Column: Some pet owners wonder, worry about vaccines for their pets

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Column: Some pet owners wonder, worry about vaccines for their pets

Meet Roo (A522144) a sweet and sensitive soul looking for a calm and patient home to call her own. Though initially shy and cautious, 5-year-old Roo warms up beautifully with time and becomes incredibly affectionate — resting her head in your lap, leaning in for pets, and gently nudging your hand for more. She walks well on leash, enjoys exploring outside, and takes treats gently. She’s ready to find a forever home where she can relax and be herself. Learn more at pasadenahumane.org.

In late October, a 10-month-old German shepherd mix arrived at Pasadena Humane as a stray. A Good Samaritan had found her wandering the streets of Pasadena with no owner in sight.

Our veterinary health team quickly noticed that something was not right. The young dog, who we named Doja, appeared lethargic and was experiencing the tell-tale signs of parvovirus — bloody diarrhea, vomiting and a lack of appetite.

A test quickly confirmed our suspicions, and Doja was immediately placed in our isolation area. She was given a dose of the groundbreaking new monoclonal antibody treatment for parvo and started on a full regimen of supportive care to help her body fight off the deadly virus.

After a rough few days, Doja began to feel better. She went from completely shut down to wagging her tail and barking for attention. Her appetite returned and with it all the energy you’d expect from an adolescent dog.

With those touch-and-go days behind her, Doja soon found a wonderful new home.

Sadly, stories like these are not out of the ordinary in our Animal Resource Center. So far in 2025, we’ve treated nearly 100 cases of parvo in dogs and panleukopenia in cats alone.

These viruses are fatal in almost all dogs and cats who do not receive medical intervention. While there is no cure, with prompt and diligent supportive care, Pasadena Humane has a high success rate of treatment.

When I directly oversaw our admissions department, I regularly saw stray dogs and cats come into our care showing the distressing symptoms of diseases like parvo and panleukopenia. It was truly heartbreaking to watch these pets struggle, especially knowing that their suffering could have been easily avoided with a routine vaccination.

A few weeks back, The New York Times ran an article noting an apparent rise in vaccine skepticism among pet parents. The writer linked this trend to the broader controversy surrounding human vaccines, particularly in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

We, too, at Pasadena Humane have seen this firsthand. Our weekly low-cost clinics often fail to fill, and our team regularly fields questions from concerned pet owners about the efficacy of vaccines, potential short-term side effects and perceived long-term risks.

Despite recent headlines, I’m here to reassure you that routine vaccinations continue to offer a critical layer of protection against serious and often fatal diseases.

Vaccines help your pet in two important ways: they can either prevent your pet from contracting a deadly disease altogether, or they can significantly lessen the severity of clinical signs if exposure does occur. Many of these illnesses have lifelong or life-threatening consequences, and once a pet has been infected, it is often too late to treat.

Some particularly deadly viruses — like parvo and panleukopenia — are extremely hardy. They can survive in the environment and in soil for a year or more. This puts unvaccinated pets at high risk of coming into contact with the virus and becoming seriously ill.

Vaccines also protect people. When I was growing up, I was often warned to be cautious around unfamiliar dogs because of the fear of rabies. Today, thanks to routine and consistent rabies vaccination, annual rabies cases in dogs and cats in California are virtually nonexistent.

As a pet parent myself, I only want what’s best for my animals. Staying on top of vaccinations ensures that my pets are protected when they go outside and that they are not in danger of contracting life-threatening diseases, even if they are exposed.

Pasadena Humane offers a weekly low-cost vaccination clinic for dogs and cats living within our animal care and control service area. Appointments can be made online at pasadenahumane.org/vax

 

Chris Ramon is president and CEO of Pasadena Humane.

This blog post originally appeared as a column in the Pasadena Star-News on November 20, 2025.