Low-cost rabies clinics offered throughout May
May 2—Local animal groups and veterinarians are making it easy and affordable to take care of your pets this spring.
The city announced the dates for the annual spring rabies vaccine clinics around the city. These clinics are sponsored by the St. Joseph Animal Control and Rescue, the Friends of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter and local veterinarians.
While the biggest service being offered is the yearly rabies shot for just $5, multiple other services will be provided at the clinics, including a $10 combo vaccine for cats or dogs, microchipping and nail clippings for $10 each, a $5 Corby Off-Leash Dog Park membership and city registration.
The cost of registration depends on whether or not the pet has been spayed or neutered. Holly Bowie, manager of the St. Joseph Animal Shelter, recommends bringing proof.
"The city licenses are $5 or $15," Bowie said. "If your animal is not spayed or neutered, you would pay $15. I would recommend that people bring proof of that, especially if it's a female pet that is spayed."
Vaccination clinics will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on the following dates:
May 8, Lindbergh Elementary School
May 9, Hosea Elementary School
May 11, First Church of the Nazarene
May 16, Skaith Elementary School
May 18, Mark Twain School
Bowie said she believes that having the event outside during a nice time of the year has helped boost attendance at the clinics.
"We do use a lot of the school properties to host the clinics," Bowie said. "It's just a nice time of the year, generally to host the clinics when the weather is not too hot."
While the rabies shot is required yearly, cases are quite low. In April, 252 dogs and 101 cats were tested for rabies, with zero testing positive. Just six bats and one skunk tested positive for rabies.
Bowie said they treat animals for bites on a daily basis, and the practice of treating a potentially rabid animal means keeping the pet away from others and waiting.
"Anytime we see those bites, we have to quarantine the animal to ensure they don't have rabies," Bowie said. "If we are observing them for 10 days and they were shedding rabies at the time of the bite, they would become sick and pass away during that time."
While the vaccine does take a bit of time to take effect, it's an important asset to reduce the small percentage possibility to zero.
"We do recommend that they're vaccinated per the requirements of your veterinarian," Bowie said.
