Animal Welfare Professionals

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#EducationandTraining
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

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Jennifer Herne
Akwesasne Animal Society
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has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

I am also a little late to the discussion but for us this is a hot one! We had a board member who was posting anti-VAX posts on Facebook. We just recently had our annual shot clinic. Thankfully, we do not see Pavo and distemper in our area, but in communities not far north or south or east they have a high rate. I attribute our low rate of these viruses to the fact that we have a very conscientious population in a high percentage of dogs are vaccinated. She attributes the low rate to an energetic if I'm understanding correctly. And yes, we are all energy. I would not dispute that. She does not vaccinate her dogs. And, aside from rabies that is a personal choice that comes with risks. Like just about everywhere else rabies is required by law. How was the president of the local Rescue? I need to uphold the law. There were a number of things that were not acceptable and she left the board. Only one post was made to my knowledge and we chose to just ignore it. She does have a right to her opinion and we don't have a policy in place club, but it is time to do that. The tighter question is a really good one. For us and I would expect this to hold true for others, if we have an animal that bites and is not vaccinated, they have to be quarantined. Even if a tighter proved that the dog still had immunity that quarantine still has to be followed. But it would give the victim of the bite, some reassurance that they would be fine. That does have some value, and of course the animal would be required to be vaccinated, even if the tighter showed immunity. I personally would like to see tiring used more because I do think we're over vaccinating and I do think it's causing health issues in our pets. It's a valuable tool, but it's not an all or nothing approach.

To the issue of reactions- at our last shot clinic, not this past week but a year ago, we had a dog that had a near fatal reaction to the vaccine. We believe it was the ladies it was an all white pitbull mix probably had some genetic predisposition. It was the first time that Vet had seen Such a severe reaction to a vaccine. Luckily, the pet owner only lived a few minutes away. The dog was in anaphylaxis by the time they got home. They called me and immediately turned around. The dog was blue when they returned, and it took about a half hour and a lot of epinephrine to save the dog. The vet did issue a letter stating that in her opinion, the dogs should never be vaccinated again it would likely kill it. Within a  couple of weeks another local vet had the same issue with another dog. Her comment was also that she had never seen a reaction like that to a vaccine. So we all questioned whether there was a batch that wasn't prepared properly. These vets practiced within miles of each other and could very easily have had vaccines from the same batch. I don't know if they ever investigated that or not they did both submit reports to the manufacturer. Neither Vet has reported an issue since. So, in our experience, and that of our local veterinarians, severe reactions are so extremely rare. It really is not a concern but the over vaccination issue is a conversation that will continue. 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

I think it's important to differentiate here between owned pets and shelter animals. Any individual owner is free to make decisions about their own pets and vaccination, preferably in consultation with a veterinarian, and be responsible for the consequences of a choice to not vaccinate. I would wager most owners (and some veterinarians) who choose not to vaccinate have never watched a dog die of parvo or distemper or rabies or a cat die of panleukopenia, nor do they understand the expense involved in treating these conditions (not rabies...that one is 100% fatal). But it is their choice.

The situation is quite different in shelters and community animal health programs. There is a robust body of research behind universal vaccination at the time of intake (waiting for titers is not an option even if an organization has the funds to pay for expensive titers) and all shelters and rescues should be following the evidence-based, widely accepted guidelines. 

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/resource/downloads/2020-2020-08/aspca_intake_vax.pdf

These protocols protect both the individual animals as well as the entire shelter and community population.

The same goes for community health and vaccination clinics. Widespread vaccination for communicable diseases is important for preventing devastating community outbreaks that can (and do!) kill or sicken hundreds of animals with breathtaking speed. It is a testament to the effectiveness of vaccines that many folks have never seen one of these large outbreaks. Once you have (and I have), you will never not vaccinate your pets. At-risk, low-income or marginalized populations rarely have funds or access to care if their pets get sick...prevention is key.

It is also important that shelter and rescue organizations continue to support and promote rabies vaccination for all companion animals. Rabies vaccine is safe, proven and highly effective. In many developing countries, there are hundreds or thousands of cases of rabies diagnosed in domestic animals every year, often resulting in human risk or illness. The only reason we don't have that problem in the U.S. is because of high vaccination rates. While serious vaccine reactions can occur they are extremely rare and should not be used as an argument against vaccination for the vast majority of pets. 

I am also a little late to the discussion but for us this is a hot one! We had a board member who was posting anti-VAX posts on Facebook. We just recently had our annual shot clinic. Thankfully, we do not see Pavo and distemper in our area, but in communities not far north or south or east they have a high rate. I attribute our low rate of these viruses to the fact that we have a very conscientious population in a high percentage of dogs are vaccinated. She attributes the low rate to an energetic if I'm understanding correctly. And yes, we are all energy. I would not dispute that. She does not vaccinate her dogs. And, aside from rabies that is a personal choice that comes with risks. Like just about everywhere else rabies is required by law. How was the president of the local Rescue? I need to uphold the law. There were a number of things that were not acceptable and she left the board. Only one post was made to my knowledge and we chose to just ignore it. She does have a right to her opinion and we don't have a policy in place club, but it is time to do that. The tighter question is a really good one. For us and I would expect this to hold true for others, if we have an animal that bites and is not vaccinated, they have to be quarantined. Even if a tighter proved that the dog still had immunity that quarantine still has to be followed. But it would give the victim of the bite, some reassurance that they would be fine. That does have some value, and of course the animal would be required to be vaccinated, even if the tighter showed immunity. I personally would like to see tiring used more because I do think we're over vaccinating and I do think it's causing health issues in our pets. It's a valuable tool, but it's not an all or nothing approach.

To the issue of reactions- at our last shot clinic, not this past week but a year ago, we had a dog that had a near fatal reaction to the vaccine. We believe it was the ladies it was an all white pitbull mix probably had some genetic predisposition. It was the first time that Vet had seen Such a severe reaction to a vaccine. Luckily, the pet owner only lived a few minutes away. The dog was in anaphylaxis by the time they got home. They called me and immediately turned around. The dog was blue when they returned, and it took about a half hour and a lot of epinephrine to save the dog. The vet did issue a letter stating that in her opinion, the dogs should never be vaccinated again it would likely kill it. Within a  couple of weeks another local vet had the same issue with another dog. Her comment was also that she had never seen a reaction like that to a vaccine. So we all questioned whether there was a batch that wasn't prepared properly. These vets practiced within miles of each other and could very easily have had vaccines from the same batch. I don't know if they ever investigated that or not they did both submit reports to the manufacturer. Neither Vet has reported an issue since. So, in our experience, and that of our local veterinarians, severe reactions are so extremely rare. It really is not a concern but the over vaccination issue is a conversation that will continue. 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it? 

I think it's important to differentiate here between owned pets and shelter animals. Any individual owner is free to make decisions about their own pets and vaccination, preferably in consultation with a veterinarian, and be responsible for the consequences of a choice to not vaccinate. I would wager most owners (and some veterinarians) who choose not to vaccinate have never watched a dog die of parvo or distemper or rabies or a cat die of panleukopenia, nor do they understand the expense involved in treating these conditions (not rabies...that one is 100% fatal). But it is their choice.

The situation is quite different in shelters and community animal health programs. There is a robust body of research behind universal vaccination at the time of intake (waiting for titers is not an option even if an organization has the funds to pay for expensive titers) and all shelters and rescues should be following the evidence-based, widely accepted guidelines. 

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/resource/downloads/2020-2020-08/aspca_intake_vax.pdf

These protocols protect both the individual animals as well as the entire shelter and community population.

The same goes for community health and vaccination clinics. Widespread vaccination for communicable diseases is important for preventing devastating community outbreaks that can (and do!) kill or sicken hundreds of animals with breathtaking speed. It is a testament to the effectiveness of vaccines that many folks have never seen one of these large outbreaks. Once you have (and I have), you will never not vaccinate your pets. At-risk, low-income or marginalized populations rarely have funds or access to care if their pets get sick...prevention is key.

It is also important that shelter and rescue organizations continue to support and promote rabies vaccination for all companion animals. Rabies vaccine is safe, proven and highly effective. In many developing countries, there are hundreds or thousands of cases of rabies diagnosed in domestic animals every year, often resulting in human risk or illness. The only reason we don't have that problem in the U.S. is because of high vaccination rates. While serious vaccine reactions can occur they are extremely rare and should not be used as an argument against vaccination for the vast majority of pets. 

I am also a little late to the discussion but for us this is a hot one! We had a board member who was posting anti-VAX posts on Facebook. We just recently had our annual shot clinic. Thankfully, we do not see Pavo and distemper in our area, but in communities not far north or south or east they have a high rate. I attribute our low rate of these viruses to the fact that we have a very conscientious population in a high percentage of dogs are vaccinated. She attributes the low rate to an energetic if I'm understanding correctly. And yes, we are all energy. I would not dispute that. She does not vaccinate her dogs. And, aside from rabies that is a personal choice that comes with risks. Like just about everywhere else rabies is required by law. How was the president of the local Rescue? I need to uphold the law. There were a number of things that were not acceptable and she left the board. Only one post was made to my knowledge and we chose to just ignore it. She does have a right to her opinion and we don't have a policy in place club, but it is time to do that. The tighter question is a really good one. For us and I would expect this to hold true for others, if we have an animal that bites and is not vaccinated, they have to be quarantined. Even if a tighter proved that the dog still had immunity that quarantine still has to be followed. But it would give the victim of the bite, some reassurance that they would be fine. That does have some value, and of course the animal would be required to be vaccinated, even if the tighter showed immunity. I personally would like to see tiring used more because I do think we're over vaccinating and I do think it's causing health issues in our pets. It's a valuable tool, but it's not an all or nothing approach.

To the issue of reactions- at our last shot clinic, not this past week but a year ago, we had a dog that had a near fatal reaction to the vaccine. We believe it was the ladies it was an all white pitbull mix probably had some genetic predisposition. It was the first time that Vet had seen Such a severe reaction to a vaccine. Luckily, the pet owner only lived a few minutes away. The dog was in anaphylaxis by the time they got home. They called me and immediately turned around. The dog was blue when they returned, and it took about a half hour and a lot of epinephrine to save the dog. The vet did issue a letter stating that in her opinion, the dogs should never be vaccinated again it would likely kill it. Within a  couple of weeks another local vet had the same issue with another dog. Her comment was also that she had never seen a reaction like that to a vaccine. So we all questioned whether there was a batch that wasn't prepared properly. These vets practiced within miles of each other and could very easily have had vaccines from the same batch. I don't know if they ever investigated that or not they did both submit reports to the manufacturer. Neither Vet has reported an issue since. So, in our experience, and that of our local veterinarians, severe reactions are so extremely rare. It really is not a concern but the over vaccination issue is a conversation that will continue. 

has any organization had experience with community members posting on anti-vaccine specifically rabies vaccine ? this person's dog had a reaction to the rabies vaccine causing paralysis for three months. this person is posting videos not to vaccinate etc. on our vaccine appointment links. Has anyone ever responded or do they just delete these comments? How did you handle it?