Puppa's Pages

3/05 update and Background info

The long term prednisone use is starting to show side effects. Puppa's skin has started scaling up and his gut has expanded to unbelievable proportions. Sadly, the maintenance dosage no longer seems to be helping his condition. He has started coughing more and has trouble breathing. We are reluctant to increase the prednisone, seeing as how it is affecting his body, but we don't want to see him in pain. We are at a difficult crossroads and would appreciate any suggestions from other pups who have had to deal with long-term prednisone use.

Background info::
Teddy fell ill with some type of auto-immune disease early in 2004. We suspect it was due to being given too many vaccinations in one visit. In the past, just one vaccination would cause a knot under his skin, one that take over a month to go away. This vet gave him a couple of vaccinations at one time and told us to give him benadryl for the swelling. Thus began the saga. No vet or specialist could tell us what was wrong with Puppa (they didn't give any weight to the too many vaccinations theory) and so for almost a year he was on a maintenance dose of prednisone to keep the illness under control. We weaned him off the pred, but we took him to a new vet who wanted to put him back on it. Puppa's life ended with euthanasia. After seeing 12 veterinarians, none of whom could help him, scores of expensive tests and x-rays, as well as a year and a half of steroid treatment, Puppa got to the point where his breathing was extremely laboured and any sort of exertion caused him to pant. On the afternoon of his last day on earth, I sat with him and held him while he struggled for breath. At moments he was able to fall asleep in my arms. I miss Puppa every single day and I severely regret that we did not tell the vet NO when he said he was going to give Puppa multiple vaccinations.

**Please consider the possible negative effects of multiple vaccines on dogs once they reach adulthood. Teddy's story is but one of many animals who have suffered from having vaccinations. The negative effects can include tumours at the site of injection, as well as auto-immune diseases and numerous other issues. Consider that humans only get vaccinations when they are very young and generally don't need those vaccines again for the rest of their lives (which are considerably longer than those of animals). It shouldn't be any different for our beloved companions. Do the research and judge for yourself whether vaccinations are truly in the best interest of an animal after s/he reaches adulthood.