New Year's Reminder: Rabies Clinic Jan. 7

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Just a reminder that the Chelmsford Animal Control Office will be holding the Annual Rabies/Microchipping and Licensing Clinic this Saturday, January 7, from 10AM-noon, at the Chelmsford Dog Pound at 2 Olde North Rd. All pets must be on a leash or in a carrier, and proof of prior rabies vaccination is needed in order to qualify for the multi-year booster. Rabies shots and licenses are $15.00 each, and microchips are $25.00 each. Dogs and cats can benefit from this clinic, especially if they spend much time outside.

The Chelmsford Dog Association will have free information, some fundraising goodies and will be available for chatting about things like dog parks or dogs and cats in general.

For additional information about the clinic, feel free to call 978-256-0754, or post a comment.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the man from Cape Cod currently hospitalized with rabies-first human case in 75 years. It is suspected he may have been bitten by a bat some time ago. Bat bites are incredibly small, and generally don't hurt. This makes it very hard to detect if you have been bitten while sleeping. 

My first thought was how the doctors knew he had rabies if he's still alive, since with animals, the quickest way to diagnose the condition is by testing the brain of the deceased victim. My friend Mike was able to do some research, and found out there is a series of tests for people, involving blood, saliva, spinal fluid and skin samples from the nape of the hairline at the neck. This is not a call that everyone who's been near a bat should run out and get tested. But it is a wake-up call that rabies can happen to anyone, however rare. 

If you let your pets out for extended periods of time, unsupervised, or in the event they happen to have escaped and you don't know where they've been or what they may have tussled with, having them vaccinated avoids a lot of stress, since rabies is 100% fatal.