[Dailydrool] Unbelievable

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

My former vet told me that here in Tennessee, state law insists that  
our dogs be given a three-year rabies vaccination every single year.  
In our county, the rabies vaccination is tied to the city dog  
license. If you don't get your dog vaccinated, you don't get your dog  
license renewed. So having an annual rabies vaccine creates profits  
for the city's animal control department as well as the vets.

This vet also told me that the state tells vets which rabies  
manufacturer they must buy the vaccine from. Some kennels, dog clubs,  
etc. will accept titer test results but not all will. This vet stops  
giving rabies vaccinations to dogs after they hit the age of 8  
because he feels they have enough immunity to last through the rest  
of their lives. He says the titer tests he's run on older dogs never  
show a deficiency.

I've just switched vets, and the new one said the state is  
considering going to an every-other-year rabies vaccination. I don't  
know if they'd still be using the three-year vaccine or not. He  
doesn't give rabies vaccinations to geriatric dogs for the same  
reason our former vet doesn't.

What I found interesting this time when I took our Elsinore to the  
new vet for her annual a couple weeks ago was that he didn't update  
her DHLPP. He's treating it as an every-other-year thing, whereas the  
former vet was giving it to her every year. I plan on asking him  
about that when I take young Charlie in for his annual next month.

Elizabeth