Every pet owner knows that rabies vaccines are required by law. At this time, there is a study called the Rabies Challenge Fund headed by Dr. Dodds of California. She has discovered that rabies vaccines are still effective after much longer than three years, some maybe even for the life of the pet. Some vets will administer titer tests to measure the animals’ antibodies to see if the vaccine is still effective, but those vets are few and far between.
Some information you may want to know is that rabies side effects can occur immediately, or even days, weeks or months after the shot. Some symptoms, which occur immediately or up to three days after a rabies vaccine include vomiting, facial swelling, fever, lethargy, circulatory shock, loss of consciousness or even death. Symptoms, which can occur days, weeks or even months after the shot include cancer at the injection site, seizures, epilepsy, allergies, digestive problems, muscle weakness, skin problems, and behavioral problems, which can include separation anxiety aggression, destructive behavior, obsessive paw licking and tail chasing, losing motor skills, and dementia. It can also manifest itself as an autoimmune-like destruction of tissues, skin, blood, joints, the liver or kidneys. Any animal with immune-related problems are more negatively affected by a rabies vaccine.
There are even chronic symptoms of a rabies vaccine, which sometimes mimic noninfectious symptoms of rabies and include restlessness, viciousness, avoidance of company, unusual affection, staring eyes, strange cries and howls, inability to be restrained, self-biting, inability to swallow, gagging while eating or drinking, inability to swallow, eating wood or stones, destruction of clothing, convulsive seizures, throat spasms, increased sexual desire, disturbed heart function, and excited and jerky breathing.