So my inlaws have this lab...

[Criosphynx]

hes about 10ish...names Toby..

so I just got a call from my Husband saying they had to put Toby down today... They just found out he was diabetic a few months ago and were giving him insulin a couple times a day..

we visited them last week and he was so pathetic...he just drank and peed and layed there.. poor guy

So I ask if it was a diabetes complication... hubby says no ..turns out he had a bad reaction to the rattlesnake vaccine he was given yesterday... its his second or third one hes gotten(I forget) but he had one only a year ago...

Poor guy...I know he was in bad shape already but the thought of him dying from a vaccine is really sad...when they were just trying to protect him.



Im sure my MIL is devastated.

 

[FluffyZooCrew]

I'm so sorry for their loss, and yours.

I've never heard of giving a dog a rattlesnake vaccination... and we have rattlesnakes here bad.

Is there any particular reason why he was getting rattlesnake vaccines?

 

[Criosphynx]

I'm so sorry for their loss, and yours.

I've never heard of giving a dog a rattlesnake vaccination... and we have rattlesnakes here bad.

Is there any particular reason why he was getting rattlesnake vaccines?

Thank you

They live in AZ...its semi-rural... in fact when we were visiting my hubby and I found a gorgeous western diamondback (crotallus atrox) on the road... Their neighbors have found mojave rattlesnakes in their yards...I guess they were just trying to be careful..

The dog had also had rattlesnake aversion training...


maybe he was over vaccinated?

 

[FluffyZooCrew]

I guess it could be possible that he was over-vaccinated. Maybe there was too much venom in that particular vaccine? (I know with human rattlesnake vaccines, they use real snake venom).

 

[bubbatd]

Such a shame !! I thought they only gave vaccines if bitten . Poor guy !

 

[Romy]

If he was diabetic could that have something to do with why he reacted so poorly to it? I know some kinds if diabetes really do a number on your liver, and that handles toxins.

Anyway, if he's had the shot before and not had a reaction, I wouldn't put all the blame there. It sounds like he was in rough shape and that just pushed him over the edge.

>>hugs<< to your inlaws. He's going to be missed. Poor dude.

ETA: There aren't any snake bite vaccines for people. We have anti venom, which grammy is thinking of, and that is given to human and animal snake bite victims after they are bitten.

The rattlesnake bite vaccine is a preventative. It's done in a series of three shots, and reduces the amount of anti venom needed to counter a bite, and buys you time to rush to the vet before irreversible damage and death occur.

For perspective: It usually takes 3-4 phials of anti venom to treat a snake bite for a dog. And each phial costs $2000. That doesn't include followup care, treating infections at the bite site, etc. and it doesn't not guarantee that your dog will survive. A vaccinated dog may only need 1 phial for successful treatment.

When I lived in Tucson there were 7 dogs in my bosses' neighborhood alone that were bitten by snakes in one year. Only two survived, so yeah it's a pretty serious thing when you've got the snakes around your place.

 

[Criosphynx]

not really blaming the vaccine...just not sure really what to think.. It is odd.. I think its a realtively new vaccine.

personally I would have put the dog down earlier. He had hip dysplasia and the light had gone from his eyes... I was actually going to talk to my MIL about it and then this happend.


Maybe they can adopt Chili when hes ready... when more time has passed I will offer him to them I think.

 

[perla123]

sorry for the loss.