Vaccine Reaction

October 18, 2008

Tessa went for her last big round of shots today which included distemper, parvo, leptospirosis, kennel cough and rabies. Plus a microchip. And some ear cleaning solution. And one heartworm pill.

The vet said she'd be a little sleepy today, then looking at her walking around the office on two legs, corrected himself saying, laughing, "well, she probably won't". But sure enough, about two hours later she started acting strange - confused, restless, sleepy, trembling. Two huge lumps developed at the injection sites, one of which was quite painful. I called the vet's office just as they were leaving for the weekend, and per doctor's order, gave her a benadryl, kept her warm and under keen observation.

By 6 pm she started perking up a little, but to my dismay I noticed blood in her urine. I was not too terribly worried, as I had seen this with my dogs before, and by now know that although it looks very alarming, it usually is only a UTI. But given the vaccine reaction earlier in the day, I kept an even closer eye on her. By 8 pm she started shaking again, so I gave her another benadryl. Shortly thereafter, Tessa started throwing up and off to the emergency clinic we went, and in a hurry. In 20 years of dog ownership, this was our first reaction to a vaccine and the first trip to an emergency clinic for any reason. And, as luck would have it, on the way to clinic we ran into a huge police road block, my second one in 20 years. There were five cars ahead of me. As the officer came over, I hoped that he would check my license and wave me through given the circumstances, but when I explained that I am on the way to emergency vet and he shone his light on goofy little Tessa in her travel crate, it sounded like the lamest excuse and I thought it was wiser to keep my mouth shut. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long.

By the time we reached the clinic Tessa was her old lively self, and most definitely not critical. She was diagnosed with a UTI unrelated to the vaccinations, and vomiting either due to the vaccine reaction or to the benadryl she had received on an empty stomach. They gave her a benadryl injection and a shot for nausea and some antibiotics and sent us home.

I want to wake up tomorrow morning to my wild & crazy dog...