# Antivaxers are now advocating for not giving rabies vaccines because it shortens the life and causes autism...in dogs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979 "2024-04-07T19:06:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/81 "2024-04-11T00:12:50Z")
A dog needs very little cerebral cortical tissue to pass as “a dog”. I read a paper once about a tiny toy breed dog (Pomeranian I think) that was a big deal in dog circles. Won tons of ribbons, semen valuable, etc. Numerous dog publications praised the dog’s “jaunty gait”. When the dog eventually died, a postmortem examination revealed that the dog had severe hydrocephaly, with just a thin strip of cortex remaining. The “jaunty gait” was a brain damage artifact. Nobody ever suspected a thing. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/82 "2024-04-11T01:18:07Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Sidebar: This was a plot point in _The Mirror Crack’d_ by Agatha Christie Based on the true story of actress Gene Tierney, who was exposed to rubella while pregnant, by an afflicted fan, causing her child to be born mentally disabled. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/83 "2024-04-11T04:41:39Z")
My niece is headed back to Indonesia this summer; she went there in 2018 as part of a high school exchange program. Some of her old shots won’t have to be re-upped, but I’m sure some will. People who go to the Hajj have a whole list of immunizations that they must get (polio, measles, and epidemic meningitis, which is a huge problem in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, are given the most emphasis) and the Saudi officials are VERY strict about this. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/84 "2024-04-11T22:27:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s not India, but vaccination campaigns aren’t helped by things like a fake vaccination campaign organized by the CIA in Abbottabad as a method of searching for Osama bin Laden. While that was an extremely foolish move, it should be noted that other vaccination drives (well before the one described, which was over a decade ago, as well as subsequent ones) have been impeded by entirely bogus religious beliefs and antivax sentiment which have had nothing to do with the CIA. In 2003, imams in Nigeria thwarted an immunization campaign by declaring that it was a plot by Western powers to sterilize and eliminate Muslims. The result was further outbreaks and spread of polio. Later, Catholic bishops in Kenya [claimed that tetanus vaccine was intended to sterilize women](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29594091), and called for a boycott of polio vaccination for the same nonsensical reason. Antivaxers in countries like the U.S., England, Canada and Australia hope their ideology catches on in Third World countries. In Samoa, where antivaxers like RFK Jr. preached their gospel, the result was many preventable measles deaths. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/85 "2024-04-12T18:31:28Z")
Cats just pretend to be autistic so we’ll leave them alone. They also only vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/86 "2024-04-12T18:37:05Z")
My Siamese cats don’t dirty their widdle paws voting. They know they rule the world. Pffth! on an elected baboon! Yep. They have a Royal countenance. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/87 "2024-04-12T18:45:40Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Exactly. I was bitten by an unvaccinated dog That’s horrible. When my brother was a kid (liked 8?) he was bitten when on his paper route by a loose dog. The local boy scouts scoured the neighborhood until they found the dog, and fortunately it had been vaccinated. I was terrified for my brother because since I was very little I’d been hearing about how awful those shots were. > [@Zyada](#): > > We should make them read Old Yeller. That’s what I was thinking! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/88 "2024-04-12T19:11:29Z")
Yes. It was a horrible bite, too. He actually nearly ruined my hand and forearm. Lots of stitches and a drain. He paid the ultimate price for it in the end. I actually tried to stop his euthanasia. He had a bad owner. Needed to be taken from him permanently. He might’ve been salvageable. But, who knows? I healed. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979/89 "2024-04-12T19:22:11Z")
Worse than my brother. He just got chomped on his thigh. And fortunately he was on his bike so he could get away easier. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivaxers-are-now-advocating-for-not-giving-rabies-vaccines-because-it-shortens-the-life-and-causes-autism-in-dogs/999979.md?page=4)