I used to be a vet tech and blithely gave vaccines to all my animals. DHLPP for dogs, seven-way for horses, FeLP for cats. The veterinarians said they would keep my animals healthy and I believed.
Then I heard about the feline leukemia vaccine causing cancer in cats. I thought it would be better not to give this vaccine, but the Association of Feline Practitioners said to give it anyway - just give it in the cat's rear leg.
Why, you ask? That way when the cat developed cancer they could just amputate the leg. For more information see: https://www.vetinfo.com/feline-leukemia-vaccine.html Where they say, "By limiting the vaccination site to the back leg, amputation is a better idea."
The more I thought about it, the more I distrusted the use of vaccines. Inject a small dose of the disease directly into an animal and hope their immune system could deal with it? How unnatural.
Then to increase the efficiency, the drug makers started adding adjuvants. These are substances that the World Health Organization listed as Class III carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk. (IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.)
Although required by law, the rabies vaccine is one of the most dangerous of the vaccines. Researchers believe it causes the most and worst adverse reactions in animals, including cancerous tumors at the injection site. Here is a webpage I came across recently that chronicles the decline and eventual death of an Australian Shepherd after her second rabies vaccination. (Note: Although this website is no longer functional, it can be seen on the Wayback Machine. Enter this URL in the search field - http://www.pinecrest-aussies.com/in-memory-of-belle.html)
There is a study underway to improve the safety of rabies vaccines and to determine, by challenge, if they confer immunity for longer than three years as currently believed by most states. One French study showed dogs were immune to a rabies challenge five years after vaccination, while a study in Wisconsin found sufficient antibody titers after seven years.
UPDATE - January 25, 2018
Research shows that dogs who have received two doses of rabies virus vaccine are protected for at least FIVE years. The study is still ongoing and they are collecting and analyzing data from 6.5 and 7 years post-vaccination.
Here are links to more information about vaccine dangers:
Veterinarian Quotes
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/common/vaccinations.html
Ron Schultz, DVM quoted on Shirley's Wellness Cafe
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm
Vaccine Safety
http://www.vaccines.net/newpage114.htm
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