The Suffolk County
Department of Health Services (SCDHS) and the Suffolk County SPCA will offer
free rabies vaccinations* for dogs, cats and ferrets as follows:
Sunday, October 15, 2017
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Four Seasons Sunrooms
5005 Veterans Memorial Hwy.
Holbrook, NY 11741
Rain Date: October 22, 2017
For rabies vaccination clinic information call:
SCSPCA at (631) 382-7722
*Although the
clinic is 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 are 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. Vaccination protects pets if they are
exposed to rabid animals. 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 up all
openings larger than 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch square into the attic, basement,
walls, or occupied areas of the house
-
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 that so 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/
suffolkcountyny.gov
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