Dear Darcie, I just read your e-mail on certain foods and totally agree with you. We had 6 dogs and I cook their meals for them. I did everything right as far as food and their diets and yet I still lost my little pug, Star, on 12/29/2011 to something I had never heard of before. TEN. This was caused by her vaccines. She died a horrible death. It started with a bright red rash on her skin. We rushed her to the emergency vet when it appeared. They said allergic reaction, gave her steroids and sent her home. It looked like it was getting better as the red paled a little. The next week that paling rash turned into blisters which were full of puss. This wasn’t a slow process, it happened over about an hour. We took her to our vet and again they said allergic reaction, gave her more steroids and sent her home. We couldn’t work out what she had come into contact with as nothing had changed at home. I don’t use cleaners like bleach etc. only vinegar based cleaners. Two days later we were back at the vet. This time they bathed her with a special shampoo which I then had to bath her with every second day and put her on antibiotics. Again they said they had no idea what it was. This was the Friday before Christmas. By the day after Christmas she was worse so back to the vet. This time they finally decided I need to see a specialist and sent me to Georgia Veterinary College. Immediately they said it was TEN. We did everything we could for her but it was too late and she died because she went septic.
I wanted to tell you this in the hopes that just maybe another dog could be saved by you letting people know about this terrible reaction to vaccines. Vets don’t tell you that this could happen and in fact don’t seem to know themselves. Apparently it doesn’t happen often but it does happen and not only to animals but to people too. Their chances of surviving are slim but there is a chance if it is diagnosed quickly and the person/animal is treated like a burn victim. If we had known that we would have done everything we could to keep her in a sterile environment and had her on blood cleansers and antibiotics right from the start. Instead our ignorance killed her. Please could you let people know what to look out for. Star was only 5 years old when she died. She was supposed to be with us for many years.
Thanks.
Take care,
Lindy
I found this article discussing TEN. It’s referring to humans, but I still found it informative. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/229698-overview
Glad Lindy addressed this issue. I lost my wonderful “heart dog” to an autoimmune reaction to the rabies vaccine. He suffered terribly before the only decision left was to peacefully let him go. I’ve lost count of the 100 mile RT emergency trips to the vet to treat him during this time. Now Washington state has just passed a new law that rabies vaccine is mandatory for all dogs. Even though the reaction does not happen to every dog it doesn’t help a bit when you lose your dog. It’s heart breaking to think you caused his death by complying with the law. The hurt and guilt just doesn’t go away. I think all states should allow an exemption from shots if a titer test is run and shows they do not need the shot. I will never vaccinate my 13 year old little gal again for anything. Even my younger dogs are only gettng the very minimum in vaccinations. – Nance
A note: Most cities and states will accept a letter from a vet saying the dog is not in health good enough to receive a vaccination and excuse the dog. – Darcie
My condolences on the loss of your Pug. What kind of vaccine did Star come in contact with at age 5 that she had not had every year previously?
Each time they get a vaccine, they can have a more serious reaction. I still believe what was done 50 years ago is the best. Puppy shots, next a booster at a year and that is all. No vet ever wanted you to give more shots than that and it worked well. All the shots they want you to give now shorten the lives of dogs and that is such a shame. I am so sorry for your loss and the terrible suffering your poor baby had to go through for lack of knowledge on the vets part. I had one vet tell me when I told him that a pup probably was having an out break of canine herpes since two sibblings had died within 4 days of birth from that and he told me there was no such thing and gave me his Vet book to prove it and I showed him that there was but he still did not treat her for that and she lost an eye because of it. They were foster pups but we still loved them much and wanted the best care for them. We do not use that vet any more
So sorry for the loss of your pup… what is TEN? I have searched it every way I can think of but the results always come back with something involving the number 10.
Can you please elaborate on what TEN is/stands for? Thanks!! So sorry for your loss, that’s why I try to limit how often my dogs are vaccinated…Andrea
Dear Andrea, I’ll have to look into this more, too. I’ve heard of it but not sure about the particulars. I don’t like vaccinating dogs or people, I believe that it an be dangerous. Before you vaccinate, have blood titers done. That will tell you if your dog even needs another vaccination. We over medicate in this country. Makes me tired. – Darcie
Darcie, I showed my vet the article about 10 and she was not aware of this either. If there is any way we can find out more I will be sure to let her know. I recently had one of my pugs in for usual check up and only got the Bordatella vaccine. I am also a bit apprehensive about all the shots they get. So in the future I’ll be careful about which ones they get. Thanks for all you information about dogs. Joan
Ok, I am so sorry for your loss and your hurting. However, the Rabies vaxene, in particular is crucial. If an old, ill dog doesn’t get it, that’s one thing, but all dogs in dog parks, in doggy daycare and of course, all service dogs and other working dogs in the public like police dogs, search and rescue or bomb detection dogs should have the Rabies vaxene. Extremes are not wise and not good for anyone. I condemn the unquestioning sheep who just does whatever the vet says without question, just as much as the person who refuses care, treatments, vaxenes, without having all of the information, just because someone else told them not to do it, or out of some misplaced sense of natural being best. Either extreme is not good for our dogs. Are all vaxines necessary or necessary in the intervals that some laws mandate or that some vets wish to give? No, absolutely not. But, are all vaxines a bad thing, dangerous and horrible? No, not at all. Some are life saving and I agree with their being mandated, some are pointless and harmful. Some can fall into either catagory depending on the dog and the situation, but blanket statements supporting either side of the arguement are ignorant. I do not think that just because a few dogs have reactions, even deadly ones that a vaxene should not be given. I do think that research, quick, fast and in a hurry on alternative protection for sensative dogs, and identifying sensative dogs is crucial. To those who refuse to vaxinate your dogs on the big things like distemper and rabies. If it is because your dog is too old and too sick, and you are keeping that dog safely at home, for it’s sake and for the sake of other dogs, that is fine, but if you have a young active dog and you are just not vaxinating because you feel like it, be aware that you could be responsible for the death of many other dogs, and that your dog had better not wind up anywhere near a 50000 plus service dog. The rabies vaxine is very very very unlikely to hurt a dog, but Rabies it’s self, is guarinteed to kill your dog and possibly other dogs. My dog gets vaxinated for things like Rabies, but I don’t jump on the kennel cough or doggy flu shot band wagon just because my vet recommends it. I do not think that vaxenes cure all evils or that they are evil incarnate. I take every single situation, research it and then make an informed decision, which is what any good dog owner should do. I am not a dumb sheep following the system, I did many things differently with my son and my dog, such as feeding a raw diet to my dog and ignoring advice to bathe her every month, to discontinue her heartworm preventative in the winter months, to get her the doggy flu shot, etc, I also cloth diapered, breastfeed, co slept with, and am homeschooling my son. I got him some, but not all of the routine vaxines. I always listen to my doctor, do research, ask questions, then decide what to do. It’s important not to go to extremes, and to make informed decisions all of the time, in all areas of our lives, including caring for our dogs. – Heather