Been doing some research for a few family members. Apparently most states (39) require cats and dogs to be vaccinated or you can get fined if someone turns you in.
Beyond that, they, like most of us, don't trust ANY pharma company anymore, even when it comes to their pets.
In my own research, I've found that there's plenty of people saying it's just a scam, that the first puppy shot is more than enough, and at most a single booster is good for a lifetime when it comes to rabies shots for dogs.
So figured I'd ask my favorite autistic experts, what's the consensus on pet vaccines and rabies shots? Do they actually NEED more than the initial puppy shots, or is this another thing that should be ignored?
I had a toy dog who had his first rabies shot as a puppy when he was only 2 lbs. He first had a reaction to the shot by his skin turning purple. Both ears swelled up and it looked later with the scabbing.as if someone had sewn them up. He then permanently lost the hair around the site where it was injected.
3 years later I had him given his rabies shot again but this time he was given Benadryl before it. He still turned purple but his ears didn’t swell up and he may or may not have lost more fur at the spot as I had them give it in the same area.
The following time he was rabies exempt with a certificate. My Bet said she could give him that instead of putting him through more reactions. And from that time forward he was exempt from rabies shots until we moved to another state.
In the new state when I brought him to a Vet I was told there were rabid animals in the area. If I decided not to give my dog a rabies shot he could be referred to an animal control officer should he ever bite any staff (or anyone else for that matter) My dog did have some issues with guarding me and I knew he could possibly nip someone if he thought they were threatening me. So I left that practice and mulled it over.
So without a rabies shot he could have been put down or quarantined depending on the animal control officer.
I decided not to take the chance so I ended up seeking a Holistic Vet to treat my dog. This Vet told me they give the same rabies shot amount to all dogs regardless of size. He said it was an arbitrary amount decided upon by the government. He said many toy dogs have issues with the rabies bc of this.
So he gave my dog a smaller dose of a different brand than the prior shots after giving him the Benadryl prior to the rabies vaccine. My dog still turned purple for about 12 hours but didn’t seem to have any other issues. And then my dog was “officially” Vaccinated for Rabies. He received a tag. Vet even said if my dog was ever bitten by another animal who may have Rabies they would still have to give my dog another rabies shot even if he’d already had one that same year.
Sadly we had to put him down a couple years ago due to advanced heart congestion.
When my cat was older this same vet told me not to give her any more rabies shots. She’d had enough. He said the first one was probably all she ever needed. He also didn't believe in giving cats the three year rabies bc some have problems with these. He recommended the one year rabies got cats