According to the CDC, "Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative" and "is added to vials of vaccine that contain more than one dose (multi-dose vials) to prevent growth of germs, like bacteria and fungi." The CDC says thimerosal is safe.

However, in 1935, the Pittman Moore Animal Pharmaceutical Company warned against its safety “even in dog serum”  because they found that over 50% of vaccinated dogs suffered inflammatory reactions to Thimerosal because it "a very inflammatory neurotoxin and genetic mutator" (read more on that here).

Symptoms of mercury poisoning include: 

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Fatigue.
• Difficulty walking or speaking.
• Tremors.
• Attention deficit.
• Brain, lung, or kidney damage.
• Coma.

Source: Dogs Naturally

Despite the warning from Pittman Moore and the well-documented symptoms mentioned above, most of the vaccines our dogs receive still contain it.  So if our dogs continue to receive vaccines as typically scheduled: at 6 - 8 weeks, 10-12 weeks, 16-18 weeks, 12-16 months, and yearly boosters, that's a whole lot of inflammatory neurotoxin and genetic mutators that are bombarding your dogs' immune system.  

The potential side effects of thimerosal alone are real and exist.  The bigger problem is the genetic lines of our dogs have received these vaccinations for the last 30+ years, which most probably contained thimerosal.  Because thimerosal is an inflammatory neurotoxin and genetic mutator, it is quite possible that damaged genes have been passed from parent dog to puppy for years.     

In the visual above, you will see a lineage of dogs that original with a mother and father dog.  Within each generation, you will see an accumulation of skulls, which represent thimerosal being passed down the genetic line.  These skulls will accumulate even faster if the dog continues to receives vaccinations just because the guidelines "say so."  

So what can you do?

Create the best environment for your animal as possible

• Vaccinate carefully. Check out Bobzilla's recommended vaccine schedule
• Always ask for a titer test determine if your dog needs a vaccine, based on their individual antibody levels before administering a shot they may not and probably don't need if they were once vaccinated already.
• Detox your dog after each shot.  Learn more about that here. 
• Feed real food.  Raw or home-cooked.  Check out Bobzilla's food recommendations.