Rabies in Chicago; Light spectrum, animals and you; Goats happily do weed control, Dogs sniff out canine cancer, Farmers who farm outside the box, and More
Absolutely fascinating post from beginning to end! LOVE the goat woman :) And wow, after all that great stuff, here comes a shout out for About the Farm -- thank you!!! And thank you for always educating us. --Eli
Love the topics today Dr. Will. Light is so especially important. I use incandescent as I stocked up when their use was banned.
Interestingly, AVMA posted an article via AFP Fact Check accusing Dr. Judy Morgan (holistic vet) and Dr. Tenpenny (human doctor) of being misinformation specialists. Here is the excerpt from the AVMA Animal Health Smart Brief article dated 12/17/2025. Same playbook as during the Covid years.
"Social media influencers spread disinformation about modern rabies vaccine
Veterinarians in the US and Canada say a Merck rabies vaccine that uses self-amplifying RNA particle technology has been thoroughly tested and is designed to cause fewer side effects than other vaccines. The vaccine, not yet available in the US but released in Canada in June, has been effective and safe, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Influencers on social media with no veterinary or immunology training have spread false information about the new vaccine."
They really made it a hit piece on the both of them. I can't imagine trusting anything the CFIA says especially after murdering the ostriches and ruining a family business.
Yeah, and they actually slandered with "No veterinary or immunology training." Both have some of each, though it appears many of my vet colleagues have long forgotten their training in immunology, what with pushing annual vaccination. Zero immunological sense to that, but 100% profit speaking.
And, as to "thorough testing," the testing was short term and in house! But we're supposed to consider it safe? Yeah, right.
Thank you, Dr. Falconer, for the film about Chia, the Goat Herder. I learned about goats as a child on our small farm in Southern Indiana. We mainly had sheep for the wool. But I think my dad learned early on about the ability of goats to keep the land "mowed down" so we had a few of them, too. Then there were the playful antics of the kids, always super entertaining. In the '50's the devices that entertained my brother Ed and me were all the critters we bonded with plus a small black and white TV. Rather simple, huh?
That's interesting about the yellow light and cows. I guess that would be akin to spending nights sleeping out under the moonlight, which to me appears mostly yellowish. I met a woman who slept outdoors (unless it was pouring rain) from Memorial Day until Labor Day in Wisconsin, no tent - just a sleeping bag. Apparently she had the right idea!
Love this mornings post! I have a few comments. I’m glad you brought up the rabies case because I was thinking about some of the same things. One thing you said was that A vaccinated dog would not have rabies antigen in his brain, only the blood. My response is, We were all taught about the blood brain barrier and how important and strict it is. But nowadays with glyphosate in everything, including the cheap kibble that pup was always fed, glyphosate is a mineral chelater and breaks down the lining, of the digestive tract and possibly the brain. Aluminum is now known to cross the brain. I’m not sure if that makes a difference in this case, but I wanted to point out that the blood brain barrier is not like what we were taught decades ago.
Also, I’m glad you brought up light and LEDs. You can use blue light reducing screen protectors on your phone and tablets, and I’m sure that helps. Or even blue blocking glasses that one can wear at night. Incandescent bulbs are hard to find and I thought Trump did away with that law but I’m here in California and our governor always does the opposite of Trump, so finding the bulbs are almost impossible. My trick is to use appliance light bulbs. I’ve only found 40w ones but they work in some of my light fixtures. Also, our animals deserve total darkness at night and I hate seeing people leave barn lights on all night so the animals never have total darkness which is so important to their circadian rhythm.
Hey LL, I wasn’t saying rabies antigen wouldn’t get to the brain in a vac’d dog: that’s exactly what happened here. But rabies is unique in that the virus doesn’t follow the blood to get there. Rather, it slowly crawls along nerve sheaths until it reaches the brain, then more nerve sheaths till it gets to the salivary glands, where it reproduces like crazy, readying the infectious bite to the next victim.
And, yes, the BBB isn’t as fail proof as we originally learned, sadly.
I've always used incandescent bulbs in my home, lamps and no overhead lighting. It's warm and cozy feeling. I am now buying bulbs online from healthlighting.com.
Haha, no idea as it was not a patient or acquaintance but a stock photo. With the length of that nose, though, all bets would be on a scent hound of some sort.
Absolutely fascinating post from beginning to end! LOVE the goat woman :) And wow, after all that great stuff, here comes a shout out for About the Farm -- thank you!!! And thank you for always educating us. --Eli
Love the topics today Dr. Will. Light is so especially important. I use incandescent as I stocked up when their use was banned.
Interestingly, AVMA posted an article via AFP Fact Check accusing Dr. Judy Morgan (holistic vet) and Dr. Tenpenny (human doctor) of being misinformation specialists. Here is the excerpt from the AVMA Animal Health Smart Brief article dated 12/17/2025. Same playbook as during the Covid years.
"Social media influencers spread disinformation about modern rabies vaccine
Veterinarians in the US and Canada say a Merck rabies vaccine that uses self-amplifying RNA particle technology has been thoroughly tested and is designed to cause fewer side effects than other vaccines. The vaccine, not yet available in the US but released in Canada in June, has been effective and safe, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Influencers on social media with no veterinary or immunology training have spread false information about the new vaccine."
They really made it a hit piece on the both of them. I can't imagine trusting anything the CFIA says especially after murdering the ostriches and ruining a family business.
Thanks for all the news!
Yeah, and they actually slandered with "No veterinary or immunology training." Both have some of each, though it appears many of my vet colleagues have long forgotten their training in immunology, what with pushing annual vaccination. Zero immunological sense to that, but 100% profit speaking.
And, as to "thorough testing," the testing was short term and in house! But we're supposed to consider it safe? Yeah, right.
Thank you, Dr. Falconer, for the film about Chia, the Goat Herder. I learned about goats as a child on our small farm in Southern Indiana. We mainly had sheep for the wool. But I think my dad learned early on about the ability of goats to keep the land "mowed down" so we had a few of them, too. Then there were the playful antics of the kids, always super entertaining. In the '50's the devices that entertained my brother Ed and me were all the critters we bonded with plus a small black and white TV. Rather simple, huh?
The kids are beyond compare, aren’t they? Best entertainment around!
That's interesting about the yellow light and cows. I guess that would be akin to spending nights sleeping out under the moonlight, which to me appears mostly yellowish. I met a woman who slept outdoors (unless it was pouring rain) from Memorial Day until Labor Day in Wisconsin, no tent - just a sleeping bag. Apparently she had the right idea!
Love this mornings post! I have a few comments. I’m glad you brought up the rabies case because I was thinking about some of the same things. One thing you said was that A vaccinated dog would not have rabies antigen in his brain, only the blood. My response is, We were all taught about the blood brain barrier and how important and strict it is. But nowadays with glyphosate in everything, including the cheap kibble that pup was always fed, glyphosate is a mineral chelater and breaks down the lining, of the digestive tract and possibly the brain. Aluminum is now known to cross the brain. I’m not sure if that makes a difference in this case, but I wanted to point out that the blood brain barrier is not like what we were taught decades ago.
Also, I’m glad you brought up light and LEDs. You can use blue light reducing screen protectors on your phone and tablets, and I’m sure that helps. Or even blue blocking glasses that one can wear at night. Incandescent bulbs are hard to find and I thought Trump did away with that law but I’m here in California and our governor always does the opposite of Trump, so finding the bulbs are almost impossible. My trick is to use appliance light bulbs. I’ve only found 40w ones but they work in some of my light fixtures. Also, our animals deserve total darkness at night and I hate seeing people leave barn lights on all night so the animals never have total darkness which is so important to their circadian rhythm.
Hey LL, I wasn’t saying rabies antigen wouldn’t get to the brain in a vac’d dog: that’s exactly what happened here. But rabies is unique in that the virus doesn’t follow the blood to get there. Rather, it slowly crawls along nerve sheaths until it reaches the brain, then more nerve sheaths till it gets to the salivary glands, where it reproduces like crazy, readying the infectious bite to the next victim.
And, yes, the BBB isn’t as fail proof as we originally learned, sadly.
I've always used incandescent bulbs in my home, lamps and no overhead lighting. It's warm and cozy feeling. I am now buying bulbs online from healthlighting.com.
I had the same thought/question about the BBB as well. Would be interesting to find out, either way.
You're right rabies!
Totally irrelevant to the subject matter, but what dog breed is your "nose knows" photo? It looks more like a deer or something to me! 🤔
Haha, no idea as it was not a patient or acquaintance but a stock photo. With the length of that nose, though, all bets would be on a scent hound of some sort.
Right on. And you can HOLD HIM to this, see this http://vitalanimal.com/vacc-efficacy/ and this: http://vitalanimal.com/fallacy-of-titer-tests/