Speak out to ensure that you have a choice to re-vaccinate your dog or cat if it has health problems or has had adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine in the past.




Sign the Petition to Grant a Medical Exemption from Rabies Shots for Sick and Senior Pets

Give responsible pet owners a reasonable way to obey the law and protect the health of our companion animals.
Sign the petition



1. Tell your friends.

Make sure your friends, families and neighbors know the facts about rabies vaccinations before they go to annual wellness exams. Learn the Symptoms. Understand the Science.

Do not assume that your veterinarian is current on vaccine knowledge. Print and distribute Dr. Bob Rogers letter to support a medical exemption for dogs, cats and ferrets from rabies shots.




2. Call your state representatives

Demand that your state legislature support an exemption from the rabies vaccine for dogs and cats that will be harmed by it.

Texas Residents find the name and address here.


3. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper

Sample Letter


4. Report adverse reactions to:

If your dog or cat has experienced adverse reactions to animal vaccines, report them to:

USDA Center for Veterinary Medicine

and the

FDA Adverse Drug Experience Reporting System.




Make sure you have the right to say “no”


The re-vaccination period for rabies booster shots is every three years for dogs in 33 states. Regrettably, these guidelines permit cities and counties to retain local jurisdiction.

Veterinarians can still re-administer rabies vaccine yearly. In fact, some veterinarians administer a three-year vaccine every year without informing their clients.

More, most communities require proof of current rabies vaccinations in order to issue pet licenses.

• If you do not have proof of current rabies vaccination, services may be restricted or refused at veterinarian offices, emergency clinics, boarding facilities and groomers.

• If you do not have proof of current rabies vaccination, many airline carriers and trains may refuse to travel your pet with or without you.

• In some communities, if you do not have proof of current rabies vaccination and city tags, Animal Control has a duty to seize your dog or cat and “handle and dispose of it of according to local laws.”

In a community with a benign animal control policy, you can recover your animal, get the damned rabies shot and pay a fine. In a less progressive area, your dog can be held for a period of time, then destroyed. You still pay the fine.

This puts the responsible pet owner whose animal may be old, with no chance of exposure to rabies and/or that has health issues in an untenable position: vaccinate the animal at the risk of its health or break the law and risk its life.

When I was prevented from holding Aimee for the euthanasia procedure because her rabies shot “was not current,” it rocked my world. Some people would rather not be there. This is an intensely personal decision.

Because the rabies vaccine law does not make allowances for a dog or cat's age, health, exposure or sensitivity to vaccinations, I had no choice. Make sure that you do.



Other related initiatives

Support Safer Vaccinations for Companion Animals

The government, in cooperation with the veterinary professional community, should enact and enforce a "standard" set of administrative guidelines concerning: a). the frequency and location of any vaccination and b). accurate record keeping for both feline and canine vaccinations; taking into consideration each animal's lifestyle, health and age. Veterinarians should then be held accountable to this "standard of care".


Go to Safer Vaccinations for Companion Animals



Support the Veterinary Vaccine Injury Act

It is imperative that veterinarians educate their clients concerning the associated risks of vaccines. Pet owners need to make educated decisions regarding the care of their beloved pets.

Go to the Veterinary Vaccine Injury Act



Support the Rabies Challenge Fund

Based on continuing studies, it's possible that the interval between re-vaccination with rabies can be extended five years, seven years or a lifetime, like your smallpox vaccination.

Animal vaccine makers did no studies to actually determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccine. Now concerned veterinary professionals are taking up the challenge.

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccine. The goal is to extend the required interval for rabies boosters to five and then to seven years. This project depends primarily upon grassroots gifts for funding the costs of conducting the requisite vaccine trials.

Go to the Rabies Challenge Fund






Visit our news room for more information.