BOSTON -- A local woman is raising questions about the safety of the rabies vaccine after her dog died following a routine shot.

A Dracut, Mass., woman is calling for changes to state vaccination laws after her pet died just hours after having the shot.

Video

Massachusetts state law requires that dogs be vaccinated against rabies every three years as a way to protect the public.

But after the death of her 12-year old prize standard poodle Louie, professional pet groomer Joanne Camilli said there is an alternative.

"When I brought him home, he wasn't even home 40 minutes and he died. So, it wasn't even 12 hours," Camilli said. She said she believes the shot, which is designed to protect the public, could be deadly to dogs.

"I know it's the rabies shot that did it," she said.

Camilli claimed her veterinarian confirmed her suspicion, but she declined to give his name.

Another veterinarian at the busy Countryside Animal Hospital, which did not administer the vaccination to Camilli's dog, but which has about 8,000 clients, said the death of a dog following a rabies shot is a one-in-a-million occurrence.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In fact, all of our eight veterinarians here, we've never seen a rabies-associated death in 25 years," Dr. Tiffany Rule said.

Camilli, however, said a simple exam called a Titer test would be able to tell if a dog needs the rabies shot or not.

"I want Titer testing accepted. That's what I want. I want the option of whether I want to give my dog a shot or have Titer testing. That's all I want," Camilli said.

But most vets say it's not that simple. Rabies kills humans and the rewards of vaccination outweigh the risks.

"It would be wonderful to be able to offer a Titer to see if an animal is in fact immune to the rabies virus, however at this time there is not enough information for Titer testing to be an accurate determinant of immunity to the virus," Rule said.

Vets agree more research needs to be done to see if dogs are over-vaccinated against rabies.

For now, they say, it's better to be safe than sorry.