Grass Valley, CA — A northern California Lhasa Apso is the nation’s first dog diagnosed with autism. According to its owner, Phoebe, the 1-year-old dog started exhibiting symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD shortly after receiving its second round of vaccinations.
“I took ‘Fee (Phoebe) to the vet last week to get her shots just like I was told to do,” said Grass Valley resident Lee William Cornys of Rhode Island street. “Well, I mean, I don’t trust doctors, but I never thought my vet would lie to me about the risks of autism. And I knew something wasn’t right when we got home, and she wouldn’t listen to me. It just kept getting worse and worse.”
The northern California anti-pet vaccination group PetVaxxed advocated for years against vaccinating dogs and cats due to autism and other behavioral risks. Founded in 2011, the group has worked tirelessly for years to convince people of the dangers of pet vaccinations.
“We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so,” said PetVaxxed spokesperson Bethany Millbright from her Redding, CA strip mall office. “It’s bad enough that people pump these poisons into their kids, but a dog or a cat can’t consent to stab them. All these chemicals pollute their precious bodily fluids. And hopefully, this is a lesson to others not to vax their animals. If nature intended them to get all shot-up like that and think about it, they would have been born with needles sticking out of them.”
The [Lack of] Evidence for Autism
Although there is no evidence to support a vaccine-autism link in humans, let alone dogs and other pets, Mr. Cornys is certain his dog has autism. He is also convinced Phoebe’s recent vaccination caused it.
“Look, she won’t look at me anymore. It’s like I’m not even there,” continued Mr. Cornys. “She can’t interact with other dogs, and she has this obsessive interest in her kibble. And the barking. The constant barking. I read on the Internet I can cure it with coconut oil and B12 vitamins. So I’ve already started that. So far, she seems a little better.”
The anti-vaccination movement or anti-vaxxers has gained traction within the pet community in recent years. This prompted the British Veterinary Association to release a bizarre warning to people considering not vaccinating their animals.
“We are aware of an increase in anti-vaccination pet owners in the US who have voiced concerns that vaccinations may lead to their dogs developing autism-like behavior. But there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest autism in dogs or a link between vaccination and autism.”
Several autism research centers, including the prestigious UC Davis Mind institute located in Davis, CA, called the dog/autism link “ridiculous and requiring no action.” A spokesperson for San Francisco’s University of California Medical Center (UCSF) said, “we have no plans to investigate these claims because there is no link between vaccinations and autism, and we’re not a veterinary facility. And we’re not stupid.”
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control disputed the British Veterinary Association’s claim that this autism-pet-vaccination issue started in the United States. However, the agency had no comment regarding whether there was an actual link or not.
