Help! Was it the vaccination?

Hello,
I have a 5 yr old pomeranian who just had his yearly shots. 9 days later he spikes a fever and is weak and not eating.  I take him to the emergency vet and they draw blood and tell me that they think he is having a reaction and that it is causing immuno anemia... white cells up, hct, red at 80, everything in the blood was within the high risk area.  The vet put him on prednizone and antibiotics and I just went back today for the 48 hour blood test. Red cells are up but white are still crazy and now they say its not anemia but bone or blood cancer.  I am hoping for the best. I live in a small town in northern Ontario and am not super secure with my vets experience level.  I will be going for a second opinion when the lab results come back tomorrow.  In this case is 5 mg twice daily for a 9 lb dog too much?

Thanks.

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Hello...I am so sorry to hear about the troubles your little Pom is having.   Pomeranians are one of my favorite breeds!

Unfortunately, vaccinations are a medical procedure and, like all medical procedures, adverse reactions can occur.  The use of prednisone to help calm the immune response is fairly common and even though I am not a veterinarian, the dose of prednisone seems to fit with what I have seen in practice.

How low did the red blood cells go and how high are the whites?

The first step, if you are uncomfortable with how the case is progressing is to have open communication with your veterinarian and let him or her know that you are concerned.   He or she might even volunteer the name of a specialist who can help you and your Pom.  You always have the right to ask for a second opinion.

Next, make sure your veterinarian reports this adverse effect to the vaccine manufacturer.  Although we can never know for certain that the vaccines were the direct cause of this episode, reporting this can help veterinarians and companies be watchful for other potential events.

Finally, (and I am going to assume that your little pet will be ok) consider discussing a vaccination plan with your veterinarian that doesn't involve all vaccines every year.  I don't know the laws in Canada, but rabies is the only required vaccine here in the states and most states allow for the use of a three year rabies vaccine.   Discuss your pet's risk factors with your veterinarian and you may be able to opt out of some ( or most) vaccines.  In any case, be sure that your pet sees your veterinarian at least twice yearly for an examination to make sure he stays healthy!

Good luck...keep us posted!

Tomcat