We vaccinate dogs to protect them from some serious diseases that could harm our precious friends. Rabies. Distemper. Parvovirus. Kennel cough (bordatella). Lyme disease. Vaccine-preventable diseases can devastate our canine friends, and there isn’t one good reason to keep them from the best medicine we can offer.
Not only are these diseases dangerous to our pets, but some of these diseases can be passed to us. Rabies is a horrible disease, and if a dog contracts it, your best friend may have to be euthanized. And if that rabid dog bites someone, they have to endure a very painful series of vaccines.
No, rabies cannot be prevented by a gluten-free, organic diet for your dog. We vaccinate dogs so that if they are bitten by some rabid animal, they are protected from that disease.
Autism in dogs
In a borderline sarcastic article in the Brooklyn Paper, they claim,
The increased skepticism towards inoculating pets is likely the result of a national movement that claims vaccines can cause autism in children, according to the doctor, who said she has seen an increase in clients unwilling to have their dogs vaccinated in recent years — despite experts’ findings that show no link between the inoculations and the developmental disorder.
Let’s start with the basics – there is no link between vaccines and autism in humans. There is simply no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism.
Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccines are unrelated to autism, it lives on, peaking its head out every once in a while. In fact, the whole lie about vaccines and autism can be found at ground zero – Mr. Andrew Wakefield’s fraudulent and retracted article.
And the same can be said of dogs, even if there was some way to have dogs communicate verbally what they’re feeling. There is also no scientific evidence that after you vaccinate dogs, there is some risk of a neurodevelopmental disorder.
But I guess that evidence doesn’t fly if you live in Brooklyn, where locally sourced, gluten-free dog treats probably rule the local pet store.
Consequences of not vaccinating your dog
Because the lie of vaccines cause autism continues to live on, there seem to be pockets of pet owners trying to prevent their precious dogs and cats from getting a condition that there’s no evidence that they can get – autism – by not vaccinating their dogs and cats.
And in doing so, they are refusing to protect those same pets against real diseases that they can get.
These people are buying into the trope that vaccines contain evil chemicals that hurt children and dogs. And what would happen if their unprotected dog gets bitten by a rabid animal? And then Spot bites their child? Would they avoid vaccinating their child against rabies? After Spot is put down because of rabies?
More problematic than rabies is leptospirosis, a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection carried by rodents, which spreads readily to dogs and then to humans. The disease is often fatal in dogs. In humans, it can lead to liver failure, respiratory problems, meningitis, and, in extreme cases, death. Again, all of this can be prevented by a simple vaccine.
Summary – vaccinate dogs
Once humans domesticated dogs more than 15,000 years ago, a deal was made between the two mammalian species. Dogs would offer us fiercely loyal companionship, protection, and hard work. We would offer them food, shelter, and protection.
But based on lies about vaccines that just won’t die, some people have decided to ignore a part of the deal they made with dogs – to protect them from diseases that could kill them.
Humans are smarter than dogs. We should use our brains to protect our dogs from diseases that are dangerous to our pets. They don’t know when you’re not protecting them from deadly diseases. Dogs can’t think like that, so they depend on us to offer protection. You are breaking the deal we made with dogs so many years ago, by failing to fully protect them.
Vaccinate dogs – it’s the right thing to do.
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