The Current Vaccine Schedule Is Harming Your Pet: Veterinarian

Dr. John Robb DVM, a veterinarian of 39 years, told The Epoch Times that he has seen adverse reactions to vaccines quite commonly in pets, especially small pets, with some resulting in death.

Dr. Robb, who has taken an oath to do no harm, suggested that pet owners should get an antibody titer test for their pets instead. An antibody titer test is a blood test that can measure whether a prior vaccine’s antibodies are still present in the blood, indicating immunity.

He explained why over-vaccinating your pet can be harmful.

“It can kill your pet. I mean, I can’t say it any clearer than that these vaccines are very serious things; they affect the whole immune system, and when the immune system is awry, every system in the body can go awry. So pet owners need to be very concerned with over-vaccinating their pets,” he said.

His website protectthepets.com is dedicated to educating veterinarians and pet owners about over-vaccination, empowering them to make decisions in the best interest of the animal’s health, and through this, amending the rabies law to recognize titer testing in lieu of revaccination.

According to the website rabiesaware.org, all but 11 states cite rabies vaccination requirements for dogs, cats, or ferrets; and within the 11 states that do not cite requirements, cities and counties may or may not impose specific laws or regulations concerning rabies vaccination and control measures.

Dr. Robb noted that giving a vaccine doesn’t guarantee immunity, because some pets are “non-responders,” meaning they don’t develop antibodies after a vaccine dose, so the vaccine alone can leave pet owners with a false sense of protection.

He said reports show that some pets who were up to date on their rabies vaccines actually got rabies and died of it. If those pets had had titer checks, that would have revealed that they were non-responders and were not protected, he said.

“So you see the titer actually protects, whereas not doing it actually puts more people at risk of rabies,” he said.

A study in the United States from 1997 to 2001 concluded that rabies in vaccinated dogs and cats is uncommon but can occur.

Dr. Robb said vaccine manufacturers recommend that all pets receive the same volume of 1cc regardless of the pet’s size, which is overdosing smaller pets.

He mentioned a case of an immediate reaction following a vaccine, in which upon leaving the hospital, the owner ran back in because the pet was going into anaphylactic shock and required emergency treatment.

He also said that delayed reactions can occur, one of them being serum sickness, in which the dog goes home, vomits, hides under the bed, and runs a fever. He’s also seen tumors at the injection site and vaccine-associated sarcomas that develop later in life.

In addition, Dr. Robb said he was notified recently about a pet who developed hemolytic anemia, which started breaking down the pet’s red blood cells, and the pet died following vaccination.

He said if pets are given appropriate doses for their weight and then their antibodies are checked and they are found to be immune, they can stop receiving more shots, and that would prevent 99 percent of their reactions to vaccines.

“The reactions occur because these pets are continually vaccinated even though they already have immunity. And of course if you have circulating antibodies against what you’re vaccinating for, then those antibodies can attack the vaccine itself and cause more reaction,” he said. “But once you have immunity that can be measured with an antibody level, then there’s no medical reason to give that dog another shot.”

He said that few vets actually report adverse events, and when they are reported, it’s hard to get your hands on the reports. Also, vets will say that adverse reactions rarely happen.

He thinks it’s sad to see a pet pass away or suffer from chronic disease due to vaccine injury, when the pet owners were only trying to keep their pets healthy with the visit to the vet.

“I always tried to educate the pet parents, because I felt that they’re the ones who really need to drive the change,” he said.

He noted that rabies is a serious disease, and it’s important to protect from the rabies virus, so he’s not against vaccination for rabies.

“We vaccinate puppies and kittens, and after that we check antibody levels, so they rarely ever need another vaccine,” he said.

His own experience with getting the rabies vaccine has proven that a vaccine lasts longer than what people are led to believe.

“I was vaccinated in vet school in 1983, and my titer, my antibody levels are still good,” he said.

A study of adverse events diagnosed within three days of vaccine administration in dogs concluded that young adult small-breed neutered dogs that received multiple vaccines per office visit were at the greatest risk of a vaccine-associated adverse event within 72 hours after vaccination, and these factors should be considered in risk assessment and risk communication with clients regarding vaccination.

Dr. Robb’s website mentions that the study did not include the number of dogs that died.

Dr. Robb has faced criticism for his stance on over-vaccination and has had to defend himself in courtrooms, including in front of the state board in Connecticut.

“I have to make sure I do no harm. So if there’s a law that would force me to do harm to my patient, then I have to break that law. … I’m not going to sell my soul,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter what tribunal I’m in front of. That’s the answer.”

He said most veterinarians have been taught certain things in school, and that’s all they know about it. He believes that change happens slowly sometimes, and that the acceptance of the titer test is really the way it should be for evaluating immunity in pets.

Holistic Approach

Dr. Will Falconer DVM said that allergies are a top reason owners brings their dogs to the vet, and many times the allergic reaction is due to vaccination.

“That gives you a sense right there; the vaccines predispose that allergy or cause that allergy; we see it over and over again. We just have to look out on a timeline to establish the relationship. It’s not right away; it’s a month, maybe a little more … and those symptoms can last a lifetime,” Dr. Falconer told The Epoch Times.

Dr. Falconer is a holistic veterinarian with conventional training, and he is also a certified veterinary homeopath. His website vitalanimal.com seeks to help pet owners sidestep the damage of conventional prevention and put them on a natural path.

He says that before curing those chronic illnesses you have to first treat the pet for vaccinosis (vaccine-induced illness).

“This is chronic disease, manmade chronic disease, often in the name of prevention,” he said.

He said pets can develop a natural immunity to parvo and distemper through a very controlled natural exposure, and they can bypass vaccines entirely and then have their immunity tested.

“There’s a way to just bring them into the wild a little bit, time their exposure, five minutes on the ground, and pick them up and go home, and a week later do it again, and a week later do it again, and then measure a titer; and lo and behold, that immunity [is there]. … That immunity is far stronger and far longer lasting than a vaccine would ever be able to create,” Dr. Falconer said.

In addition to the antibody response to fight illness, he said there is also a cellular immune response. He said cellular immunity can be long-lived even if the antibody titer level falls off, because it’s not practical for the immune system to keep pumping out antibodies when there’s no challenge.

“So one of the chief mistakes I see in titer interpretation is, oh, my animal’s titer dropped; therefore, I think I better get another vaccine,” Dr. Falconer said. “That cellular response is still lurking in the background.”

If the germ comes along years later, the cells can start pumping out more antibodies, he said.

Testimonials

Christy Morrison, a dog trainer now living in Georgia, shared with The Epoch Times about how her 13-year-old Yorkshire terrier named Chloe Jean passed away after being over-vaccinated for her small size.

She said that before she moved to upstate New York, her dog had a clean bill of health from her veterinarian in Texas.

After a few months in New York, Ms. Morrison booked a checkup with a local vet for her three dogs. Her dogs weighed 55 pounds, 85 pounds, and 6 pounds, respectively.

“What I didn’t know at the time, unfortunately, was that … even though their sizes vary considerably, the dosage of vaccines is the same for all dogs, so when you have a six-pound dog, they’re supposed to space them out two or three weeks apart, and I didn’t know that, so he gave the dosage to all three dogs, and my little six-pound healthy 13-year-old Yorkshire terrier had violent seizures for two days and died.”

After that, Ms. Morrison made it a point to learn about titers and vaccinations. Now, as a dog trainer, she educates her clients about titers.

“Ever since I lost my Yorkie I have had all of my dogs titered instead of just vaccinating them,” Ms. Morrison said.

Wanda Allen from Maine told The Epoch Times that her first dog, Migo, whom she rescued from a shelter, died at nine and a half years old from lung cancer, which she thinks developed due to over-vaccination.

“I remember thinking that the amount of vaccines and medications he was given all at once seemed very high,” she said. “Then came all the flea and tick and heartworm medicines they wanted him to have year-round, when the ticks and mosquitoes were only around part of the year. My dog also got an upset stomach when he took the meds. I asked what was in them and was shocked to find out—pesticides.”

She said she learned about titers from a documentary series about over-medicating pets and the dangers of refined commercial kibble. When Migo was two years old, she took him for a visit to the vet, and they wanted to give him boosters, but she insisted on a titer test instead.

She said that for the rest of his life his titer level was good and he didn’t need a booster.

Additional Resources

There is no law requiring pet owners to give the vaccines for distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, and +/- parainfluenza to their pets.

The American Animal Hospital Association recommends a schedule of a combination of vaccines initially, and instead of titer testing it recommends revaccination after one year with subsequent boosters at intervals of three years.

The website titersforpets.org states that all veterinarians have the ability to send out your dog’s blood for an antibody titer test. The website states that the rabies titer test will become the standard indicator of assessing immunity as soon as enough concerned people are educated and help pass legislation to legalize titers in lieu of revaccination for rabies.