I am distraught. Our regular (traditional/Western) vet is pushing that Sebastian get his 3-year rabies vaccine. Sebastian has chronic pancreatitis, and in all seriousness, the vaccine could kill him. He's almost 13 years old and indoors-only.
He needs a check-up, and I have an appointment tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday. When I was confirming the appointment with the vet tech (who called to verify his refill was ready), she said, "Oh, that will be good because he's due for his vaccine," like it was something to celebrate. I said, "Well, I'll have to talk to the doctor about that." She went quiet. I'm wondering if I should cancel the appointment. The doc will want to give him the vaccine while we're there. If I refuse, she may refuse care, and then I'll be left scrambling to find uninterrupted care from a practice that won't vaccinate him. I've had a heart-to-heart with the doc once already, and she agreed to hold off "for now" at that time, but that she could only hold off for so long and that he'll eventually need to get it. Should I go to the appointment and try to talk to her again? I may end up having to do one of two things: 1) let her give him the vaccine or 2) walk out of there.
It is the law here to vaccinate against rabies every 3 years and most, if not all, vets within a 20-mile radius of me are strict in following the rules. You'd think there were officials knocking down doors in my area to check up on people. There are more people dying from gun violence than rabies, for crying out loud, but that's a topic for IMO.
A holistic/homeopathic vet we went to in the same state said she could exempt Sebastian because of his chronic condition. When I told my regular vet about this, she said, "Well, then that other clinic is breaking the law."
Apparently the state I live in doesn't have an exemption clause. Why don't we just go to that holistic/homeopathic vet, you ask? Because she's 40-50 minutes away, Sebastian gets extremely stressed out by the ride, I have to pick up refills of fluids and medications multiple times a month, and, because of his condition, it is not uncommon to for us to need to be seen immediately. As much as I/we physically go to the vet, 40-50 minutes is very inconvenient and burdensome. Our regular vet is only 8 minutes away.
I've put a call in to the holistic/homeopathic vet mentioned above, as well as an out-of-state Chinese medicine vet I've been consulting with. They both advised me not to vaccinate Sebastian, so I want their input. Maybe they can convince the regular vet (doubt it) or at least recommend a post-vaccine protocol to limit adverse reactions.
I don't know what to do. I really don't want to break this relationship with our regular vet, but I also don't want to put Sebastian at serious risk that could literally cost him his life.
He needs a check-up, and I have an appointment tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday. When I was confirming the appointment with the vet tech (who called to verify his refill was ready), she said, "Oh, that will be good because he's due for his vaccine," like it was something to celebrate. I said, "Well, I'll have to talk to the doctor about that." She went quiet. I'm wondering if I should cancel the appointment. The doc will want to give him the vaccine while we're there. If I refuse, she may refuse care, and then I'll be left scrambling to find uninterrupted care from a practice that won't vaccinate him. I've had a heart-to-heart with the doc once already, and she agreed to hold off "for now" at that time, but that she could only hold off for so long and that he'll eventually need to get it. Should I go to the appointment and try to talk to her again? I may end up having to do one of two things: 1) let her give him the vaccine or 2) walk out of there.
It is the law here to vaccinate against rabies every 3 years and most, if not all, vets within a 20-mile radius of me are strict in following the rules. You'd think there were officials knocking down doors in my area to check up on people. There are more people dying from gun violence than rabies, for crying out loud, but that's a topic for IMO.
A holistic/homeopathic vet we went to in the same state said she could exempt Sebastian because of his chronic condition. When I told my regular vet about this, she said, "Well, then that other clinic is breaking the law."
I've put a call in to the holistic/homeopathic vet mentioned above, as well as an out-of-state Chinese medicine vet I've been consulting with. They both advised me not to vaccinate Sebastian, so I want their input. Maybe they can convince the regular vet (doubt it) or at least recommend a post-vaccine protocol to limit adverse reactions.
I don't know what to do. I really don't want to break this relationship with our regular vet, but I also don't want to put Sebastian at serious risk that could literally cost him his life.
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