Spring is a good time of year to get your dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies. Usually, there will be discount rabies vaccination clinics at different locations and times on certain Saturdays during April, May or June. Check with your local environmental health office, veterinary clinic or other sponsoring organization for specific dates, times and locations. Rabies vaccinations are offered at a significant discount and other kinds of pet vaccinations can normally be obtained at the same time.*
Vaccinating your pet against rabies may save the life of your dog or cat and protect you and your family against this fatal disease. Rabies is always present, to some extent, in various wildlife species such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, bobcats, bats, coyotes and other carnivores. A typical rabies case involves a rabid raccoon coming into the yard of a home and fighting with a pet dog or cat. If the pet has not been properly vaccinated against rabies, our first recommendation is to euthanize the dog or cat. The only other alternative would be to put the pet in strict quarantine inside a double enclosure for six months with no human contact. This is very poor repayment to your pet for protecting your family from a rabid wild animal.
Do the right thing for your pets and your family by having your dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies at your local public clinic this spring.
It is also the law that your pets be vaccinated (Rabies Control Law-O.C.G.A-31-19).
Veterinarians are always available to vaccinate your animals any time of year. Valuable livestock such as cows, horses, sheep and exotics such as llamas or alpacas can also be vaccinated against rabies.
If you think you, your pets or livestock may have been exposed to the rabies virus, you can get information and guidance from your county health department, veterinarian, county animal control or the Georgia Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. Other basic information on rabies exposure can be found on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov/rabies.
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*Click here to see details about the 4-H Rabies Vaccination Clinic in Murray County on Saturday, April 26
