Schedule changed rabies clinics 04.18.2023

April 18, 2023

Schedule changed rabies clinics

MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile County Health Department provides low-cost rabies shots for dogs, cats, and ferrets that are good for one year during weekend clinics. The schedule previously announced for April has changed.

The clinic at the Prichard Animal Shelter originally set up for last weekend will now take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at 2404 Rebel Road.

The clinic originally announced for April 22 at Glamour Paws Grooming in Theodore took place last weekend.

There are no changes for the clinic set for Saturday, April 29. It will be from 10 a.m. to noon at Pine Air Baptist Church, 10341 Highway 188 in Grand Bay.

In order to adhere to social distancing recommendations, these events will be drive-through clinics. The cost of the rabies vaccine per pet is $12. All rabies shots are payable in cash.

Each month, MCHD’s Rabies Officer provides residents with low-cost vaccines for their pet dogs, cats, and ferrets at a variety of locations. The state of Alabama tasks local health departments with providing affordable rabies vaccinations to pet owners. MCHD’s Rabies Officer provided 118 vaccinations (93 dogs and 25 cats) during March.

Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system. It is transmitted from infected mammals to humans and is fatal once symptoms appear. Symptoms of rabies include unusual behavior, irritability, headache, fever, inability to eat or drink, balance problems, circling, seizures, coma, and, finally, death. All warm-blooded mammals, including humans, are susceptible to rabies.

MCHD’s Rabies Officer vaccinated 1,537 household pets (1,247 dogs and 290 cats) in 2022. To learn more about our program, visit https://mchd.org/disease-control/#rabies.

A Rabies Quarantine Fact Sheet is available through the Alabama Department of Public Health at https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/infectiousdiseases/assets/rabiesquarantinefactsheet.pdf.