Over-vaccination: can it harm your pet?
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It was only an annual rabies vaccination that Moolah, the standard poodle of former Colorado fee-only financial planner James Schwartz, went in for in 1999. But by December of that year, Moolah had passed away after developing an auto-immune disease most likely linked to her rabies vaccine.

Now Schwartz is taking on the veterinary industry and the current vaccination laws in his new book, "Trust Me, I’m Not a Veterinarian", where he explores the legalities and pitfalls of over-vaccination in pets, among other topics.



According to Schwartz, he had requested a delay of the vaccination for two more years from his veterinarian per the new law but was quoted inaccurate county statues. Moolah received the vaccine anyway.

A few days after Moolah’s shot, Schwartz noticed she "wasn’t herself". "Every guardian knows his or her dog, and when the dog isn’t right," he said.

Schwartz is now leading an anti-vaccination campaign in the Colorado state legislature and has been subject to scrutiny from the veterinary industry. In his book he demonstrates how vaccinations and their revenue offshoots serve as a large income source for veterinary practices.

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According to calculations made by Schwartz, 300 animal hospitals would administer an average of 2.25 million shots per year with a profit of $156 million over three years.

Many vets though beg to differ.

"There is a very small profit margin on vaccinations," said Dr. Bonnie Beaver, Director of the Community Practice Service for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Texas A&M University. "The important concept is that a pet’s health is a team approach, with the owner and vet as part of that team." Beaver also teaches vaccination protocol to her veterinary students.

She herself had a dog that developed an immune disease, most likely from a vaccination, but survived. "There is nothing that is 100 percent safe," said Beaver of any veterinary procedure. "An educated owner is the best kind. Ask questions. We are happy to answer questions and provide them with the best information."

Beaver also stresses that it’s not a one size fits all situation when it comes to pets and their owners. "We look at what vaccines to use based on potential risks of exposure," Beaver said. "There are a large number of vaccines available, but you select the ones that the animal is likely to be exposed to."

The American Animal Hospital Association Web site does state though that "there is increased awareness and concern that vaccination is not as harmless a procedure as once thought."

As for the frequency, the site also states that there are a growing number of veterinarians who recommend reduced frequency of vaccines. They also stress tailoring vaccine recommendations to specific risk situations.

"If the risk exposure is high, I might want to go every two years [for vaccinations] instead of waiting for the third," said Beaver.

Beaver also estimates that the frequency of side-effects, which mostly consists of swelling and pain at the injection site, is three per thousand pets vaccinated. As for the tie between immune diseases and vaccinations, Beaver said absolute proof does not currently exist, but that the link is "strongly suspected".

Schwartz contends still that there is little value in current rabies protocols and that they do far more harm than good to pets. "The reason I had to write this book is the veterinarian choosing collegiality over fixing their vaccination protocol," said Schwartz. "It all boils down to this: over-vaccination has caused physical and fiscal harm knowingly, due to their business model and the failure of veterinary ethics."

Beaver does believe though that many vaccination laws, which can vary from state to state and even city to city, are passed by well-meaning legislatures on an emotional basis rather than the science behind it. "In general, laws are placed to try and placate a public concern," said Beaver.

Still, Beaver questions Schwartz’s claims about over-vaccination in the veterinary industry. "We have a person who lost a very precious pet so there is an anger component to that," said Beaver. "In the grieving process - it’s the same process for a human or animal - one of the stages is anger. Sometimes you can get caught or stuck in those stages."

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Lalinda De La Fuente is the News Editor for Only For Pet Lovers. Check out our site to view the rest of our articles and register at our online community for pet lovers like yourself. To keep up to date on what's going on in the pet world, visit our site and check out the pet news section. You can even find available pet adoptions with our pet finder feature.

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