I’m an awful pet parent. There was a story in the local news about a vicious canine virus circling our area, and the vaccine every dog needs to prevent it. I immediately rushed Ryker to the vet for this shot, with the blessing of the DH. The vet warned me to keep the dog under observation for a few hours, in case he turned out to be the 1 in 5 dogs to have a bad reaction from the vaccine… Well, he was the 1-in-5, and several hours later, he got pretty violently ill. I was up all night with him, washing our bedding and towels and following the poor dog around the house to make sure he didn’t puke on anything I couldn’t clean. By 5 a.m., everything was out of his system, and I fell asleep. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to work on time this morning.
I had my dear sweet husband call the vet – turns out this story was propagated by the manufacturer of the vaccine and most dogs do not in fact need it. Generally, the DH is under the opinion that the benefits of vaccinations far outweigh the risks, but this was not the case here. A 20% chance of allergic reaction should have been our first clue. I am very not-happy right now – both with the drug company for needlessly pushing a medication with such high risks (and I’m sure they thought it was OK, since it was only a DOG vaccine and not for HUMANS!), and with myself for not researching the issue a little more. I just hope Ryker won’t hold a grudge.
