Stop the Shots! Are Vaccinations Killing Our Pets?

Posted on May 20, 2008
By Julia Szabo

by John Clifton

Foley Square Books, 102 pages, $8.95

Available on Amazon.com

The title of this book is certainly an attention-getter, and it's meant to be. The author edits the online newsletter Fighting Back: Canine Cancer Monthly and is well acquainted with the subject of dogs and cancer because Sparky, his Yorkshire Terrier, is a survivor.

So, why not a book about beating cancer? Because a) Clifton wrote that book already, and b) some vaccinations have been linked to the appearance of certain canine cancers.

Sparky's experience spurred his owner's investigation into the complicated issue of pet inoculations. In turn, Clifton makes it simple for the rest of us, providing such important information as how vaccines work, the difference between "live virus" and "killed" vaccines, an explanation of titers, and why only vets - NOT pet-shop personnel - should administer inoculations. Clifton is not opposed to all vaccinations; his goal, he writes, is not to turn readers against their vets, but to be their pets' first line of defense against potentially fatal over-vaccination.

The book is short and easy to read, from its large typeface to its concise, clearly-outlined chapters. If it were a magazine article, it would be one of the most important on health you'd ever want to clip, save, and pin to the fridge with magnets. That can get messy, so it's high time this vital information takes the form of a book that may be referenced as often as necessary - and certainly any time you receive a notice in the mail that "it's time for your pet's booster shots."