Just when you thought it simply wasn’t possible for things to get any more stupid than they already are, the New York Times publishes a profile on veterinarians who have to deal with pet vaccine truthers.
In the four years since she opened her own veterinary practice, Dr. Kelly McGuire has seen her fair share of heartbreaking cases.
There was the dog whose kidneys shut down after it contracted leptospirosis, a bacterial disease often carried by rodents. Several of her canine patients had come down with such severe cases of parvovirus that they died after “sloughing their guts to the point of dehydration and malnutrition,” said Dr. McGuire, who owns Wildflower Veterinary Hospital in Brighton, Colo. And, after she was unable to rule out rabies, she had been forced to euthanize a 20-week-old puppy that was having seizures.
The deaths were wrenching, especially because they were preventable: Those pets would likely have survived had they received all their recommended vaccines.
Apparently it’s been “a thing” for a while now, particularly ever since the pandemic turned half of America into absolute loons. A Boston University study conducted in 2023 found that “nearly 40 percent of respondents believed that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20 percent believed these vaccines are ineffective, and 30 percent considered them to be medically unnecessary.” And, yes, “37 percent of dog owners also believed that canine vaccination could cause their dogs to develop autism.”
Or, as some call it, in all seriousness … pawtism.
Now, sure, scientists and biologists have never encountered autism in any non-human species, but that doesn’t mean that weirdos on Xitter are not out here claiming that their dogs have autism that is being cured by “Fenben.” (Fenbendazole is the new Ivermectin, and the only other medication these people trust — they also use the deworming medication for themselves, to “cure cancer,” even though it has not been approved for use in humans.)
That particular tweet was a response to a truly, truly batshit rant from one Jessica Rojas (not New York state Rep. Jessica González-Rojas, who’s a Democrat and cool as hell), who has over 200,000 followers on Xitter and describes herself as “American WOMAN, Mother and critical thinker. conspiracy realist. Libertarian - less Government, more freedom.” Back in July, Rojas, who does not appear to also be a veterinarian, shared a list of reasons not to vaccinate one’s pet, claiming that the only reason animals get diseases like parvo or distemper or kennel cough or leptospirosis is because they got it from the vaccine. She also claimed that all of these can actually be cured just fine with nosodes — homeopathic preparations made from diseased human or animal tissue diluted 12 bajillion times in water. (In homeopathy, the more you dilute something, the more potent it is, which is why it does not work and is stupid.)
There were some other pretty great responses as well. Let’s explore!
I like this person who thinks there hasn’t been a case of dog rabies since 2004.
There has actually been somewhat of a surge in rabies outbreaks in recent years, partly due to environmental fuckery and the destruction of habitats, but also a little due to all those people refusing to get their pets vaccinated. There have also been six rabies deaths in humans since September 2024.
What will definitely not surprise you is that the purveyors of this nonsense include both Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense and our old pal Naomi Wolf.
Though I’m not sure anything will ever top this one.
I’m going to also have to point out that there are more than a few people in these comments talking about how they also refuse to spay and neuter their pets.
Bob Barker would be disappointed.
This is not just dangerous for the pets, but for human beings as well. Do you know what happens when dogs don’t get their rabies vaccines? CUJO HAPPENS.
We should not have to worry about a whole ass Cujo situation just because Kathy thinks there’s no such thing as a contagious virus. There needs to be more screening for who is allowed to own pets, and perhaps even some laws requiring that animals receive their vaccinations before being adopted.
Because the pets did nothing to deserve this shit. We may not be able to hug every cat, but we can sure as hell vaccinate them all.
OPEN THREAD!
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
Maybe this can be something to help ease the sting of this story. A new When Harry Met Daisy. https://open.substack.com/pub/ziggywiggy/p/when-harry-met-daisy-ep-17?r=2knfuc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Writing the article tonight. It's going to be on one of three subjects. Vote for one of them here!
- How to turn a bottle of Malort into a violation of the Geneva Convention.
- Superjuice! A mad-science way to quadruple the yield of juice from a lemon or lime and possibly make it even tastier. We'll make superdaquiris to evaluate.
- Eggnog. Tis the season. Make it now so it'll be ready for the holidays. Aged eggnog tastes better.
EDIT: It'll be Malort on Friday, because of Halloween. I'm making the superjuice now and will report.