I recently participated in debate in which both views are passionately argued; Vaccinations. To my surprise, I was contacted by a local veterinarian who had been observing the week long back and forth. I felt so proud when she complimented me on defending my stance that I prefer to vaccinate my pets as minimally as possible. Unknowingly a statement such as that elicited some strong feelings with the topic of rabies vaccination of indoor cats. Although I do not dispute the need for vaccination, I had a problem with the public's fear as the reason for vaccination. I feel if the law permits, I have a say into what goes into my pets body based on the real risk. The rabid bat getting into the house and biting my pets was the scenario presented. In fact, based upon the comments of others; there was a rash of bat home invasions at the time of this conversation; not improbable, but definitely convenient. My favorite response was the lack of fear of "the rabid bat kicking down my front door because he sensed an UNVACCINATED one and then unleashes its army of Cujos on us". By the way, both of my pets are fully vaccinated with core vaccines.
I was very grateful for the veterinarian's compliment. She pointed out her opinions as well and gave me suggestions on using better sources of information, other than that....well done. What was entirely unexpected was this professional reaching out to engage in an exchange of information with one another...of course not as a means of treatment or diagnosis. We all make decisions based on our beliefs, feelings, and opinions and it is refreshing to hear that, especially outside of a clinical environment. I had to share how special it was to have this veterinarian reach out to a member of the community. Something pretty interesting happened. What started as a debate ended up as a conversation; I think that is pretty amazing.