WESTFIELD – With spring right around the corner, now is the time for pet owners to make vet appointments so their canine and feline companions are protected from rabies.
For the convenience of area residents, the Westfield Animal Clinic at 422 North Elm St. will offer a rabies vaccination clinic on April 9 from 2-4 p.m. The cost is $15 per animal and animals must be on leash or in carriers, according to Dr. Denise Larochelle.
“The rabies vaccination is important for several reasons,” said Larochelle. “It is required by law and more importantly, rabies is a fatal disease that animals, as well as people, can get. It is 100 percent fatal but can be prevented by proper vaccination of our pets.”
Rabies in animals is fairly common in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH), Bureau of Infectious Disease.
“Since 1985, more than 5,000 animals have tested positive for rabies in Massachusetts,” according to the DPH website. “Most of these cases occurred in wild animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, woodchucks and foxes, but every year some pets (especially cats) and farm animals also get rabies.”
Fortunately for pet owners, there is a vaccine to protect dogs, cats and some other kinds of animals from rabies. Birds, fish, reptiles (such as snakes, turtles and lizards), amphibians (such as frogs and salamanders) and insects cannot get nor spread rabies.
The rabies clinic will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Larochelle noted that people begin lining up at 1 p.m. and she starts vaccinating at 2 p.m. until all animals are served. Her staff will also be on hand to write out certificates and collect the funds.
“This is an annual service and my third year doing the rabies clinic since purchasing the practice in 2013,” she said.
Larochelle said she will be the only one administering the vaccinations as the rabies can only legally be given by a licensed veterinarian.
“We can pass as many dogs and cats that show up for vaccination,” she said. “There is no limit. We will be prepared to vaccinate all those that come.”
Rabies is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord of mammals, according to the DPH. The last death from rabies acquired in Massachusetts occurred in 2011 and was caused by exposure to a bat.
“Rabies is caused by a virus and almost always causes death,” notes the DPH. “Rabies is usually a disease of animals, but it can spread from an infected animal to a person.”
Rabies spreads when an animal with rabies bites another animal or person. The rabies virus is in the saliva of infected animals. Infected animals can also spread rabies if their saliva gets into a scratch or other wound, or the eyes, nose or mouth of another person or animal.
If a person is exposed to rabies, they can be given shots (called “immune globulin”) around the bite or scratch to help fight the virus where it entered the body. They will also receive four or five vaccinations in their arm over several weeks. These shots will help the person fight the virus.
As long as the shots are given before the person starts to get sick, this will prevent them from getting rabies, according to the DPH. If a person does not get the shots and then gets sick with rabies, there is no effective treatment and it is almost always fatal.”
For more information on rabies, visit www.mass.gov/dph/rabies or call toll-free (888) 658-2850. Inquiries on the clinic can be made to the Westfield Animal Clinic at (413) 568-1621.
