The Suffolk
County Department of Health Services, the Suffolk County SPCA and the Town of
Islip will offer free rabies vaccinations* for dogs, cats and ferrets as
follows:
Sunday,
September 23, 2018
10 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Long Island
Portuguese American Center
Third
Avenue, Brentwood, NY
For rabies vaccination
clinic information call:
Suffolk
County SPCA: (631) 382-7722
Saturday,
September 29, 2018
9 a.m. to 2
p.m.
Islip Town
Hall West
401 Main
Street, Islip, NY
For rabies
vaccination clinic information call:
Islip Animal
Shelter: (631) 224-5660
*Although
the clinics are available to all county residents, the quantity of vaccine is
limited and available only while supplies last. All dogs must be on leashes and
all cats and ferrets must be in carriers.
Rabies, a
deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system, is
most often seen among wild animals such as raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes,
but any mammal can be infected with rabies. Pets and livestock can get rabies
if they are not vaccinated to protect them against infection.
New York
State and Suffolk County laws require that all dogs, cats and ferrets be
vaccinated against rabies. Vaccinating pets not only provides protection for
the animals but also acts as a barrier to keep the rabies virus from spreading
between wild animals and people.
Although no
raccoons have tested positive for the rabies virus in Suffolk County since
2009, three to six percent of the bats that are tested annually test positive
for rabies.
The Suffolk
County Department of Health Services recommends the following precautions to
protect your pets and your family from possible exposure to rabies:
- Do not feed, touch or approach wild animals, or stray dogs or
cats.
- Be sure your pet dogs, cats and ferrets as well as horses and
other livestock animals are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations.
- Pets too young to be vaccinated should be kept indoors and
allowed outside only under direct observation.
- Keep family pets indoors at night. Do not leave them outside
unattended or let them roam free.
- Do not attract wild animals to your home or yard. Keep your
property free of stored bird seed or other foods that may attract wild
animals. Feed pets indoors. Tightly cover or put away garbage cans. Board
up any openings to your attic, basement, porch or garage. Cap your chimney
with screens.
- Do not transport or relocate any wild animals.
- Teach children not to touch any animal they do not know and to
tell an adult immediately if they are bitten by any animal.
To keep bats
from getting into buildings, batproofing techniques should include:
- Not leaving unscreened doors open to the outside
- Not leaving unscreened windows open to the outside
- Making sure windows have screens, chimneys are capped, and
electrical and plumbing openings are plugged
- Sealing all openings larger than 1/2 inch
- Using materials such as expanding spray-on foam, caulk, wire
mesh, wood that fits tightly, steel wool (around pipes that enter
buildings), or polypropylene bird netting, to seal or cover gaps and holes
Report all
animal bites or contact with wild animals to the Suffolk County Department of
Health Services at (631) 853-0333 weekdays, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Animal bites or contact with wild animals can
be reported to the Department at (631) 852-4820 outside normal business hours.
If possible, try to contain the animal so that it can be tested.
For more
information on rabies, visit the New York State Department of Health website at
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/rabies/rabies.htm, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/.
Follow
us
suffolkcountyny.gov
Facebook.com/SuffolkCountyHealthServices
Twitter.com/SuffolkCoHealth