Protect Your Pet: Attend a Free Rabies Vaccination Clinic

Owensville Primary Care in partnership with Anne Arundel County Animal Control and the Anne Arundel County Department of Health is holding a free rabies clinic on Sunday, October 7 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Cat and dog owners in South County are encouraged to attend and get their pets vaccinated against this deadly disease. In Maryland, all dogs, cats and ferrets four months of age and older are required by law to be vaccinated against rabies.

Rabies is a significant health threat to wild and domestic animals as well as humans.  This viral infection, which attacks the central nervous system, lives in the saliva of a rabid animal and is most commonly spread through a bite from an infected animal. In Anne Arundel County, rabies is most often seen in raccoons, bats, foxes and skunks.

According to Owensville Primary Care executive director Sylvia Jennings, “the potential for pets to come into contact with a rebid wild animal is greater here in our rural area than farther north, and we need to protect them and ourselves by vaccinating as many pets as possible.”

Owensville Primary Care staff members along with Dr. Linda Murray Ruiz of Muddy Creek Animal Hospital will administer the vaccinations at the October clinic. There is no charge for this service; but donations to offset the cost of the vaccine are greatly appreciated.

Pet owners should bring their dogs on a lease and cats in a carrier. Owensville Primary Care is located at 134 Owensville Road (Rt. 255) in West River.

To learn more about the symptoms of rabies and how to protect yourself and your animals from contracting the disease visit http://aahealth.org/programs/env-hlth/orv/rabies-fact.