This is from Pat Jordan who has been doing considerable work investigating the effects of vaccinations.
Finni and his rabies vaccination
We want to tell you a very sad story about our dog – and tell you to carefully consider vaccinating your Finnish Spitz!
Our Finnish Spitz, named Sukunimi Finni, was born on March 19, 2007. He received his first rabies vaccination in Wales on June 11, 2007. A few weeks later he came to Holland with us, and grew up as a very lively, happy, healthy and handsome dog. No health problems at all.
As we did with the dogs we had before, we went to the vet after one year for his regular vaccinations, and one of these was the booster rabies vaccination. This happened on May 27, 2008.
A few days later we noticed changes in Finni’s behaviour. He suddenly was afraid of water; he did not run into the pond, which was one of his favourite habits before. He even seemed frightened to come close to the water.
We also noticed that the spot between his shoulder blades, where the vaccination was given, was painful.
Hardly three weeks later, Finni suddenly behaved very strangely: he fell on his back, trampled with his legs and some saliva dripped from his mouth.
It all happened within a very short time and we were not sure what was happening. Unfortunately, a few weeks later it happened again, and now we were absolutely sure this was an epileptic seizure (a short period of stiffness, convulsions, trampling with the legs, a lot of saliva). This time he had two seizures, one after the other and we directly went to the vet.
A physical examination and several blood tests followed. No physical cause was found, and Finni got Phenobarbital which is the most common treatment. We started with a low dose, but as Finni still experienced seizures every two-three weeks, the dose was increased until he reached the maximum according to his weight.
Unfortunately, in spite of this, the seizures continued every two-three weeks and became worse (clusters of 3 or 4 seizures after each other). We were very unhappy with this, and despite a lot of visits to the vet where we mentioned this all started after the rabies vaccination, no other treatment was given, except extra rectal Valium.
Then we started several less toxic treatments: homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, allergy free food (James Wellbeloved). Nothing helped Finni, he became worse and worse.
In desperation we phoned a vet who is connected to the University Clinic for Animals in Utrecht. He immediately said that this was not ‘ordinary epilepsy’, and that an MRI-scan of Finni’s head was absolutely necessary.
We agreed to pick up all necessary paperwork the next day in order to go to Utrecht that same day. But that night Finni became very ill – the seizures did not stop any more. The next morning the vet saw Finni and had no other option than to put him to sleep…
This vet performed one significant test: he turned on the water tap, and, although Finni was almost unconscious, he was terrified. This was a specific reaction belonging to rabies, and in this case that rabies might have caused the illness. Because of this Finni was isolated and brought to a special laboratory in Lelystad where several tests were done. The final conclusion is: ‘a rare reaction of the rabies vaccination causing inflammation of the brain tissue and cerebral membrane’.
As we discussed this later on with the vet, he told us that it is the best to always determine the titre of the antibodies of rabies in the dog’s blood – and according to this level, decide if the dog needs a vaccination!!
Jos and Arry de Bruijn (Holland).
We were extremely sad when Jos and Arry told us about Finni’s illness and eventual death, and wondered whether anything positive could come out of this terribly sad situation. We are therefore very grateful to them for telling Finni’s story and giving their permission to alert other Finnish Spitz owners across the world to the possible dangers of the rabies vaccine.
Finni was put to sleep in early December and left an enormous gap in Jos and Arry’s lives, so we were thrilled for them when they decided to offer a dog from their local dog shelter a new home, and we wish them many happy years with Mickey, pictured below.
Steve and Alison Piearce
Sukunimi Finnish Spitz
