Dog Owners Say Rabies Vaccination Exemption Could Lead To Quarantines

The owners of dogs who are too ill to get rabies vaccinations fear that a bill designed to help them will do just the opposite.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills is proposing a law that allows local jurisdictions to exempt animals if vaccinations endanger their health. Some areas already grant those exemptions, but they are not technically not legal. Other parts of the state refuse to grant the exceptions.

Laura Bates Sterner's dog Louie almost died of complications from a rabies vaccination and has gotten exemptions from her vet to forgo the booster shots. She points out that rabies is now rare among pets in California.


"I don't feel that these dogs are posing any real public health risk," said Sterner.

She welcomes the new law, but fears an amendment that calls for quarantining sick animals until they're well enough to get the shots. But Sterner says Louie won't ever get another rabies shot.

"Essentially it would amount to house arrest," said Sterner of the quarantine.

"It would probably killer her," said Sterner.

That amounts to a lifetime quarantine for her dog.

But Hagman says that was not his intention. He says he's trying to remove the word "quarantine" from the bill so that animals in Louie's situation would not be confiscated. And he doesn't intend for exempt dogs to be housebound, although he says local health officials need the flexibility to put restrictions on them. That may include leashes or muzzles.

"We want them to take precautions and make sure that the dog can't harm anybody else if they're not vaccinated," said Hagman.

Cynthia Jeremica also owns a Chinese Crested who's auto-immune disease has been linked to the rabies vaccine. She says there is no need to for the restrictions. She backs a group called the The Rabies Challenge Fund which conducting research trials to see if vaccinations required every three years can be stretched to 5 and even 7 years and still be effective.

"Rabies vaccines are a necessary evil, but for many many years we've been over vaccinating dogs," said Jeremica.

She says there are very few cases of rabies among dogs in California, although they continue to affect wild animals.

Hagman says he is still modifying the wording of his bill to satisfy objections before it goes to the Assembly floor for a vote.