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By Gina Spadafori
April 29, 2006
This article by a veterinarian really bothered me this afternoon, in that she missed a prime opportunity to educate about anesthesia and vaccinations. The first question regards a 3-year-old cat who died shortly after a dental procedure, and the veterinarian talks about grief counseling:
An estimate of the number of anesthetic deaths that occur in veterinary medicine is approximately one in 1,000 (versus one in 10,000 estimated in human medicine). There
are many reasons apparently healthy pets die from anesthetic
procedures, including severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), shock,
and previously undiagnosed disease, particularly heart defects. … Instead of focusing on
what could have been done differently, try to focus on the three
wonderful years you had with your cat and the times you made his life
enjoyable, and vice versa.
Damn! Missed an opportunity to explain what increases the risk of death during anesthesia and how clients and veterinarians can work together to reduce it. Want more? Try here (mine) and here (Christie’s).
In the next question, she misses the opportunity to educate on "yearly shots":
The vaccinations your
pets need every year are based on several things: the community you
live in, your pets’ lifestyle and their age and health.
She then goes on to pump the shelter’s vaccine clinic. Except … shots aren’t recommended every year, not at all. Want more? Review the recommended vaccination protocols recommended by the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Their moderate advice — some veterinarians suggest even fewer vaccines — recommends three-year intervals for many vaccines, after the initial series of kitten or puppy shots.
That doesn’t let you off the hook for the annual exam, though. But do try to see a veterinarian who keeps up and educates.
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I didn’t interpret the vet as saying pets needed yearly vaccinations. I felt she said that what your pet needs should be based on local laws + your pet’s lifestyle, and should be decided by a vet. I think it would have been good if the writer had mentioned that three years is suggested protocol, but I didn’t feel she made an “every year” recommendation, either.
Comment by Leigh-Ann — April 30, 2006 @ 11:47 pm
When we lived in New Mexico, once a year vaccinations were the law. Our vet agreed it wasn’t necessary, and with our old dog we ignored shots for the last year of her life. I’d always meant to ask Bill Richardson to change that, but then I got pissed off at him and spent the few occasions when I was around him glaring at him. (It turns out looks can’t kill.)
Oh, but about shots…my vet also said a lot of vets were in favor of yearly shots because at least it got dog owners to bring their dogs in once a year. Maybe the vets could just agree to give them placebo shots and still “require” once a year inoculations.
Comment by KathyF — May 1, 2006 @ 12:41 am
Leigh-Ann: You’re right that she talked about lifestyle factors, but how else can you interpret “the shots your pet needs every year” other than as saying a pet needs shots every year?
And Kathy: It’s *rabies* New Mexico requires (or did) annually, and that’s because of human health. You’re on your own in deciding what to do about other shots. I follow a middle ground, myself: Puppy-kitten shots, rabies as by law (three years where I am), and for other shots, I have titres drawn to check immunity, and re-vaccinate only as necessary.
You’re absolutely right that “yearly shots” are all about getting people in for an annual exam. That’s why this veterinarian missing the chance to educate was so sad … she could have got some people to think “annual exam” instead of perpetuating the idea of “annual shots.”
Comment by Gina — May 1, 2006 @ 6:48 am
The question I have is, does the dosage of vaccination given vary depending on whether the vaccination is expected to last for 1 or 3 years? Are we looking at a ‘high dose every 3 years, rather than low dose annually’ situation, or does a single low dosage provide adequate protection?
I’ve always been very devoted to keeping up an annual vaccination routine, because I work in rescue and so my personal pets may sometimes be exposed to disease brought in by new fosters. I’ve been following closely the arguments on whether annual vax are necessary, till now with a “better safe than sorry” attitude - but I’m beginning to see that I may be doing more harm than good.
Comment by Nan — May 1, 2006 @ 8:13 am
I see your point, Gina — I guess I was assuming that rabies was an “every year” vaccine, along with bordatella (twice a year), meaning that there was at least one “every year vaccine” which people needed to see a vet about. I was also thinking back to my many years in New Mexico, as in Nevada rabies is just every three years.
I bring in a lot of feline rescues and fosters, so I make sure to keep my cats up-to-date on vaccines, based on what my vet suggests for them. We don’t do bordatella on the dogs at all because they aren’t exposed to other dogs, and we’ve stopped all vaccines, except rabies, on my 10 year old German shepherd. The vet said that some vaccines have been shown to be effective for up to 7 years, and felt the dog had everything appropriate for her geriatric lifestyle.
Comment by Leigh-Ann — May 1, 2006 @ 3:32 pm