[Susan]

Hi Suburban Gal, I too dont believe in Vaccinating after 2years old, Heartworming or Flea products,
I rescued Patch about 19months ago, when a dog is rescued from a pound, we are given 1 worm tablet or 2 depends on their weight, 1 flea tablet Comfortis which I never used & the next day the rescue dog goes straight to vets for their health check then is desexed & vaccinated, the next day Patch was unwell & was crying after being desexed & vaccinated, so I rung the rescue vet & they said bring him in, they just gave me some pain killers for him & said he must be in pain from being desexed as he was 4 years old & the vet said that his shaft was all bruised around his stitches…..Patch seemed OK the next day but still had hive like lumps all over his body… 1 year forward Patch was due for Vaccination, I took him to his vets & he had the 3 yearly Vaccinations, vet never did his Kennel cough shot as I dont boarded him anywhere, we went home then that night Patch seemed unwell & was real sleepy, so I just let him sleep the next morning Patch was doing what he had done 1 year before when I had just rescued him crying & whinging, he wouldnt eat his breakfast, which is a first for him, so I just let him sleep, I googled about vaccinations & side effects & it looked like he was ill from being vaccinated, I rung his vet she just said keep an eye on him & she wrote in his file reaction when vaccinated, she said that some dogs that have Immune Problems cant be vaccinated…..I dont Heartworm either as 1 vet said the area I live, in his 30years he has never seen a dog have heartworm come from that area & he saw no need as its caught from mosquotos the vet said if I live out the west more 1/2hour away he would recommend he was heartwormed but Patch being an indoor dog there’s no need….when I’d worm Patch he was waking up about 2am wanting to go outside & eat grass then a couple of hours later he’d have diarrhea, no worms were ever in his poos after being wormed, so vet changed Patch to the Milbemax all wormer & I was to only worm him every 6 months instead of every 3 months, the Milbemax didnt have any side effects like the Propanal…. the flea products, Ive only used the Frontline spot on twice with no problems then I changed from Frontline to Advantage spot on as I give my cat the Advantage, the next day after appling the Advantage the day before my daughter came around & said whats wrong with Patches head his left side & left ear was all swollen, his lips were red & swollen & he had hive like lumps all over his body again, like when he was first vaccinated, I rung his vet she said just keep an eye on him as it was nilly 20hrs since I applied the Advantage & they have their worst reaction within 24hrs of apyling, she said that the frontline only penetrates the first layer of skin but the Advantage penetrates thru their skin into their blood, so I wont be using Advantage again.. So after all of these things that have happened with Patch Im not re-vacinating him in 3 years as he’ll be 8years old & I see no need as I think dogs should only be vaccinated the first 2 years of their lives but after 2 years I’d say that they have the antibodies needed to fight any diseases, with the Heartworm I see no need if you have an indoor dog & you dont live in a mosqitoes infessed area, with fleaing Im too scared to try the new Comfortis as its a tablet & may cause stomach problems. I live Australia & we dont have rabies thank-God..
I’d say your friend Sharon has seen alot of these reactions being into rescue especially with older dogs, I think what she’s doing is OK..alot of these rescued older dogs have a past & their health isnt always good…Your friend is doing a really good job for rescueing these oldies & she’s right if they get adopted & the new owners want them vaccinated they can do it, but I see no need, we are not vaccinated every year, so why over vaccinate animals.. Sorry for the book, but I had to explain why Im against Vaccinations after the animals are 2 years old…..