http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-tv-rabiesvaccinationrestrictions,0,5632202.story
I always knew he'd one day get his fifteen minutes of fame. It couldn't be for a more worthy reason, either.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
California Rabies Bill Seeks Lifetime Quarantine for Sick Dogs
An amendment currently being considered by the California Legislature would force dog owners whose dogs are too sick to be vaccinated to either quarantine those dogs or vaccinate them, despite their illnesses. This would include dogs whose illnesses have been caused or aggravated by the rabies vaccine itself. For those dogs, and many others with chronic diseases, the amendment would effectively create either a requirement of lifetime quarantine or force the dog to receive a life-threatening vaccination.
Vaccine-induced illness, or vaccinosis, comes in a variety of forms and is usually autoimmune in nature. Typically, dogs that develop vaccinosis never fully recover, and it is usually recommended that they not be vaccinated again. They often receive a medical exemption in the form of a letter from a veterinarian advising against future vaccination. A medical exemption letter can be given for many reasons, if a veterinarian determines that a dog is too sick to tolerate further vaccination. In fact, the labeling instructions on vaccine products instruct veterinarians to vaccinate healthy dogs only.
In California, several changes to the rabies vaccination laws are currently under review, including this language:
“A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be kept quarantined as directed by the local health officer, until the dog's medical condition has resolved and the administration of the canine antirabies vaccine occurs.”
For those dogs that are exempt due to vaccinosis or other chronic conditions, this proposed amendment means owners must choose either lifetime quarantine or vaccinating unhealthy dogs against both veterinary and labeling advice. For some of these dogs, vaccination would be deadly.
What is the actual likelihood of rabies in California dogs? According to data published by the California Department of Health Services, Veterinary Public Health Section, bats and skunks are far more likely to carry rabies than dogs. During the past four years, only one rabid dog has been reported in the entire state of California. Of the six human cases reported during the period from 1997 to 2006, four are known to have contracted rabies outside of the United States. (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/Pages/rabies.aspx).
Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, Chief Deputy of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), wrote in 2008: "Bats and skunks are the most common animals found to be rabid in California. Rabies is rare in dogs, cats, and other domestic animals in California due to vaccination programs and animal control efforts." (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR2008-50.aspx).
In other words, the vaccination program that currently exists in California is already working.
According to Jean Dodds, world-renowned California veterinarian and Co-Trustee of the Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust*: “I am definitely alarmed about the negative impact this proposed legislation would have on the health and longevity of dogs legitimately deserving of rabies booster exemptions. The mandate of permanent quarantine as the alternative to forcing these dogs to receive rabies boosters would cause untold pain, suffering and hardship not only for the pet but also the pet owner.
“This proposed legislation is a significant setback to current advancements in standardizing rabies laws nationwide and providing uniform requirements for issuing exemptions, where appropriate, on a case-by-case basis. It would be ironic indeed, if the State of California, believed to be progressive, was to take a big step backwards and enact unwise and unjustified legislation!”
Laura Bates Sterner of Sacramento, the owner of Louie, a Chinese Crested with a long history of health problems related to the rabies vaccine, is worried that people will not understand what this law would mean for dogs like hers with chronic illness. “Another part of the same amendment defines and clarifies what qualifies as a medical exemption under the law, and that is a good thing,” she says, “but pet owners who fail to look more closely at the rest of the proposed legislation may not realize that it also contains this additional language that will force quarantines. Until now, dogs with medical exemptions have been allowed to simply live out their days. If the new language passes in its entirety, those animals deemed exempt under the law will have a far different future.”
Sterner, along with Cynthia Jeremica of Sacramento, is hoping to make other dog owners aware of the proposed change to bill AB2000. They support an alternative proposal written and endorsed by the co-trustees of the Rabies Challenge Fund which would eliminate the quarantine requirement, and make other important changes. For more information about what you need to do in order to speak out against this amendment (amendment 2 to bill AB2000), please visit http://savelouie.blogspot.com/2010/05/california-action-alert-proposed-ca.html .
*The Rabies Challenge Fund is in the third year of concurrent 5- and 7-year research trials to determine the long-term duration of immunity of the canine rabies vaccine with the goal of extending state mandated rabies boosters to 5, and then 7 years. The purpose would be to extend the interval required for rabies booster vaccination after the initial 2-dose series beyond the 3-year interval now followed. See www.rabieschallengefund.org for additional information.
(Above Photos L-R: Louie, before and after onset of his rabies vaccine-induced illness)
Additional background/resources:
• http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/ (background on the Rabies Challenge Fund)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/alerts (Breaking information about the pending amendment to AB2000)
• http://savelouie.blogspot.com/2009/07/part-5-rabies-vaccine-induced-ischemic.html (Story of “Louie’s” struggle with vaccinosis)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog4dogs/2009/07/01/rabies-vaccine-skin-reaction-ischemic-dermatopathy/ (Story of “Peaches” struggle with vaccinosis)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog4dogs/2009/10/28/vaccine-injection-site-tumors/ a dog with a vaccine induced fibrosarcoma at the injection site.
•
High-resolution images of vaccinosis:
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8GH-e9RG8Pdub9iYIumKokPj5CXX7DjKb7twUYnrpdDD3SFVW5ULrIM4-vWO6Op-pj_S1mEtnG10EJzhLbJQ5k_sH7Tid7jkvYBC4QL9SfVbvfVA1TkQlk9Cv_lHlRSWncw1cG8MiBQ/s1600-h/IMG_1220.JPG (Erosion of skin and open lesions on Louie’s ear, more than a year after his injection - image also attached)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RpdZeK4pZlNMFK4kH898-s_SrC3cz_rvllZz1EuV8MudE2POfWl-cbLFr_gsqAr-J5OoqgMjXYpPBvLq1fl_HyXqS7JauIah37snpXHyI1rbPXa_Z0AxQtOZRrWVxhf962F-ttKGCTA/s1600-h/IMG_1218.JPG (Crusting and hyperpigmentation at Louie’s injection site, more than a year after his injection)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwtckDLGhVTE3dFZ7TEeh6X_pFVmoUrkK72H4l5BhfdUu4KLpfSqZB-GGix7QWLU3Noye3GLU9RkjXOVgJ5kxhwUjjbqGZbURS1oJusPrepVmd8ZWKtVBdnWEYlL1uk7OWDDYHrW1Vro/s1600-h/Peaches+from+Feb.+08+to+Feb.+09+skin+changes+002.jpg (Peaches’ ischemic dermatopathy due to rabies vaccine)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSwkZ1Hj6aG18MuU9ZPrp8skEKShrXgP7OH49RkL3H8KLe2Izsni-LQZUChg2QTLT5gwM4AOaujd4sENptNQyQMql2jcjiPeCRxTLVNvDFr6czfet-KvZy23LkHQFjSEB_GpCgk9WP_o/s1600-h/Peaches+from+Feb.+08+to+Feb.+09+skin+changes+007.jpg (Another image of Peaches showing the damage at the injection site – Image also attached)
• http://savelouie.com/images/IMG_0110.jpg (Louie before his illness)
• http://savelouie.com/images/IMG_1173-1.jpg (Louie with his illness)
An amendment currently being considered by the California Legislature would force dog owners whose dogs are too sick to be vaccinated to either quarantine those dogs or vaccinate them, despite their illnesses. This would include dogs whose illnesses have been caused or aggravated by the rabies vaccine itself. For those dogs, and many others with chronic diseases, the amendment would effectively create either a requirement of lifetime quarantine or force the dog to receive a life-threatening vaccination.
Vaccine-induced illness, or vaccinosis, comes in a variety of forms and is usually autoimmune in nature. Typically, dogs that develop vaccinosis never fully recover, and it is usually recommended that they not be vaccinated again. They often receive a medical exemption in the form of a letter from a veterinarian advising against future vaccination. A medical exemption letter can be given for many reasons, if a veterinarian determines that a dog is too sick to tolerate further vaccination. In fact, the labeling instructions on vaccine products instruct veterinarians to vaccinate healthy dogs only.
In California, several changes to the rabies vaccination laws are currently under review, including this language:
“A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be kept quarantined as directed by the local health officer, until the dog's medical condition has resolved and the administration of the canine antirabies vaccine occurs.”
For those dogs that are exempt due to vaccinosis or other chronic conditions, this proposed amendment means owners must choose either lifetime quarantine or vaccinating unhealthy dogs against both veterinary and labeling advice. For some of these dogs, vaccination would be deadly.
What is the actual likelihood of rabies in California dogs? According to data published by the California Department of Health Services, Veterinary Public Health Section, bats and skunks are far more likely to carry rabies than dogs. During the past four years, only one rabid dog has been reported in the entire state of California. Of the six human cases reported during the period from 1997 to 2006, four are known to have contracted rabies outside of the United States. (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/Pages/rabies.aspx).
Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, Chief Deputy of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), wrote in 2008: "Bats and skunks are the most common animals found to be rabid in California. Rabies is rare in dogs, cats, and other domestic animals in California due to vaccination programs and animal control efforts." (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR2008-50.aspx).
In other words, the vaccination program that currently exists in California is already working.
According to Jean Dodds, world-renowned California veterinarian and Co-Trustee of the Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust*: “I am definitely alarmed about the negative impact this proposed legislation would have on the health and longevity of dogs legitimately deserving of rabies booster exemptions. The mandate of permanent quarantine as the alternative to forcing these dogs to receive rabies boosters would cause untold pain, suffering and hardship not only for the pet but also the pet owner.
“This proposed legislation is a significant setback to current advancements in standardizing rabies laws nationwide and providing uniform requirements for issuing exemptions, where appropriate, on a case-by-case basis. It would be ironic indeed, if the State of California, believed to be progressive, was to take a big step backwards and enact unwise and unjustified legislation!”
Laura Bates Sterner of Sacramento, the owner of Louie, a Chinese Crested with a long history of health problems related to the rabies vaccine, is worried that people will not understand what this law would mean for dogs like hers with chronic illness. “Another part of the same amendment defines and clarifies what qualifies as a medical exemption under the law, and that is a good thing,” she says, “but pet owners who fail to look more closely at the rest of the proposed legislation may not realize that it also contains this additional language that will force quarantines. Until now, dogs with medical exemptions have been allowed to simply live out their days. If the new language passes in its entirety, those animals deemed exempt under the law will have a far different future.”
Sterner, along with Cynthia Jeremica of Sacramento, is hoping to make other dog owners aware of the proposed change to bill AB2000. They support an alternative proposal written and endorsed by the co-trustees of the Rabies Challenge Fund which would eliminate the quarantine requirement, and make other important changes. For more information about what you need to do in order to speak out against this amendment (amendment 2 to bill AB2000), please visit http://savelouie.blogspot.com/2010/05/california-action-alert-proposed-ca.html .
*The Rabies Challenge Fund is in the third year of concurrent 5- and 7-year research trials to determine the long-term duration of immunity of the canine rabies vaccine with the goal of extending state mandated rabies boosters to 5, and then 7 years. The purpose would be to extend the interval required for rabies booster vaccination after the initial 2-dose series beyond the 3-year interval now followed. See www.rabieschallengefund.org for additional information.
(Above Photos L-R: Louie, before and after onset of his rabies vaccine-induced illness)
Additional background/resources:
• http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/ (background on the Rabies Challenge Fund)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/alerts (Breaking information about the pending amendment to AB2000)
• http://savelouie.blogspot.com/2009/07/part-5-rabies-vaccine-induced-ischemic.html (Story of “Louie’s” struggle with vaccinosis)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog4dogs/2009/07/01/rabies-vaccine-skin-reaction-ischemic-dermatopathy/ (Story of “Peaches” struggle with vaccinosis)
• http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog4dogs/2009/10/28/vaccine-injection-site-tumors/ a dog with a vaccine induced fibrosarcoma at the injection site.
•
High-resolution images of vaccinosis:
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8GH-e9RG8Pdub9iYIumKokPj5CXX7DjKb7twUYnrpdDD3SFVW5ULrIM4-vWO6Op-pj_S1mEtnG10EJzhLbJQ5k_sH7Tid7jkvYBC4QL9SfVbvfVA1TkQlk9Cv_lHlRSWncw1cG8MiBQ/s1600-h/IMG_1220.JPG (Erosion of skin and open lesions on Louie’s ear, more than a year after his injection - image also attached)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RpdZeK4pZlNMFK4kH898-s_SrC3cz_rvllZz1EuV8MudE2POfWl-cbLFr_gsqAr-J5OoqgMjXYpPBvLq1fl_HyXqS7JauIah37snpXHyI1rbPXa_Z0AxQtOZRrWVxhf962F-ttKGCTA/s1600-h/IMG_1218.JPG (Crusting and hyperpigmentation at Louie’s injection site, more than a year after his injection)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwtckDLGhVTE3dFZ7TEeh6X_pFVmoUrkK72H4l5BhfdUu4KLpfSqZB-GGix7QWLU3Noye3GLU9RkjXOVgJ5kxhwUjjbqGZbURS1oJusPrepVmd8ZWKtVBdnWEYlL1uk7OWDDYHrW1Vro/s1600-h/Peaches+from+Feb.+08+to+Feb.+09+skin+changes+002.jpg (Peaches’ ischemic dermatopathy due to rabies vaccine)
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSwkZ1Hj6aG18MuU9ZPrp8skEKShrXgP7OH49RkL3H8KLe2Izsni-LQZUChg2QTLT5gwM4AOaujd4sENptNQyQMql2jcjiPeCRxTLVNvDFr6czfet-KvZy23LkHQFjSEB_GpCgk9WP_o/s1600-h/Peaches+from+Feb.+08+to+Feb.+09+skin+changes+007.jpg (Another image of Peaches showing the damage at the injection site – Image also attached)
• http://savelouie.com/images/IMG_0110.jpg (Louie before his illness)
• http://savelouie.com/images/IMG_1173-1.jpg (Louie with his illness)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
CALIFORNIA ACTION ALERT: Proposed CA amendment will force quarantines of sick dogs
below: Louie before and after his vaccine-related illness. (Click image for larger view.)
Louie must never be vaccinated again. He will be directly affected by this legislation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR CALIFORNIANS -- IF YOU'RE NOT A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO FRIENDS IN CALIFORNIA AND POST ON DOG LISTS, BOARDS, AND FORUMS. ALERT DOG BREED GROUPS.On April 5, 2010, California legislators added amendment #2 to proposed bill AB2000: "In rabies areas, all of the following shall apply: A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be kept quarantined as directed by the local health officer, until the dog's medical condition has resolved and the administration of the canine antirabies vaccine occurs."
Every county in California has been declared a “rabies area.”
Kris Christine, Founder of the Rabies Challenge Fund, in consultation with Dr. Jean Dodds and others, faxed and e-mailed a letter to the sponsor of the bill, Senator Steinberg and the Rules Committee. Find her letter at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/AB2000
Arguments: I know that some people will say, who cares? Let's quarantine the dogs so I won't catch rabies. But only one dog has contracted rabies in CA since 2006. Only 6 humans cases of rabies were reported in California -- 4 from exposure that occurred outside of the US. The remaining 2 cases were associated with California bat variants.
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/data/statistics/Documents/rabies-episummary.pdf
Dogs all over CA and the US currently have exemptions and have for many years.
What about the impracticality and cost of quarantine? Where will dogs be quarantined? Who will pay? Who will handle their medical needs if they’re impounded? What about all the inevitable lawsuits from people whose dogs die from forced quarantine or vaccination? Read more about this at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/alerts “WHY IS QUARANTINE A BAD IDEA?”
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Please e-mail today and call on Monday the following people. And tell your friends, post on boards and lists, call your local media with a story. We’ll help in any way we can. And be sure to alert any vets have written medical exemptions. We must act now!
The phone number for the California Senate Rules Committee is (916) 651-4120
Chair of the Committee is Senator Darrell Steinberg e-mail: Senator.Steinberg@senate.ca.gov Phone: (916) 651-4006
Vice-chair Sam Aanestad Senator.Aanestad@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4004
Gilbert Cedillo Senator.Cedillo@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4022
Robert Dutton Senator.Dutton@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4031
Jenny Oropeza Senator.Oropeza@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4028
Bill Co-Sponsor Assembly Member Curt Hagman Assemblymember.Hagman@assembly.ca.gov (916) 319-2060
See www.dogs4dogs.com/alerts for more information. Familiarize yourself about the facts and then make impassioned pleas to the legislators. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. Once the committee approves Amendment #2 regarding quarantine it will be very hard to stop.
Important: At present, it is Amendment 2 we especially oppose.
PLEASE ACT NOW! EVEN IF YOUR OWN DOG ISN’T SICK, THIS BILL WILL SET A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT.
Dogs4Dogs
PO Box 675446
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
92067
US
Sunday, May 9, 2010
What's working for us-- updated 9/6/2011
Here's our current recipe:
Dry ingredients:
3 cups of Honest Kitchen Preference
4 cups white potato flakes
1 teaspoon Honest Kitchen Perfect Form
3/4 to 1 teaspoon of powdered spirulina
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon probiotic
3 teaspoons bone meal
I mix the dry ingredients together. Then add 1 can of the Royal Canin Digestive Low Fat (you can substitute your own choice of low-fat meat or fish, based on your dog's own tolerances.
Add 6 or seven cups of warm water, mix thoroughly. Feed as is or add a little water at feeding to make the mixture easier to eat.
Yes, it's green! Louie loves it, and it keeps him going.
If you'd like to try this out on your own dog, but don't want to invest in all these expensive ingredients right away, please contact me at louiesmom@savelouie.com for details on how you can purchase a trial pack of the dry ingredients from me at cost.
Dry ingredients:
3 cups of Honest Kitchen Preference
4 cups white potato flakes
1 teaspoon Honest Kitchen Perfect Form
3/4 to 1 teaspoon of powdered spirulina
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon probiotic
3 teaspoons bone meal
I mix the dry ingredients together. Then add 1 can of the Royal Canin Digestive Low Fat (you can substitute your own choice of low-fat meat or fish, based on your dog's own tolerances.
Add 6 or seven cups of warm water, mix thoroughly. Feed as is or add a little water at feeding to make the mixture easier to eat.
Yes, it's green! Louie loves it, and it keeps him going.
If you'd like to try this out on your own dog, but don't want to invest in all these expensive ingredients right away, please contact me at louiesmom@savelouie.com for details on how you can purchase a trial pack of the dry ingredients from me at cost.
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