For your information/cross posting.

Jean Townsend - Johns Island, SC
(Always for George -Always for the Rimadyl Dogs)

In a message dated 11/20/2006 9:25:48 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
LedgeSpring@... writes:


Greetings All!

Some big news for The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust: thanks
to graphic designer, Andrea Brin, it now has its own website at
_http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/_ (http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/) .
If you
read the text of the press release below, you'll see the other big news is that
Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary
Medicine has volunteered his time to conduct the 5 and 7 year canine rabies
challenge studies. If you recall, Dr. Schultz's research forms part of the
scientific base for the American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 and 2006
Canine
Vaccine Guidelines. The December 2006/January 2007 (Vol. 8, Issue 6) Animal
Wellness Magazine features an article by Ann Brightman on the RCF entitled,
How Often Does He REALLY Need a Rabies Shot? and Get Out Your Wallets, Rabies
Challenge Fund a Reality by Nancy Freedman Smith at A Dog's Life and
_http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/_
(http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/)
.
Since last year, Dr. W. Jean Dodds, of Hemopet and Co-Trustee of The
Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, and her staff have donated their time
to
ensure these vital studies are conducted for the benefit of our canine
companions.
We hope you'll join us in this effort, too! PERMISSION GRANTED TO POST AND
CROSS-POST THIS MESSAGE.

Regards, Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund
_http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/_ (http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/)


World-Famous Scientists Donate Services to

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust
Two world-renowned giants of veterinary vaccine research -- Dr. W. Jean
Dodds of Hemopet and Co-Trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund and Dr. Ronald
Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine -- have
volunteered their time to ensure that critical 5 and 7 year rabies challenge
studies are conducted in the United States. The studies are to be financed
by
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, a tax-exemption organization
founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocate Kris L. Christine of Maine in 2005,
and will be performed by Dr. Schultz at the University of Wisconsin. The
University has waived its usual 48% overhead fee for these studies.
The concurrent challenge studies will determine the duration of immunity
conveyed by the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the
state-mandated interval for boosters to 5, and then to 7 years. According to
Dr. Dodds,
“This is one of the most important projects in veterinary medicine. It will
benefit all dogs by providing evidence that protection from rabies
vaccination lasts at least 5 years, thereby avoiding unnecessary revaccination
with
its attendant risk of debilitating adverse reactions. "
Scientific data indicate that vaccinating dogs against rabies every three
years, as most states require, is unnecessary. Studies have shown the duration
of protective immunity as measured by serum antibody titers against rabies
virus to persist for seven years post-vaccination, and results of a 1992 French
challenge study led by Michel Aubert demonstrated dogs were immune to rabies
five years after vaccination. Researchers believe the rabies vaccine
causes the most and worst adverse reactions in animals and concur that it
should
not be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity. Adverse
reactions to rabies vaccination can include autoimmune diseases affecting the
thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous
system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas
at
injection sites.
Dr. Schultz states that “[s]howing that a vaccine for rabies can provide 5
or preferably 7 years of immunity would have great significance not only in
controlling rabies but more importantly in reducing the adverse vaccine
reactions that can occur in dogs and cats after vaccination."
More information on The Rabies Challenge Fund and the concurrent 5 and 7
year challenge studies it will finance can be found at the fund’s newly
established website designed by volunteer Andrea Brin at:
_www.rabieschallengefund.org_ (http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/) .
To date, the following breed clubs, along with many pet owners, trainers,
breeders, and kennel owners have contributed to The Rabies Challenge Fund:


Akita Club of America
American Shih Tzu Club
Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Nashoba Valley
Bernese Mountain Club of SE Wisconsin
Capital City Cocker Club
Chesapeake, Virginia Dog Fanciers Association
Collie Club of Georgia
Dog Agility Racing Team of Chino
Great River Stockdog Club
Heart of Minnesota Great Dane Club
Kennel Club of Buffalo
Kerry Blue Terrier Foundation
Kishwaukee Kennel Club
Kuvasz Fanciers of America
Lehigh Valley Kennel Club
Miniature Schnauzer Club of Southern California
Northern Illinois Schutzhund Club
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club of Canada
Pacific NW Jack Russell Terrier Rescue Network
Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier Club
Staffordshire Terrier Club of America
Standard Schnauzer Club of Southern California
Wachusett Kennel Club
Evergreen Empire Manchester Terrier Fanciers






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