Lulu
If this helps one beloved pet then it will be worth the tears.
On 8th July, 2006, I took my 7 year old 76-pound Golden Retriever Gabby, and my 15 month old 14-pound Ragdoll cat Lulu, to the vet for their annual vaccinations. The same vaccination that they both received the previous year at around the same time.
Gabby has had skin and ear problems her whole life, however, she has never had a reaction to the annual vaccinations. (Catherine O'Driscoll says: this can be a common reaction to vaccinations). Lulu is my baby, she is a beautiful healthy cat. I have a special bond with her because she stays indoors all the time and follows me around the house. We were home less than an hour when Lulu began to vomit and have diarrhoea. I called the vet's office and arranged to meet the vet, since they had already closed. He gave her a shot and a pill and said she should feel better tomorrow.
This continued on Sunday, so as soon as the office opened again on Monday, I called for another appointment. The vet examined her and said he would like to keep her overnight. By now she was dehydrated and running a fever. He told me that she must have had something else medically going on at the time of the vaccinations, to which I replied, “no she did not”. She was perfect.
When I got off to work on Monday, I went to visit her and she was just lying there. The next day, I heard the same story about “some other medical condition”, which no-one had a clue what it was, but they were sure it was not the FeLV/FVRCP combo and Rabies vaccination. My reply was the same, that she was eating and playing before the vaccination and within an hour this had happened. I have always had confidence in my vet. After all he has been vet 20 plus years and owns the practice.
On Wednesday, July 12 at 10:32, I received a phone call from my vet to inform me that she had gone into cardiac arrest and had not made it. I am devastated. I have been in tears since Saturday. I cannot say in words the pain that I feel. The love that I feel for my pets is not the same love that I have for my children, husband and family, however I like my pets more. They love me unconditionally. They even love me when I am sick or in a bad mood. I just wished that I had listened to my heart and had not had the vaccinations done.
I had debated this issue before because I really did not see why she needed the vaccination, since she is an indoor pet. I have ordered an autopsy, which will not bring her back, and I am not sure if it will reveal negligence on the vet's part such as “did he mix up the four vaccinations and gave the wrong one to her”, or “if the vaccine was tainted from the manufacturer”? I just pray for answers. I just wish that I had done my homework before now. I did not realize the risk of vaccination before now and I have paid a high price for it. We are all heart broken.
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