Hi,
Well, the last few years I've been reading the horror stories of reactions
on this digest, in fear of my first one.  This past Saturday I took 5
fuzzies in for shots and two had reactions. : (   One was severe, one was
mild.  The curious thing we noticed was that the two that had reactions
were the two that stressed out the most over the visit.  This was the
annual blood workup, physical exam, and shots visit.  Zeus and Bandit
fought like mad.  In fact, Bandit put up such a fight we never did get
blood.  So I wonder if maybe their stress level contributed to their
reactions?
 
On a side note: While I was there (for 3 long hours) I got to observe the
vet hygiene practices (as discussed a few weeks ago).  I'm happy to report
the tables were cleaned after each pet visit, the vets washed up (my vet
washed her hands every time she came in the room to check on the two
reaction victims), and every time a dog had walked into a room (vs. being
carried) they mopped the floor after the visit.
 
And Ares' blood test revealed a blood sugar reading of 30. <sigh>  Don't
know if I can go thru this again....I went through screaming seizures with
Oscar until he passed on 6/21/00, and that was so emotionally draining.
Ares is approx. 7 years old; he has more energy than my younger ferrets.
 
Keep Zeus in your thoughts and prayers.  He goes in for removal of a mass
on his gums tomorrow.
 
Susan in KY
[Posted in FML issue 3258]