Rabies clinics scheduled for April 5, April 12
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on March 30, 2008 2:00 AM
From staff reports
Wayne County will sponsor rabies vaccination clinics two weekends in April at the locations listed below.
The cost is $5 per dog or cat, or pet owners can take their pet to a veterinarian for the shot.
State law requires the owner of every dog and cat over 4 months of age to have the animal vaccinated against rabies.
This is the way it works: The animal receives its first rabies vaccine and has a follow-up dose one year later. After that, the pet must receive another dose every three years.
A common misconception, county Animal Control Director Justin Scally said, is that you can immunize your own pet for rabies like you can for distemper or parvo.
But the state requires the person administering the vaccine to be certified to give the rabies immunization, and it requires documentation that the shot was actually given.
"Anybody can say they did it and really didn't," Scally said. "And rabies is a health issue, because it can be spread to humans."
For animals receiving three-year follow-up vaccinations, owners must bring proof of prior vaccinations.
If proof is not provided, a one-year dose will be administered, and the animal will have to come back a year later for its second dose -- just like when it was vaccinated the first time.
Then after the second shot, with documentation, the pet can begin the regular three-year cycle of shots.
On Saturday, April 5, the rabies clinic will be held at Grantham Elementary School from 8:30 until 10:30 a.m., at the Old Pikeville School Building from 1 until 3 p.m. and at the Wayne County Courthouse in the William Street parking lot from 3:30 until 4:30 p.m.
On Saturday, April 12, the clinic will be held at Eastern Wayne High School from 8:30 until 10:30 a.m. and at Southern Wayne High School from 1 until 3 p.m.
Any unwanted cats or dogs also will be accepted at all vaccination sites.