Good Bloggie!

If you’ve been a reader of our blog, you know we support the work of The Rabies Challenge Fund and their current research to prove protection from a rabies shot lasts longer than the one or three years currently required by most states. The picture below should be a convincing argument. This is our Pascal, an hour AFTER being rushed to the vet for an emergency epinephrine/antihistamine shot. Up to this point, he had not had a severe reaction to any vaccine. This was his first rabies booster shot.  (Yes, the same Pascal of eating our vacation fame.)

Pascal after his first rabies booster.

Luckily, the booster was administered in the morning and we were able to run him back to the vet for treatment to combat his adverse reaction. It only took a couple of hours for his face, head, and body to swell dramatically after the shot. (Sometimes it can happen right way, sometimes with 24-36 hours.) A larger danger was the swelling inside the body, which can block airways. Not caught in time, our little guy could have suffocated. Adverse reactions can also cause coma, shock, seizures, cardiac failure, and, unfortunately, death.

He did recover within a few days, but now, anytime a vaccine booster shot is administered he also gets an epinephrine/antihistamine shot at the same time.

In fact, rather than play Russian Roulette with an adverse reaction, we now have the vet administer an epinephrine/antihistamine shot along with the vaccination for any dog who has demonstrated a severe reaction, or one we think might have one. An adverse reaction is much more common than you would think. So many people find our blog after their dog or puppy has had an adverse reaction. By blogging about our experiences, our hope is that we are helping to prevent future reactions for other dog and pet owners.

Here are our personal guidelines, when it comes time for vaccines:

• Discuss our concerns with our vet before any shot is administered.
• Set up a morning appointment time or drop them off in the morning.
• For dogs that have lesser reactions, give them Children’s Benadryl (diphenhydramine) prior to the vaccine, as this might be enough. (Check with your vet for dosage amount.)
• After picking the dog up, we watch them closely for any swelling or problems. After 24 hours we feel they should be in the clear, but still are on the lookout for any problems for the following week. (Later reactions can occur up to 45 days post-injection.)
• At any indication of swelling or vomiting take them back to the vet, or an emergency vet clinic.

Here’s a picture of Pascal, fully recovered. Because the swelling was painful, he rubbed his face till pigmentation came off. Took awhile, but most of it finally came back in and he is as a handsome as ever. Our story ended well. If your dog has, or ever does have, an adverse reaction, we hope yours ends well, too.

Pascal recovered.

To learn more about The Rabies Challenge Fund, visit their site here.

To learn more about Vaccine Adverse Reactions in dogs, visit this link here and here.

To read more of our prior posts on this topic, go here, here, and here.