Keep your pets safe from rabies

Published March 3, 2023

By Andrew Mundhenk, Henderson County Dept. of Public Health

For many, pets are family. And just as it’s important to keep your loved ones safe and healthy, so too is the health of your cats and dogs.

Each year, local veterinarians host a weeklong, low-cost rabies vaccination clinic for cats and dogs. This year kicks off with the cat rabies vaccination clinic from March 6-11. Vaccinations are available from any licensed veterinarian. But during this week, participating vets will offer the vaccine by appointment only for a reduced fee of $10 per cat.

Participating veterinarians include All Saints Animal Hospital, Animals R Us Veterinary Clinic, Animal Care Clinic, Apple Valley Animal Hospital, Etowah Valley Veterinary Hospital, Health Care for Pets Hospital, Hendersonville Veterinary Hospital, Kanuga Animal Clinic, Merry Forest Animal Hospital and North State Animal Hospital. Appointments are required.

A similar low-cost rabies vaccination clinic for dogs will be held later in May. More details will be announced in the coming months.

Henderson County Animal Services partners with veterinarians and the Henderson County Department of Public Health to offer low-cost vaccination clinics twice a year. These clinics offer a great chance to get your pet up to date with their rabies vaccination. But it’s also a great chance to protect the health of your pet, family and community.

North Carolina law requires owners of dogs and cats, four months of age and older, to have a current rabies vaccine. There is a reason why rabies vaccination is so important. Rabies, a vaccine-preventable disease, lives in the saliva and nervous tissue. A healthy animal or human can get rabies when bitten, licked or scratched by a sick animal. Rabies can be prevented but not cured and is nearly always fatal without proper post-exposure treatment.

Prevention is key. Vaccines are one important tool, but so too is avoiding contact with wild and stray animals. Contact with wild animals – especially raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes – is the main way people, domestic animals and livestock are exposed to rabies.

Stray dogs or cats may be also infected through contact with wild animals. Remember to always be cautious around strange dogs or cats. Children are the most frequent victims of animal bites so it’s important to be aware of any potentially dangerous situations they could be in and to teach kids to be careful around pets.

Don’t let your pet’s rabies vaccination expire. By taking simple precautions and avoiding contact with wild animals, you can greatly reduce the chance you or your pets will be exposed to rabies.

More information about rabies – including what to do if you or your pet gets bitten by an animal – can be found on the Department of Public Health website, www.hendersoncountync.gov/health.

Andrew Mundhenk is the Communications Manager for the Henderson County Department of Public Health.