Rabies Vaccine Reaction

I have so much to catch up on, and some updates on all the happenings going on in my world. But something very frightening happened this weekend I need to write about.

We took Jeni to have her Rabies Vaccine Saturday morning. Five hours later she started vomiting. First, 3 piles, then 10 minutes later 2 more piles, about 15 minutes after that another 3 piles. Immediately I was concerned about an allergic reaction to the vaccine. I watched her for a few minutes, then I noticed her face swelling. At that point we grabbed her leash and headed back to the vet, with phone in hand calling them and letting them know we were on our way.

The facial swelling was all around her nose, and mouth and her throat. The vet gave her a steroid shot, and a Benadryl injection, plus a bottle of Benadryl to take for the next five days. He suggested keeping her over night, but left it up to us. We brought her home, as we felt we could manage her and get back to the clinic fast enough if we had to.

I was already well informed with all the reactions dogs can get from the rabies vaccine, and I know more severe reactions can occur as far as a couple months later. I was paranoid getting Jarie's Rabies Vaccine six weeks ago with all her health issues, I felt if any of my dogs were to ever react to the vaccine, it would be Jarie. Never did it occur to me that little Jeni would have a reaction.

Possible rabies Vaccine side effects
Immediately or up to 3 days after the shot:

Vomiting
Facial swelling
Fever or lethargy
Circulatory shock
Loss of consciousness
Death

Days, weeks or months after the shot:

Fibrosarcoma (cancer) at the injection site
Seizures and Epilepsy
Allergies
Autoimmune diseases, including organ disease, allergies and skin problems
Chronic digestive problems
Muscle weakness, especially lack of hind end coordination
Chronic digestive disorders
Skin diseases like Ischemic Dermatopathy / Cutaneous vasculitis
Behavior problems: aggression, destructive behaviors, separation anxiety and odd obsessive behaviors (like tail chasing and paw licking).

Jeni had a rough night last night, and she isn't out of the woods yet, but she is stable at the moment.

Our biggest fear now, is there is a huge possibility that she may still develop one of the more subtle side effects that may occur weeks or even months from now.

Below are a couple of links with valuable information.
Rabies Vaccine - Skin Reactions
Holistic Animal Health: Vaccinosis

Where Has The Time Gone

Oh my, where has the time gone? I have missed so much. Time just flies by when we are having fun, or not. I do need to take the time to catch up on all of the blogs I follow, but what is time? Time is something I just haven't had for myself lately.

I do want to thank all of you wonderful blog friends that took the time to email me and ask if I was okay. I apologize for not replying. I have been so very busy, I have not been logging into my email, and when I did, I was surprised at the dozens of emails waiting for my replies. Those of you who called, THANK YOU, I really needed that break, and our talk.

So what has been taking up so much of my time? Too much to list here for now, but I will say my childcare has been extremely busy. With the new school year came many people looking for childcare/preschool for their little ones. I have spent the past few weeks interviewing potential parents throughout the day and into the early evening hours. By the end of each day, I am too exhausted to do anything but sleep. I now have no more openings in my childcare, and am almost overwhelmed. I tend to take on children that may need a little extra help, and one of the 2 year old boys I took on has really been challenging, but just yesterday, we made a break through, and after 2 weeks, I am seeing some improvement with some challenging behavior.

By the time my children leave in the early evening, I still have to tend to all the dogs, cats, and cook dinner, (if hubby is lucky enough), then sit with him for a few minutes, and off to sleep I go, only to start all over the next morning.

Being so crazy busy means I have neglected a few things. I had 3 cats I was suppose to take to our spay/neuter clinic two weeks ago, and I forgot all about it, until a rescue friend of mine called and asked if I had the three cats trapped and ready for transport. OOPS! This time I marked it on the calender for this month so I don't forget.

I have been trying to help a friend find homes for a litter of kittens and their mama that were born outside, just a few houses down from me, Not easy. The economy has hit this town hard, and all of our rescues here are referring people to take their pets to the shelter. None of our fosters have any room. All we can do, is keep doing what we are doing. Try to save one animal at a time.

I have much more to update on about my crew, but not enough time (there's that word again). For now, here are a few photos I took a couple weeks ago. We had just bought this new bunk bed play toy for the cats, and they all really enjoy it. It is a big hit. Mama Cat loves this, and was the first to try it out. Lacee is the one inside it.











I hope to catch up on everyone's blogs this weekend, and will try and make another post next week, and fill you in on a few important topics that matter to me.