Let's start with a potpourri of opinion - a selection of vets who believe vaccines are damaging our dogs. The April / May 1995 issue of the exellent Wolf Clan Magazine Collected a cacaphony:

Charles E Loops, DVM, Pittsboro, USA said: "The first thing that must change with routine vaccinations is the myth that vaccines are not harmful. Veterinarians and animal guardians have to come to realise that they are not protecting animals from disease by annual vaccinations, but in fact, are destroying the health and immune systems of these same animals they love and care for".

Russell Swift, DVM, Fort Lauderdale, USA, said: "I believe that poor diet and vaccinations are responsible for most chronic diseases. Acute 'diseases' are discharges of toxins and energy from the body. The 'causative' germs assist by breaking down toxins and stumulating cleansing. By preventing these discharges, vaccines result in chronic disorders. Injected vaccines preservatives. They implant mutated microörganisms, preservatives, foreign animal proteins and other compounds directly into the system. This is done in the name of 'preventing' a few syndromes. If an animal is in an optimal state of health, he or she will produce the strongest immune response possible. This response offers protection against all NATURAL challenges. The irony is that vaccine labels say they are to be given only to healthy animals. If they were truly healthy, they would not need them. Those who are not healthy are the most severely damaged".

Pedro Rivera, DVM, Sturtevant, USA, said: "Vaccinosis is the reaction from common innoculations (vaccines) against the body's immune system and general well-being. These reactions might take months or years to show up and will cause undue harm to future generations. In our practice, we have seen hypothyroidism, chronic yeast, ear infections, immune-mediated diseases and worsening of them, joint maladies, and behavioural prolems as secondary reactions to over-vaccination."

Pat Bradley, DVM, Conway, USA, said: "The most common problems I see that are directly related to vaccines on a day to day basis are ear or skin conditions, such as chronic discharges and itching. I also see behaviour problems such as fearfulness or aggression. Often guardians will report that these begin shortly after vaccination, and are exacerbated with every vaccine.
"In a more general and frightening context, I see the overall health and longevity of animals deteriorating. The bodies of most animals have a tremendous capacity to detoxify poisons, but they do have a limit. I think we often exceed that limit and over-whelm the body's immune system function with toxins from vaccines, poor quality foods, insecticides, environmental toxins, etc. This is why we've seen such a dramatic increase in allergies, organ failures, and behaviour problems."

Christina Chambreau, DVM, Madison,USA, said: "Routine vaccinations are probably the worst thing that we do for our animals. They cause all types of illnesses but not directly to where we would relate them definitely to be caused by the vaccine. Repeating vaccinations on a yearly basis undermines the whole energetic well-being of our animals. Animals do not seem to be decimated by one or two vaccines when they are young and veterinary immunologists tell us that viral vaccines need only be given once or twice in an animal's life. First, there is no need for annual vaccinations and, second, they definitely cause chronic disease. As a homoeopath, it is almost impossible to cure an animal without first addressing the problems that vaccines have caused to the animal, no matter what the species."

Mike Kohn, DVM, Madison, USA, said: "Unfortunately our society is in the grasp of a health panacea and this panacea is fuelled by the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Vaccinations have become the modern day equivalent of leeching. First of all, introducing foreign material via subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is upsetting to the body's defense system. In response to this violation, there have been increased autoimmune disease (allergies being one component), epilepsy, neoplasia, as well as behavioural problems in small animals.
"Even though man and animals have been around for thousands of years, formal vaccines were introduced within the last century. Interestingly, the increase in cancer, respiratory disorders (most air quality standards are higher today than in decades past), and autoimmune problems have likewise escalated alarmingly during the previous decade. Vaccines are not the only culprit for these increases; however, I feel they are one of the primary offenders."

Kristine Severyn, R. PH., PH.D., Director, Ohio Parents for Vaccine Safety said: "Vaccines are not always effective, safety is unproven, and long-term consequences are unknown. Despite this the government requires their use, resulting in a lack of incentive for drug companies to produce better products. Additionally, mandatory vaccine laws make it impossible to conduct properly controlled studies, so we'll never know if vaccines are truly safe, as is claimed by the government and medical profession.
Similar to other medical procedures, the right of informed consent. i.e., the right to say 'no', should apply to vaccines."

Norman C Ralston, DVM, Mesquite, USA, said: " I think we eventually have to take a look at what is happening to animals because of repeated vaccinations. If you have an animal that within 10 days from the time he received vaccines falls back into a condition that you'd been trying to clean up for some time, you know what happened. We're seeing a condition that is being described by some of my colleagues and myself as vaccinosis.We have to recognise it as being there."

Stephen R Blake, DVM, San Diego, USA, said: "The idea of annual vaccines is really questionable. There is no scientific basis from what I've been able to read. There was a good article in Current Veterinary Therapy a couple of years ago. They did a literature search and the two authors were not 'alternative' veterinarians, and they could find no scientific basis for annual vaccines. So it's just being done; there is no real basis for the practice. There are a lot of chronic conditions that develop some time after vaccinating. Some of these conditions that I see are chronic ear infections, digestive problems, seizures, skin problems, and behavioural problems".

Nancy Scanlon, DVM, Chino Hills, USA, said: "For those who don't believe in the concept of long-term vaccinosis, there is plenty of evidence of short term problems. Every time a dog is vaccinated for Parvo, the number of white blood cells in the circulation decreases for a while. This means their immune system won't work as well during that time. Every veterinarian who has been in practice long enough has seen reactions to vaccines, ranging from lethargy, mild fever, sore neck to vomiting and sleeping for 24 hours, to total collapse and shock. In cats we now recognise that vaccinating with too many vaccines in the same place all the time can cause fibrosarcoma, a nasty cancer. This is officially recognised by the allopathic veterinary community, and if this isn't a form of vaccinosis, I don't know what is".

Finally, Driston Sherman, DVM, Colombus, USA, was quoted in Wolf Clan Magazine as saying: " When I was doing primary allopathic medicine, I saw two things. One is that within an hour after the vaccination was given, the animal was having trouble breathing or may have had redness of the skin. The other thing I saw quite often was usually about twelve to twenty-four hours after being vaccinated, animals with fever, loss of appetite, sleeping a lot, sometimes vomitting or diarrhea. Most of those cases usually took care of themselves without any intervention within twenty-four hours.
"Now that I'm doing holistic medicine, it's really intriguing to look at the medical histories of animals. One case that comes to mind is a cat with a history of these horrible-looking sores that occurred exactly 30 days after being vaccinated - two years in a row. You may want to call that coincidence. I have my suspicions but I can't say , for sure, what caused these conditions, which is very frustrating."

Gary Seymour FBIH DIHom wrote : "Under Israeli law every dog has to receive an anti-rabies vaccination once a year. Within seconds of receiving his first rabies shot, my dog had an adverse reaction and has been ill ever since (a distemper type illness).
"I am convinced that his illness is a direct result of the vaccination he has been given, and deeply fear the results of his vaccination. I see on an almost daily basis in my practice the adverse effects of vaccine poisoning to both childeren and adults. I am a protagonist of the total abolishment of vaccination in both humans and animals. If this short-sighted practice can be curtailed, or even slowed down by your Census, then I offer you my whole hearted support".

Letterbox

There is a great deal of evidence concerning the adverse effects of vaccines on dogs. This information is generally hidden, and is not easy to find. The Canine Health Census was first started after I lost two young Golden Retrievers. We thought it was time we dog owners gathered evidence, independent of drug company money.
Shortly after our two beautiful dogs died, we received articles and information from other dog lovers whose dogs were suffering from terrible illnesses or dying years before their time. A major authority in vaccine reactions in dogs is Jean Dodds DVM, an American vet and researcher. Ms Dodds contends that Multiple Live Virus vaccines (MLV vaccines) are responsible for many diseases of the immune system in today’s dogs. She includes arthritis, epilepsy, thyroid disease, diabetes, allergies and other conditions as those linked to vaccine regime.
I, personally, have many, many letters from dog owners whose dogs reacted violently to their vaccines - within minutes, hours, months. Many say that their dog started limping shortly after vaccination, and the vet diagnosed arthritis. Others say that their dog started having epileptic fits shortly after being vaccinated. When you see letter after letter after letter saying these things, you soon realise that this is not coincidence. However, vets rarely tell their clients that a vaccine is the cause of their dogs’ ill health. Is this because they don’t think it is? Is it because they don’t realise? Or is it because they are all frightened of telling the truth?
A vet typically pays about £5 in England for a vaccine shot. He will charge his client anywhere between £15 and £35. Some people in England - typically the people whose dogs have died, they believe, as a result of the vaccination - say that vaccines are big business for vets: they represent the profitability of a veterinary practice. Also, vets make a lot of money ‘treating’ the illnesses that arise from vaccines.
All this, of course, is opinion. So how about some facts: Intervet, a vaccine manufacturer, states in its own veterinary data sheets:
Only healthy dogs should be vaccinated. Following initial vaccination, dogs should not be exposed to infection for at least 14 days. Generalised hypersensitivity reactions following administration may occasionally occur. In this event, administration of Adrenaline BP by the subcutaneous route may be indicated.
A good immune response is reliant on the reaction of an immunogenic agent and a fully competent immune system. Immunocompetence of the animal may be compromised by a variety of factors including poor health, nutritional status, genetic factors, concurrent drug therapy and stress.
I ask these questions:
What is Adrenaline used for? Is it not used for life and death situations? What "generalised hypersensitivity" reactions are they talking about? They don’t tell us.
How do you know if your dog is healthy enough to be vaccinated? Can he tell you if he feels ill?
How do you know if your dog’s immune system is fully competent? If you feed your dog commercial pet food (containing ‘ash’, animal ‘byproducts’, vegetable ‘derivatives’,) how good is your dog’s nutritional status? If they don’t tell us, precisely, what is in the dog’s food, how do we know? In England, the Pet Food Manufacturers Association states in its own literature that the ingredients of dog food would be thrown away if we didn’t give it to dogs!!
How do you know if your dog has ‘genetic factors’ that mean he shouldn’t be vaccinated? Does your vet ask you whether any of the dog’s relatives have epilepsy, thyroid disease, allergies, and so on? Does the vet even take your dog’s temperature?
Stress: isn’t it stressful for a puppy to be taken away from his littermates and mother, and placed in a completely strange environment, and then jabbed with an assortment of live virus vaccines?
Further, Ronald D. Schultz, a top American veterinary immunologist, conducted a search of all available veterinary literature, trying to find the scientific basis for annual revaccination for dogs. He could find none. This fact was reported in Kirk’s Veterinary Therapy, a leading publication for vets. At a seminar in America, Dr. Schultz is reported as having said that distemper would have died out years ago if we hadn’t vaccinated our dogs. The vaccine regime is keeping the virus in the ecosystem.
Further, the canine distemper vaccine is actually the measles virus (cfr Black’s Veterinary Dictionary). Compare vaccine reactions in children who have been given the measles virus: epilepsy, bowel disorders, allergies, autism, etc... all the same reactions can be seen in dogs.
Except, of course, poor dog owners are never told this by their vets. So when their dog becomes ill, they are confused and grieving, and they don’t think to speak with their friends and share information. There is not, to my knowledge, one single consumer protection body of dogs (or cats). We have listened to the ‘experts’ as if they were gods. Having seen hundreds of letters from dog owners, and having conducted a great deal of research, I know for a fact that vaccines can be extremely damaging to our pets. We are not told of the risks, so we must inform ourselves.
I would be grateful if any of your readers who own dogs would take part in the Canine Health Census. We are seeking to gather case histories of 16,577 dogs. This will give us the statistical evidence to prove (or disprove) whether vaccines, commercial pet food, drugs, chemicals (including flea treatments and agricultural chemicals), stress and other factors are creating death and disease in the modern dog. We have refused sponsorship from companies selling into the multi-billion £ pet market - so dog lovers are funding the Census themselves. So far, over 2,000 dogs are taking part.

Yours sincerely,
Catherine O’Driscoll
The Canine Health Census
P.O. Box 1, Longnor, Derbyshire, SK17 0JD, England
Tel +44 1298 84737
Fax 84739