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Post by Lucy on Apr 9, 2011 20:42:43 GMT
 My son was born in 2006 and had his that year! I'm shocked that no one said anything. Mind you, we've had a few cases of TB here. Sorry for hijacking your thread, Tracy! |
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Post by brodysmom on Apr 9, 2011 20:57:18 GMT
No problems! Hijack away. I don't care at all.  |
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Post by brodysmom on Apr 15, 2011 1:00:02 GMT
Rabies titer came back FINALLY. It took about 3 weeks! Sheesh! Anyway, anything above .1 is considered adequate immunity and his was .6! Yay!! I'm glad to have that back and confirmed. He had ONE rabies shot at 6 months old. He has an exemption from our vet so he won't be vaccinated again and I will still be compliant with state/local laws. |
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Post by mchis on Apr 15, 2011 1:19:04 GMT
That's great Tracy! So happy for you...and Brody! You're so lucky to have such an understanding vet. This has been on my mind this afternoon actually because the vet I went to today to get Mobie/Boo's vac will NOT give excemptions. She told me they had maybe 3 dogs in the practice that have that excemption & they are old & have autoimmune diseases. I actually started a "question" on FB pertaining to this & some people said that even if they have the excemption & immunity shown by titers if there was ever a "bite" involved they could put the dog to sleep to test for Rabies. I'm so confused by this whole thing & irritated. Mostly because the folks at the vet were very rude & dismissing to my concerns about Boo's vac reaction. I won't be going back to this particular vet office but I don't know what I'll run into at the next place since my regular vet is no longer practicing.  Granted it won't be my decision with Boo/Mobie BUT I want to give his new home an idea on what to do & right now I'm torn. Ugh.... |
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Post by brodysmom on Apr 15, 2011 1:32:20 GMT
Well, I think you have to use common sense. If Brody were to bite someone (and hard enough to break the skin and actually transfer his saliva which is how rabies is transmitted), then that person would have to pursue it with local authorities. Not sure if this would be the police, the humane society, or how that works. At that point, for arguments sake, I would produce his rabies titer results and "prove" to the person that he has immunity to the rabies virus and is not rabid.
They could confiscate him and keep him for 2 weeks. If he was rabid, it would show up during that 2 week period. There could be a fine involved as well. I do NOT believe that they would euthanize him 'just in case' he had rabies. I have not heard of that, but I suppose it could depend on your local laws.
Knowing all of that, I keep his rabies tag and a copy of his titer results in my purse and also the glovebox of both our cars. That way I could produce them in case he would (theoretically) bite someone and hopefully prevent them from contacting the police.
He does have a medical exemption so he's covered legally. That's just how we are handling it. Every person has to do what they think is relevant and prudent in each situation. For us, that means NOT giving the rabies vaccine when he so obviously already has antibodies against it.
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Post by brodysmom on Apr 15, 2011 1:39:57 GMT
Let's say... also for arguments sake.... that Brody finds a bat with rabies lying in our yard and picks it up and it bites him. Knowing that bats aren't common around here, if he found one - that's what I would think first. I wouldn't worry about it, other than the risk of infection from the bite, because his immune status is high.
Having more shots doesn't make you MORE immune. This is immunology 101. You are either immune or you are not. This is where it gets confusing because people call extra vaccines 'boosters' when they do NOT booster anything. The vaccine either works or it doesn't.
With immunology studies going out 15 years now (Dr. Shultz at the University of Wisconsin), I feel comfortable with Brody's immune status and he won't be receiving any further vaccines. I believe that wellness is on a continuum as well, and with his diet, his activity level, and his lack of parasites - I believe that his chances of contracting a fatal infectious disease are slim to none.
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Kelly
Smooth Coat   
Posts: 217
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Post by Kelly on Apr 15, 2011 1:53:59 GMT
*love to Tracy* Brody is such a lucky little man.
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Post by mchis on Apr 15, 2011 3:11:35 GMT
See, that's what I thought Tracy! Folks on FB have me a wee bit paranoid on how they said bite cases were handled. I had 2 "reliable" people say the titer results were basically useless but an UTD rabies certificate was. (wouldn't it make more sense if it was the other way around?  ) I guess it warrants more research on my part on how reliable the titers are in our state/county. I suppose regardless it would be wise to get Boo vaccinated once against Rabies obviously pretreating him appropriately. But certainly not until he's quite a bit bigger....or adult size at his rate. LOL Just made me cringe when they even thought about giving him his rabies WITH the distemper today *not that I'd have agreed to that!* but then told me to wait a couple weeks.  Anyway, sorry for taking over but thanks for the scenarios & such. Brody is definitely lucky to have a wonderful mum like you!! And we're lucky to have you around to share your info/experiences. |
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My son was born in 2006 and had his that year!
) I guess it warrants more research on my part on how reliable the titers are in our state/county. I suppose regardless it would be wise to get Boo vaccinated once against Rabies obviously pretreating him appropriately. But certainly not until he's quite a bit bigger....or adult size at his rate. LOL Just made me cringe when they even thought about giving him his rabies WITH the distemper today *not that I'd have agreed to that!* but then told me to wait a couple weeks. 