What are my beliefs about vaccinations?

So, does that mean I do not support vaccinating older pets? Not necessarily.

I am NOT one of those overzealous holistic veterinarians that believe ALL vaccines are evil and all diseases are caused by veterinarians giving vaccines.

I certainly believe some vaccinations are needed. I also acknowledge that some small percentage of patients have adverse reactions – and in those patients vaccines should be avoided.

But here’s the thing: If pets already have a decent immunity – why take the risk of them possibly getting a reaction for a shot they don’t really need?

There are now simple blood tests available that can tell us whether there are enough circulating antibodies against canine distemper and canine parvovirus, or feline distemper and feline leukemia virus.

The science is not exact and the question whether they are actually immune against those diseases if the have antibodies, remains open. But because I do not see those diseases start in mature animals, I believe maybe we don’t have to vaccinate every year for every disease.

So instead we do the antibody titer testing every year and we adjust our vaccinations accordingly.

Most dog and cat vaccines are made out of virus particles. Vaccines like injectable Bordetella, Leptospira and Lyme disease are made out of bacteria. These are called Bacterins and they are FAR more likely to cause severe reactions. We try to avoid thiose if possible (we do use intranasal Bordetella)

By the way the excuse: “my pet doesn’t go outside therefore they don’t need vaccines” does NOT hold up!

I believe that “natural exposure” to the street viruses is what keeps immune cells awake. Strictly ,indoor pets do not have that. So their immunities subside earlier.

What about RABIES?

Now THAT is a completely different scenario. I have seen Rabies cases in humans and in animals in Africa. It is a grotesque and horrible incurable disease.

Florida is a legally Declared Rabies Area. That means, every year there are confirmed cases of rabies in the wildlife here.

So Florida law mandates repeated Rabies vaccination for all domestic dogs and cats.

They do not have any respect for vaccination titers for Rabies.

If your dog is not vaccinated and it bites a human, even slightly, they have the right to euthanize your dog and send the head off for testing.

So the best we can do, is shop for the safest Rabies vaccines we can find. (for instance “Thimerosal free vaccines”)