MIAMI – Most of us are accustomed to taking our dog or cat to the vet's office every year to get their annual shots, but what if those vaccinations were poisoning our pets? There's a possibility these injections may not be protecting our pets after all.
Carla Boyadjian plays ball with Bella, her 4-year-old dachshund, but her dog isn't always this happy-go-lucky. Bella's owner said she is always sick and can be aggressive.
"Her tail is going but she's angry at the same time," said Boyadjian. "But then when you take her out, she's OK."
And Boyadjian believes it's a result of being overly vaccinated as a puppy.
"She completely changed as a dog -- the aggression, very large thirst and urination, incontinence," said Boyadjian. "At one point, I was really worried we might lose her."
Stressed about Bella's health, Boyadjian sought the help of veterinarian Dr. Michael Dym.
"For many, many years, veterinarians, going back to the sixties and seventies, always just routinely gave dogs yearly vaccines," said Dym. "We started to find out that not only did animals not need shots every year, but that we were actually triggering or activating certain chronic diseases."
Now practicing holistic and homeopathic veterinarian services, Dym believes annual vaccinations are overkill, and possibly even responsible for immune diseases and cancers in animals.
"They're still vaccinating for rabies every single year," said Dym. "I mean that's criminal in my opinion. It's criminal, it's malpractice and it's criminal."
Vaccine illnesses are actually more common in small dogs. A dog that size gets the exact same dose of medicine as a larger dog.
"So you're giving them a strong medical compound, an injection, which has not just the viruses in them, but metals like mercury and aluminum and lead, and things that should not be put into the body in the first place," said Dym.
But not everyone agrees on the controversial topic of immunizations.
Dr. Bustter, of Biscayne Animal Hospital, is not Boyadjian's vet, but she also thinks the annual shots are essential.
"We're vaccinating to protect them," said Bustter. "We do vaccines every single year until they are four years of age. These vaccines are to protect the pet from diseases that have no cures -- diseases that will kill your dog if they get it."
Boyadjian followed the yearly shot suggestions for Bella given to her by her vet.
"I have a bigger bill, I have a sick dog and I completely just poisoned my dog four times in the course of four years," said Boyadjian.
"Dogs actually get distemper. They get bordetella, which is known as kennel cough. They also get parvovirus, so we highly recommend these vaccines to be given because these are the ones actually saving dogs lives," said Bustter.
Bella is now on a raw diet and taking natural medicine to help with her liver disease, but Bella still has a long way to go when it comes to her thirst, her aggression and the overall health of her compromised liver.
"I feel confident that we are going to resolve this and get her to the place where we want her to be and have a healthy, happy dog for many more years," said Boyadjian.