hello nice reederz its dennis the vizsla dog hay i no that yoozhually on wensday i post sumthing wot duznt hav enny wurds in it however this week mama askd me to post this notiss as it affekts all my dog frends heer in kalifornya espeshly my dog frends wot hav medical kondishuns like tucker duz!!! so tayk it away mama!!!
Please read this carefully as it affects your ability as a dog owner to choose the healthier and safer 3 year rabies vaccination schedule as recommended by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 which states that, “Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity.” This was actually proven by the Rabies Challenge scientific study done by Dr. Dodds.
http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/education
This bill states that dogs which can not be administered the ANNUAL rabies vaccines (due to medical issues) would need to be quarantined until such medical condition clears. We have an eleven year old dog who developed a neurological condition at age nine, that is not going to be cured (he’s currently 11). This law makes no provision for these kinds of on-going medical conditions. This law would require our older dog to either receive an annual vaccine to the serious detriment of his health (he currently has a waiver), or be quarantined for the rest of his life.
The 3 year annual vaccine has been scientifically proven and it WORKS. There is no reason to over-vaccinate any dog, much less one with an on-going medical condition.PERMISSION GRANTED TO POST AND CROSS-POST
CALIFORNIA–Medical Exemption Bill AB 2000 ACTION ALERT!On 12/21/09 California State Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. Ben Sun (916) 552-9744, designated ALL COUNTIES in California as “rabies areas” for 2010http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Documents/2010_LHD_Rabies_Declaration_Letter.pdf.
The declaration states: “The Director of the Department of Public Health has declared all counties in California as ‘rabies areas’ in 2010. This declaration is based on the ongoing cyclic nature of rabies in California wildlife, and the resulting threat of exposure to domestic animals, livestock, and humans.”An April 5, 2010 amendment to AB2000 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov./pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1951-2000/ab_2000_bill_20100405_amended_asm_v98.html which seeks to add a medical exemption clause for sick dogs in designated “rabies areas,” would included the following language: “(2) A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be kept quarantined as directed by the local health officer, until the dog’s medical condition has resolved and the administration of the canine antirabies vaccine occurs.”
This bill is currently in the Senate Rules Committee for consideration.
Under current law, the Department of Public Health is authorized to require annual rabies vaccinations in designated “rabies areas,” which includes ALL counties in California for 2010. With the passage of AB2000 as amended on April 5th, dogs with medical exemptions would be required to be quarantined, which could be in an off-site pound or facility as determined by the local health officer, until their medical condition resolves or they are given a rabies vaccine.
At the bottom of this action alert is a copy of the letter I sent on behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund on this issue.
What You Can Do to Help
Call the Senate Rules Committee and call or send an e-mail to all its members telling them to withdraw Paragraph (2) of the amendment pertaining to quarantining medically exemption animals and strike language in Section 121690 (b) of the law authorizing the Health Department to impose annual or biennial rabies vaccinations in “rabies areas.”
The phone number for the California Senate Rules Committee is (916) 651-4120Chair of the Committee is Senator Darrell Steinberg e-mail: Senator.Steinberg@senate.ca.gov Phone: (916) 651-4006Vice-chair Sam Aanestad Senator.Aanestad@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4004
Gilbert Cedillo Senator.Cedillo@senate.ca.gov (916) 651-4022Letter from The Rabies Challenge Fund
May 15, 2010Senator Darrell Steinberg, ChairSenate Rules CommitteeState Capitol, Room 205Sacramento, CA 94248-0001
RE: Amended Rabies Bill AB2000
Greetings Senator Steinberg:
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust respectfully requests that the Senate Rules Committee withdraw Paragraph (2) of the April 5th amendment to AB2000 which mandates that “A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be kept quarantined, as directed by the local health officer, until the dog’s medical condition has resolved and the administration of the canine antirabies vaccine occurs.” This amendment seeks to address a public health threat which does not exist in the canine community, and which will, if passed, pose a life-threatening risk to dogs whose health is already compromised.
California‘s Department of Public Health (CDPH) statistics clearly demonstrate that bats and other wildlife pose the greatest rabies threat to the public, not dogs. From 2001 through 2008, the CDPH reported 2 cases of human rabies contracted in the state, both of which were transmitted by bats. Further, according to data contained in the annual Reported Animal Rabies by County and Species issued by the CDPH, from the period of 2001 through May 7, 2010, (throughout which time all counties had been designated “rabies areas”), dogs were among the species with the leastnumber of rabies cases in California. During the cited surveillance period 1,440 bats, 462 skunks, 74 foxes, 11 cats, and 5 dogs were reported as rabid.
The Center for Disease Control documented 32 cases of domestically-contracted cases of human rabies in the U.S. from 1995 through 2008 – 30 illnesses were transmitted by bats, 1 by fox, and 1 by raccoon. Since 1995, there have been no reported cases of human rabies from exposure to an indigenous dog in this country, and no demonstrated need exists for the California Legislature to pass harsh rabies regulations targeting dogs.
Further, The Rabies Challenge Fund asks that the Committee strike the following bolded, underlined language in the current law under Section 121690 (b) which is reiterated in AB2000 as follows: “(b) Every dog owner, after his or her dog attains the age of four months, shall, at intervals of time not more often than once a year, as may be prescribed by the department, procure its vaccination by a licensed veterinarian with a canine antirabies vaccine approved by, and in a manner prescribed by, the department, unless a licensed veterinarian determines, on an annual basis, that the dog may have a potentially lethal reaction to the canine antirabies vaccine. is currently immune compromised or has a documented medical record of a preexisting condition, including, but not limited to, an immune mediated disease, or a serious adverse reaction to a prior canine antirabies vaccine.”
Mandating rabies vaccinations more often than once every 3 years, even in designated “rabies areas,” goes against the recommendations of all the national veterinary medical associations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association [1] and the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 which states that, “Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. This constitutes the most effective method of increasing the proportion of immunized dogs and cats in any population.”
Section 121690 (b) of the Health and Safety Code may violate California’s Consumer Protection Law by requiring pet owners to pay for a veterinary medical procedure from which their animals derive no benefit and may be harmed. The section of the law requiring biennial or annual rabies boosters in “rabies areas” may have been intended to achieve enhanced immunity to the rabies virus by giving the vaccine more often than the federal 3-year licensing standard, but, more frequent vaccination than is required to fully immunize an animal will not achieve further disease protection. Redundant rabies shots needlessly expose dogs to the risk of adverse effects while obligating residents to pay unnecessary veterinary medical fees. The American Veterinary Medical Association’s 2001 Principles of Vaccination state that “Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events.”
The 3 year rabies vaccines currently licensed by the USDA for dogs all have a minimum duration of immunity of 3 years proven by challenge studies (the definitive standard in vaccine research) conducted according to the licensing standards set forth in USDA Title 9 Part 113.209. Serological studies performed by Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine show a minimum duration of immunity of 7 years. According to the Center for Disease Control, “A fully vaccinated dog or cat is unlikely to become infected with rabies.. In a nationwide study of rabies among dogs and cats in 1988,..no documented vaccine failures occurred among dogs or cats that had received two vaccinations. “ [2]
Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy “resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness,”[3] auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[4] autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are all linked to the rabies vaccine.[5][6] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.
A “killed” vaccine, the rabies vaccine contains adjuvants to enhance the immunological response. In 1999, the World Health Organization “classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk,”[7] and the results of a study published in the August 2003 Journal of Veterinary Medicine documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines stated, “In both dogs and cats, the development of necrotizing panniculitis at sites of rabies vaccine administration was first observed by Hendrick & Dunagan (1992).” [8]According to the 2003 AAHA Guidelines, “…killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease).” [9]
On behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust and the many concerned California pet owners who have requested our assistance, I strongly urge you to withdraw Paragraph (2) of the April 5th amendment to AB2000 and strike the language in the current law cited in the bill authorizing the CDPH to impose annual or biennial rabies boosters in “rabies areas.”
Sincerely,
Kris L. ChristineFounder, Co-TrusteeTHE RABIES CHALLENGE FUNDcc: W. Jean Dodds, DVMRonald D. Schultz, PhDAssembly Member Curt Hagman
[1] American Veterinary Medical Association, Veterinary Biologics, June 2007, “Rabies Vaccination Procedures”[2] Immunization Practices Advisory Committee, Rabies Prevention-United States, 1991 Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee, Center for Disease Control Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report March 22, 1991/40(RR03);1-19
[3] Dodds, W. Jean Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions, The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol. 37, pp. 211-214[4] Duval D., Giger U.Vaccine-Associated Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1996; 10:290-295[5] American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board, April 2001, Principles of Vaccination, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 219, No. 5, September 1, 2001.[6] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.[7] IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.[8] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.[9] American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp. and ibid. 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised, 28 pp.
hay wow!!! i dont no wot the big fuss is i meen evrybuddy nos we hav no rabid skunks or other animals arownd heer!!! mama sez yoo can reed more abowt vetrinary vakseens in this artikul frum kleen run magazeen!!! ok bye
The Oceanside Animals 
I do not understand how the groups pushing this kind of legislation can overlook studies demonstrating facts that are contra to the proposed law. Another area is the very early spay and neuter provisions. We can help by calling and writing representatives, and by donating to the Rabies Challenge which is sorely underfunded.
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Thanks for some serious info. Sandy
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Wouldn’t it be nice if educated Vets rather than uneducated legislators actually got to make decisions! We will keep our paws crossed for you all!
Wags!
Mr. Nubbin’
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I am always amazed at the things that we try to legislate rather than taking common sense approaches. Hate to be a cynic about these things, but you usually have to follow the money. Who would profit from such a law? They are probably the ones pushing it.
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Thank You for the information. Our Vet told us about this recently. Very rough stuff. Wonderful that you posted all the information on this. Way to go Mama!Good work, lots of phone numbers too! ;+) This definitely needs to be addressed! Thanks.
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Wooos! Mum has us a good vet which does titer counts to test if we need the vaccine. Scampi had a severe reaction to the 3 year vaccine and almost died, so she will never use that again on either of us.
Let us hope that something can be done about all of needless vaccines that they impose on us~
~husky kisses~
-Kira The BeaWootiful and her Mom
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Poor Tucker – I did not know and how WRONG that he should be quarantined according to currently proposed law. Dr. Dodd’s study is excellent – what is WRONG with our idiot legislators???? (Have some other issues burning at this time too…) Thank you for all the carefully prepared work you did for this post. Will email pronto.
Hugs and kissies to Tucker and the rest of the pack xoxoxo
Sammie and Mom
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I prefer to be blind when it comes to politics.
reflective post!
Happy Wednesday!
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Sigh…..politics. It always amazes me when the government thinks is knows more that it does….
Thanks for the very important PSA!!
Beth (the Mama)
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See, these are the kinds of things that make MY momma crazy-nuts. Why would they even try to get something passed that’s this stupido? My paws are crossed real hard that this doesn’t get passed. Why should a doggy’s quality of life have to suffer cuz of something so very dumb?
In Florida, a bill just failed that woulda allowed cities to pass BSL (mom says it’s against the law there right now) cuz bunches of doggie owners raised a ruckus. Hopefully there will be a lot of ruckus raising where you are, too!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
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Legislation in the UK is seldom based on common sense either! Thanks for the info Dennis and mom xxxx
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Hey Dennis, you know what??? I’m thinkin’ that lots of two leggers keep their brains where they sit. AND they talk out of the same “area”.
I hope no one in Columbus reads about this… Idiot see… Idiot do. I’m just sayin’.
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Can’t be of much practical help here in the UK, but best wishes to you and hoping the voices of all those campaigning to have this clause removed are heard and heeded !!!
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We live in California and this affects one of my dogs. I think you know my opinion of the legislators in this state. There is nothing too stupid for them to do. I am off to harass them for the uncountable times in the last few years. Thanks for your exhaustive research.
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What the heck? Who does annual rabies shots anyway? What a bunch of nuts. I bet ONE dog had a problem so they change the rules for everybody. Sheesh. Poor Tucker. He can move here and change his name if they pass that stupid law.
Slobbers,
Mango
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Apparently those on the Senate Rules Committee do not have any pets, or if they do they must treat them badly. Otherwise they would see the downside to the passing of this bill. I hope you get it amended.
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Oh Dennis – that is just terrible! I cannot believe these humans and their stupid laws sometimes – it’s usually people who don’t have pets and don’t understand a thing about the situation that are making these laws! We don’t have rabies Down Under, as you know (NZ & Aus – & UK – are rabies-free) but we have similar problems with misunderstandings about the vaccines & ignorance of vaccine reactions. For example, my humans would like to put me on the 3yrly vaccine but because most kennels aren’t up on the latest research and don’t know about it, they all insist on annual vaccines – and if we have to use kennels, then we have no choice! 😦
Hope people do band together to protest to your government and you can do something to change such a stupid law!!
Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane
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I wish all of you would do a little more research before jumping to conclusions. AB 2000 is a pro-dog bill, not an anti-dog bill. Right now in California there is NOT an option for exemptions from rabies vaccines. So under current law, either you give your dog a rabies shot or you’re breaking the law. Period.
AB 2000 creates the exemption option to the State mandate. The bill started because of a dog named “Molly” who has auto-immune disease and whose owner is sick of breaking the law in order to keep her alive.
I spoke with the staffer who is working on the bill and he assured me that the “quarantine” language is not going to be part of the final bill and that they’re currently negotiating with the Vets and with the State Health Department to arrive at a compromise. Apparently the “quarantine” language was put in there by the Health Department to make sure that local rules are still followed.
I love dogs as much as everyone else here, and sometimes I wish you guys/ladies used your energy in more productive ways. One way would be to READ THE BILL. This is a very good bill and I commend the Assemblyman and his staffer for trying to do something that no one else is willing to do. They’re trying to fix State law to be more dog-friendly and in the process they’re taking heat from dog owners because of the accidental language on “quarantine”. So let’s take a step back, count to 10, read the bill, and realize that this is for the good, not for the bad.
As dog owners we should be creating a productive environment for discussions like these to take place, not calling and yelling at them for something that we don’t really even understand.
my 2 cents
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Interesting how words just “accidentally” appeared on the page. What are the odds that a series of random dots would fall from the sky and land in this exact pattern?
(2) A dog exempt from the canine antirabies vaccination shall be
kept quarantined as directed by the local health officer, until the
dog’s medical condition has resolved and the administration of the
canine antirabies vaccine occurs.
(From http://www.leginfo.ca.gov./pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1951-2000/ab_2000_bill_20100405_amended_asm_v98.html, linked to from dogs4dogs)
It’s like the monkeys and Hamlet!
In any case, I’m glad to hear that you received assurances from a staffer that this language will be struck. We’ll help them remember that such assurances were given.
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Dennis
Thank youw Mama fow that infowmations. I think sometimes those laws awe weally cwazy
smoochie kisses
ASTA
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I’m wondering on what more produkhtive stuffs we khan spend our energies on…
Hmmmmm
SEROUSLY, thanks for this important PSA!
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I just called and may I say they were some of the rudest people I have ever encountered.
I have to thank you for bringing this to my attention I had no idea that these sneaky back stabbing politicians were doing this crud!
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Sorry to hear they were rude to you. I wish I were surprised. We got nothing but the runaround the last time we tried to talk to any state officials during the Saga of the Possibly Rabid Skunk. (Interestingly, they weren’t at all interested in rabies then.)
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Holy crow! Our boy Hawk couldn’t have rabies vaccines, it caused all kinds of problems for him and after talking with our vet, it was determined that he would be exempt from the vaccine. For greyhounds, this is a particularly important issue because many times they are seriously overvaccinated while they are racing. Each time they are moved from one track to another, they often get revaccinated. Hawk had three three-year vaccines before we got him at age 4 1/2. That’s not to say that this always happens with greyhounds, but in some cases it does. Fortunately, we were able to get the waiver for him after his serious reaction and our county didn’t give us any grief about it. No way would he have survived any kind of quarantine. He’d have worried himself to death over it. I really hope that they get the wording straightened out over this bill before it goes any further.
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Thanks for all that info.
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That was like eleventy billion word Wednesday!!
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Great post. I wonder who benefits from this annual cash-flow?
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How utterly assinine. Vermont moved away from annual rabies vaccines some time ago. With all of the recent talk of complications from over-vaccination I’d be spooked if I lived in CA.
Give them hell!
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Dennis, thanks your Mom for the infos and Happy Belated Mothers’Day to her.
I’m for 3-year vaccin or if possible, up to 10 years like Tetanus shot, hehe. Me no like needles, me allergic to the Vet office, hehe!
Love y’all
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Dennis Mom: you’re sooooo right on about this vaccination doo-doo. it makes me so mad. Juno most likely has autoimmune disease. we haven’t proven it, but last year’s mysterious illness left us with only 2 possiblities and that was one of them. given she got worse after a non-steroid anti-inflamatory, i’m err-ing on the side of auto-immune disease therefor I cannot vaccinate her with crap year after year. i don’t do kennel cough or any of the other crap-oid vaccines. and i cannot give her flea or tick topical medicine. the only thing i can give her is heart worm monthly pills and even then I will never give her the yearly heart worm shot simply because the monthly ones work and i will not chance a reaction to the shot (which i hear some dogs have). sigh. gov’t and capitalism in our doggie’s health stinks! 😦
thanks for the message. I still live in CA and this would affect us.
will follow with action. akshun (dennis-speak).
wags-n-wiggles,
wild dingo
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This is interesting. My vet recommended that Sprocket not be vaccinated for rabies once he started to have all kinds of health issues, and since he was basically an indoor dog and only went out with supervision he was not vaccinated. Now with Roscoe being sick, I can see where this also might be an issue. Gee, this would not be a good thing. Who is pushing this bill and WHY? Please don’t tell me the Pharmaceutical companies!
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i really really hope all the icky kinks in this bill get worked out for the sake of all my california friendz!!
*woof*
the booker man
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Hmm- I just get one every 3 years here in Michigan. Don’t like the needle man. Maggie the Vizsla
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So does Tucker have to be quarrantined?
I didn’t quite understand all that Dennis, I think I must’ve missed a bit. Ccould you please get your Mama to repeat the bit after “Please read this carefully”
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I had to go to the needle man last Tuesday to get a swine flu needle. I didn’t like it but didn’t want to be locked up in the dog quarantine facility
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