3rd Annual Community Rabies Vaccination Clinics

Okaloosa health officials remind residents that rabies prevention begins at home.

If your dog, cat, or ferret is not current on the rabies vaccination, please take advantage of this offer.

    NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY!
    No need to be an existing client at any of the participating offices!

http://www.healthyokaloosa.com/rabies/


This is a great event. Our community veterinarians offer the low-cost rabies clinic ($10.00 per vaccination, no examination fee) without the owner/pet needing to be an existing client at any of the participating offices. This year for the first time Southside Animal Hospital in Crestview has joined the annual event! We are very glad to have a north end veterinarian office participating this year. In addition, veterinary offices in Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar, Mary Esther, and Niceville continue to provide on-going support to prevent rabies in our domestic pets.

Rabies is in Florida and here to stay. Raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes, otters, and bobcats are the most common vectors of rabies in FL. Rabies in rodents and rabbits is rare and infection in these smaller animals is unlikely since they rarely survive an attack from a larger rabid animal.

You may wonder WHY should we care......dog and cat bites to other domestic pets and to humans is all to common. Between 2005-2009, the zip codes of Okaloosa County associated with the bulk of our population had anywhere from 20-60 non-fatal emergency department visits per zip code per year due to dog bites only. Besides the pain and suffering of the injuries sustained, all of these individuals also face the risk of rabies transmission. The rabies vaccination series is very expensive and is administered over a series of 14 days requiring three additional emergency room visits.

In Calendar Year 2011, your Okaloosa County Health Department investigated 657 domestic animal (dogs or cats) bites or scratches to other domestic animals or humans. Of those investigated, sadly only 42% were current on their rabies vaccination. That means 380 animals and their owners were faced with a painful decision: sacrifice their animal for rabies testing, quarantine their animal at a licensed veterinarian facility at their own cost, or the inconvenience of isolating their animal in a home quarantine scenario. All of this could have been avoided if only the owner had gotten a $10 rabies vaccination.