I thought I should respond. It likely wasn’t the intent, but I felt there was a slight scare-mongering tone with regard to giving a dog a rabies vaccine. So I replied:

Dear Jacqueline,

“Worth remembering that the controversy regarding rabies vaccine reference is based on anecdotal evidence only. That doesn’t mean it should be dismissed, but in the grand scheme of things, what you do have scientific evidence for is that a rabies vaccination does protect against rabies and the spread of rabies. Also worthy of consideration is that the “controversy” regarding the rabies vaccine is currently controversial amongst very few. You will be hard-pressed to find a practicing veterinarian that can corroborate through personal experience any of the alleged extreme reactions claimed by those in the anti-vaccine world. That is not to say that there aren’t reactions, just not the extreme ones often alleged and grouped inside the category of Rabies Miasm. That is not to say that there can’t be less serious, and even upon occasion, serious reactions. I don’t want a new dog owner to read the above comment and dismiss the value of vaccinating their dog. It can be far more easily argued that the good, by far, outweighs the bad. Vaccines protect the dog, other people’s dogs, and people themselves. Ask any veterinarian that wrote their boards before vaccines for pups existed concerning the survival rate. Ask communities in India about rabies.” – John Wade (www.askthedogguy.com)

Addendum – It does bug me that many veterinarians insist on giving a rabies vaccine annually when a three-year vaccine is available. They often claim that they are at the mercy of government laws that insist it is given annually. I suspect they could influence that law if they wished.