Pug in Serious condition after rabies vaccine

Question
My daughter took her Pug in for the required rabies shot. She is 3 years old Pug and does have some problems with her eyes she has glaucoma, dry eyes and cataracts this was determined to be genetic, surgery was considered, but she is not a good candidate. Within a 20 minutes of receiving the shot the dog vomited and later passed out, later that evening she passed out again and had bloody diarrhea.  My daughter took her to the emergency and as she picked her up she was covered in blood from the rectum. The Dog is in serious condition has lost enough blood to require a blood transfusion. The Vet does not think the shot is the problem, however she was fine prior to the visit. He tells my daughter he does not know what is wrong, do you have any experience with this sort of reaction. I personally think that the dog is going to die. Can you offer any suggestions?

Answer
Jodi,
I am so sorry your daughter is going through this.  THIS IS DEFINITELY A SEVERE VACCINE REACTION!  IV fluids, blood transfusion and antibiotics are needed to recover.  If this vet is not doing that, immediately take the dog to a different veterinarian.  A dog really only needs their boosters the first few years  of life. Rabies is needed by law, but can be given every 5 years.  Don't let your daughter be talked into getting shots every year.  That's entirely too much.  If her veterinarian gives her a hard time, tell her to do a titer test.  This dog should never have another vaccine again.  Have your daughter call her veterinarian, the one that gave the shot, and tell them the situation. This is DEFINITELY vaccine related...I don't know if this poor pup is going to make it....but there is definitely as good of a chance that he will make it if proper treatment is given.  Since this dog is in need of obvious aggressive care, and this veterinarian doesn't know what's wrong, I would take him to another vet.  There is no time for this vet to get his act together and figure this out...you definitely need someone that knows how to treat this.
I'm just so upset for your daughter.  I know how hard these things are and my heart goes out to you all.  PLEASE, if you have time, let me know how he's doing.  I will talk to a few of my associates tonight to see what they would suggest and I will let you know.
Take care,
Hilary