Chipper and Gina had their annual rabies vaccination last Saturday.  (I
separate the distemper and rabies by a couple of weeks.)
 
After the girl's shot, we waited in the reception area to monitor for any
adverse reaction...Chipper crawled into my lap to curl up, but she didn't
curl up, just stretched out over my thighs.  I noticed she had lost control
of her bowl movements/diarrhea on the chair and my pants.  I picked her up
under the arms and looked at her face - she looked like she was
dizzy/passing out.  I set her back in my lap, and she began to hiccup (I
thought).  I decided I should check on Gina too for any unusual behavior.
None.  Chipper now had crawled off my lap and onto the chair where she was
laying flat on her stomach trying to vomit.
 
I immediately scooped her up in her blankie from the pet taxi and told the
receptionist to get the vet NOW.  He took her from me, checked her gums, and
sent me back to the reception area where I once again checked on Gina.
About 10 minutes later the vet came out and told me she had a mild reaction,
more diarrhea, her heart was racing (and so was mine!), no fluid in the
lungs, and wanted to keep her for a couple of hours to keep warm and watch
closely.
 
Last year, the girls refused the pre-treatment with an antihistamine
(Benedryl).  Don't know what I am going to do next year...Maybe Jeff
Johnston can talk me into trying the Vitamin E theory that's in the FAQ?
 
Please read the FAQ regarding vaccine reactions (Subject: 9.2) so that you
too will be prepared to recognize symptoms.  If you want me to email you
that section, let me know.
 
Shari Gunter
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http://www.trifl.org/
[Posted in FML issue 1821]