Opinions Wanted. Interesting Article About Vaccinations
Hi,
Please read this article about over vaccinating our pets. I would be interested in hearing your opinion.
I could believe it! My dogs and cats get the rabies shot every year, but they get the other shots every two to three years. I've never had a problem. My parents did the same thing and the dogs didn't die from any of those diseases. My dogs hang around in the house most of the time. They go for a "run" in the yard about three times a day. I would be concerned if they were more at risk like show dogs or dogs that are boarded because they're around a lot of other dogs.
Xanadu Registered User
Posts: 5
(12/8/02 9:43 am) Reply
Re: In my opinion
ICK...this is a very scary article.
Rabies vaccines are required by law in most (if not all) states in the US. Depending on where you live, the rules may differ.
I live in Mass. According to Mass laws, my ferrets need to be rabies vaccinated once a year. My dogs and cats can be vaccinated every three years, as long as I do not miss the 1 year deadline. In otherwords, once my dog or cat has his/her first rabies vaccine, as long as I'm back to my vet before that vaccine date expires, they will get a three year vaccine. If I miss that three year deadline, they get another 1 year and the process starts all over again.
Animals that get bit by an unknown source are automatically given a 1 year regardless of vaccine history. This is a preventative measure, and I've seen some animals (mostly cats) recieve 4-5 five vaccines in one year.
Parvo is a nasty intestinal disease that can kill your pet. This is mostly seen in inner cities, but it is seen in suburban areas as well. This disease is highly contagious and is very expensive to treat.
Distemper can also kill your pet and again very expensive to treat. A dog can be treated for either one of these and survive, however the longer an animal has such a disease without treatment, the more expensive it becomes to treat. Eventually if there is no intervention, animals will die an awful death.
Kennel cough vaccines are not usually given unless there is a reason. Boarding you pet would be one, the other is if you show your pet. These vaccines are not "active" the day they are given. Any dog recieving this vaccine should wait atleast 7 days before being put in such enviroments.
Lyme vaccines shouldn't be given unless there is a reason for it. The only reason to give a lyme vaccine would be because the animal lives in an area that is high risk for the disease. If somebody that has a dog lives in an area that doesn't pose as a risk, is just silly and a waste of money.
Yearly heartworm checks should be done. Heartworm disease is yet another one of those nasty diseases that can kill your pet. Worms take up residence in the heart to grow and breed. Eventually the heart gets so congested with these worms, the animal dies of cardiac arrest or heart failure. Cats have also been seen with heartworms, however testing cats for it yearly isn't pushed. The only times a cat is tested is A) Owner requested it B) Would be if a cat is experincing health problems and worms are seen in the heart on x-ray.
My only issues with feline vaccines is the whole cancer issue attached to them. However, a smart vet will not vaccinate a cat in the same spot every year and is extremely aware of these issues. Other than that, they should be vaccinated yearly.
Feline leukemia and FIV are transmitted by saliva and direct contact...usually by means of a bite wound. Cats that are strictly indoors are not at risk unless they get outside or a new cat is brought into the house. (Indoor cats should still be given vaccines to prevent FIV or feline distemper) Cats that live strictly outdoors or are indoor/outdoor cats need to be vaccinated. Animals with these diseases live out a very long, slow, painful death.
Note- Many people that have cats tend to feel bad for strays that they may see hanging around, so they feed them. This is okay, however doing this puts your cat at a high risk for such diseases. A cat that hasn't be vaccinated can catch these diseases from simply eating out of the same dish as the stray.
Lyme vaccines apply just as they would of a dog.
Rabies vaccines I've already mentioned, as I have already talked about heartworm testing.
Vaccines are not perfect, that is a given. However the person that wrote this article obviously isn't a vet, or has a knowledgeable understanding of these very diseases that affect our pets. Comparing human diseases to animal diseases is really stupid IMO. 1) Animals go not get human diseases 2) Humans can catch some animal diseases 3) Human vaccines and animal vaccines are not created the same way.
There is no mention in this article about the cost to treat animals with any of the "waste of money" vaccines. To treat a dog with heartworm disease is very, very expensive. My German Shepard (shelter dog that was supposedly tested) had heartworm disease, caught in the early stages and it costed my 500.00 to treat her. That was being given an employee discount because I worked for an animal hospital at that time. Otherwise it would have costed me close to 1,000 to treat it in the early stages. The more worms and heart damage costs increase. So is her yearly heartworm check a waste of money? No! I'd rather pay for her to be seen once a year than dish out 1,000 to treat her for a disease that could have been prevented.
*She's fine. Because it was caught in the very early stages, she has minimal heart damage. On an x-ray her heart is slightly enlarged, but doesn't cause her any problems.*
Best advice when articles are like this are seen, talk to your vet. If you do not trust your vet or he/she doesn't explain why such vaccines are given, find another vet. You wouldn't see a doctor that told you to take a pill just because it will make you feel better, so you shouldn't accept such reasoning from your pets doctor either. If he/she gets annoyed or tells you it is a waste of time, get a copy of your records and go elsewhere!
Vets have a huge responsability that human doctors sometimes take for granted. Vets have to inform pet owners of not only animal diseases, but they must also make sure the humans are safe from potential animal diseases. They are many that there are no vaccines for that humans can indeed catch. Some of them are worse than others, but it's still a responsablity either way.
If people do not want to deal with vaccines, they should get a pet that doesn't require them. These animals are not cheap to maintain either and should their pet should be seen once a year just to make sure there are no health problems brewing. If there are any spotted, they can be treated or dealt with in the early stages versus wating until it may not be able to be treated or worked with at all.
I just lost a ferret on Friday due to renal failure (kidney failure) and he also had fluid building around his heart and in his lungs. In ferrets, once an organ starts to fail there isn't much that can be done. Dogs and cats can live a few more quality years with kidney failure, however by genetics my Moose would have suffered miserably with supportive care.
This wasn't anything that we did, it's just the way ferrets are genetically engineered. Nothing would have prevented it. Alot of ferrets are not surviving past age 4, so I was lucky. His sister is still in good health, but because of what happened, we'll be keeping a really close eye on her weight and her overall health. She's blind as a door nail, but she still has her spunk.
Re: Opinions Wanted. Interesting Article About Vaccinations
here's my two cents....
we don't get vaccinations every year. why should our pets? i mean, sure, when we're little... we need boosters. but when was the last time any of us got a shot? unless we needed it...like tetanus or something. i think we definitely overvaccinate our pets. if they already have an immunity to something... the vaccine could either do nothing... or make things worse.
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