found it sooner.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by George (Clearwater, FL) on 08/21/2007

My 2 year old cat has just had 3 booster vaccines (rabies, distemper & feline Luekemia) A day later, she is lathargic and the injection sites are teneder to the touch..Since she only goes out to the screened in porch I will probably never have her vaccinated again


Seizures
Posted by Sonia (USA) on 08/20/2007

Hi my name is Sonia i have a Rat Terrier and Minature Pincher Mix. He is 3months old and i just took him to the vet for his distemper, parovovirus, rabies, and bordetella shots on friday. and he has already had two seizures in the past two days im scared and am taking him back to the vet today. its was the saddest think to see my puppy go thru and know that was nothing i could of done. i will NEVER give my dog another shot. if anyone could give me any advise about what i can give him for thh seizures to stop. Thank You. sdcruz82/@/yahoo.com and is it ok not to give my puppy anymore shot after this?


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Gretchen (Stone Mountain, GA) on 07/31/2007

I had a long haired Siamese cat who died at 19 years old, last year. She was spayed and fully vaccinated, except feline leukemia for about 6 years. She became an inside cat primarily, but was exposed to a variety of other animals we had over the years. She was completely and totally healthy for her last 13 years with absolutely NO vaccinations. I now have two one year old cats from the same litter (1 spayed, 1 neutered) and both have had inital Rabies shots. We also have a 9 year old dog, mixed lab who was vaccinated last year. I DO NOT want to have them vaccinated again, but I worry about heart worm. How can I get them tested annually without all the rest?


Bordetella
Posted by Katie (Terre Haute, IN) on 07/24/2007

I boarded my Maltese and Yorkie at the Vet's office for a week and was told I had to get the Bordetella Vaccine for my Yorkie and Maltese. A week later, when I picked them up they were both wheezing and coughing. It seems the vaccine caused this instead of preventing it.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Lori (Columbia, SC) on 07/19/2007

I have read all of the negative comments from everyone regarding vaccinations and I will admit seeing some allergic reactions in my time mostly hives and facial swelling that responded to antihistamines. When you have a puppy in your clinic that dies of distemper because it never received a puppy shot or you have to tell a small child that you were unable to save their friend because the puppy never received any vaccines and was too far gone with parvo virus to save, it is hard. At our practice we do talk about risk factors for vaccination and treat each pet individually. SC is a 3 year rabies state so we only vaccinate rabies every three years. I have done titers on some pets that did not have a protective titer even 6 months after vaccination and others that needed multiple vaccines to pass their titer test for going to foreign countries. Vets are not just out for a buck they have studied immunology and infectious diseases. Viruses can not be treated with antibiotics and often are deadly when contracted. If one of your pets dies unexpectedly rather than guess at the cause have the state diagnostic lab perform a necropsy. Vaccines have saved more pets lives than have injured pets from side effects. When the vaccines companies test for safety they give a 10 time dose of vaccine to see if it causes any ill effect on small and large dogs.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by VIC (MORTON GROVE, IL) on 07/12/2007

RE: METECAM -- I BROUGHT MY CAT IN FOR A SORE ON THE PAD OF HIS PAW, THEY GAVE HIM METECAM AND HE STARTED DYING THE MINUTE I BROUGHT HIM HOME. HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD. TOO YOUNG. WHY ISN'T SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THIS?


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Beverly (Cincinnati, OH) on 07/02/2007

I have a rescue baby named Gizmo who is 2 1/2 years old. He is mostly chihuahua but has a little something else. I took him to the vet for his Parvo shot and the next morning he was vomiting. I tried to pick him up and he screamed. I took him back to the vet and was told he most likely had a reaction to the shot. His lipaise levels were high and he was still vomiting. I was sent home with antibiotic.I had a feeling that I was not being told the whole story and went back and demanded a copy of my dog's records. They gave my 11 pound dog a shot for a 123 pound dog! I was told it didn't matter, they get the same dosage! My dog will never return to that vet, ever. I am very careful about my dog's health and he only goes out on a leash. I know he was healthy when he went to the vet. It has been two weeks and he is still having some problems. He is due for more blood work at the end of this week. I feel like I paid someone to try and kill my dog!


Bordetella
Posted by Teresa (Austin, Texas, USA) on 06/19/2007

Our LhasaApso was given a bordetella vaccination to prevent. One week later she developed a severe dog cough and scared us a great deal. Our neighbor commented that her dog also had the same type of cough after the same vaccination. Children's cough syrup helps keep the cough under control. We were not informed when the vaccination was administered that this would happen. In effect, the vaccination for "dog cough" creates "dog cough.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Shannon (Kanab, Utah) on 06/16/2007

Reaction to Parvo Booster: Today our Black Lab puppy had his 9 week booster... Almost IMMEDIATELY he started showing signs that something was wrong. Two minutes after the shot, he began vomiting and lost control of his bowels. He then laid on the ground and wasn't very responsive. We took him to a local clinic and they gave him something similar to benedryl and a steroid and fluids under his skin. After about an hour he began to come around, and when we got him home he slept for most of the day. He only vomited once more and the vet told us to give him rice and canned chicken (easy on the stomach). This was VERY scary, but he seems to be pulling out of it ok.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by thomas (Monreal, Quebec) on 05/27/2007

Re: Animal Vaccines: Just a note about pets and vets! I have a chihuahua that will be 19 on June 23. When he was 5, I needed to travel with him on a plane, and needed a certificate from my vet. After examination, I was told that not only should he NOT fly, he should be put down due to a heart murmur and poorly functioning kidneys. I took him home, so he could die with me, at his time....well, fourteen years later and not a vaccine since, he is fine! He has off days, and half a joseph's Baby aspirin does him fine! Lets STOP introducing chemicals into our pets bodies!! P.S. Stopped giving him store food as well about two years ago.....pureed steamed veg, ground beef and rice.....pure and simple!! Peace!


Seizures
Posted by Michelle (New York, NY) on 05/26/2007

My dog, a female miniature pinscher, 12 years old, died last November from what I believe to be negative reactions from her vaccinations. I took her in on September 6th, and she received intratract II kennel cough vaccination and a 3-year rabies vaccination. Two weeks later, I came home from work and she was seizuring on the floor. She had NEVER had a seizure in her life. She was an otherwise healthy dog before these vaccinations. On November 12th, she passed away in my arms. The vets refuse to believe it was the vaccinations and say they believe it was a brain tumor, but I know better. Now that I know how harmful vaccinations are, I will never go through this again.


Seizures
Posted by Diane (East Lyme, CT) on 05/23/2007

Vaccination And Seizure with My Yorkshire Terrier: I have a 5 1/2 year old Yorkshire Terrier who is also paralyzed in her left hind leg due to FCE. She was scheduled to have a total hip replacement on May 21st , so I decided to have her vaccinated for rabies and kennel cough. That was on May 10th. Then about 10 days later she started to develop a very deep cough and also had a seizure. She never had any problems before this , except for a mild collapsing trachea. This was her first kennel cough vaccine and I'm beginning to think that the seizure and the cough was the result of the vaccinations. Anybody that might have had similar experiences would be appreciated.


Seizures
Posted by Rich (Phoenix, Arizona) on 05/22/2007

My dog is 17 years and is a bichon mix. He waS NEVER VACCINATED. He was picked up by the pound and vaccinated when he escaped the yard. He now suffers seizures. We need to do something to stop dog pounds from causing dogs such problems.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Mike (Levittown, PA) on 05/17/2007

Our 5 month old lab just died suddenly after a visit to the vet. He got a booster and rabies shot. He got his shots around 1PM and by 7PM he had grown sluggish and eventually crawled under our bed and passed. He was fine when my wife left the house for 2 hours only to return to find him. My daughter wondered what was up with him, but didn't know to worry. None of us did. We've never heard of pets dying from boosters. We're not sure it's the shots just yet. The vet is performing tests, but I'd be surprised if it was something else.

He was just a pup!



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