Massachusetts Animal Coalition to offer North Shore rabies clinics

LYNN-The state is coordinating 220 rabies vaccination clinics during May, including several on the North Shore, in partnership with the Massachusetts Animal Coalition.”Keeping your animal up-to-date on its shots is not only the law, it’s the best way to protect your pet and your family from this deadly virus,” said Michael Cahill, director of animal at the state Department of Agricultural Resources.(DAR). “Vaccinating your dog or cat is the best way to prevent the threat of rabies from entering your home.”The North Shore clinics will be held May 6 from 4-6 p.m. Locations include three Lynn fire stations ? Fayette Street, Tower Hill and Broadway; the central fire station in Marblehead; the town garage in Lynnfield; the city pound in Saugus; and the central fire station in Peabody.The vaccination costs $10.The DAR Division of Animal Health started the program in 2000 to raise awareness of rabies and increase compliance with state vaccination laws. Under Massachusetts law, all dogs, cats and ferrets living in the state are required to be vaccinated against rabies, which is an infectious and contagious disease that can be transmitted to humans. The virus isconsidered 100 percent fatal if untreated.To protect the public, dogs and cats that are exposed but not currently vaccinated must either be isolated at an animal hospital for three months or euthanized.Last year, 154 animals tested positive for rabies in Massachusetts while 147 domestic animals were exposed to those infected animals. About 80 percent of the dogs exposed were current on their rabies vaccinations. However, only 40 percent of the cats were up-to-date on their shots.Due to low compliance with state vaccination laws, euthanasia is the result in nearly 10 percent of the domestic animal exposure cases.Last year, nine pets were euthanized after exposure because they were not currently vaccinated. From September 1992 through September 2008, 145 cats and nine dogs in Massachusetts contracted rabies, according to Catherine Williams, assistant press secretary at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.The DAR’s mission is to ensure the long-term viability of local agriculture in Massachusetts. The DAR is comprised of four divisions n Agricultural Development, Animal Health, Crop and Pest Services, and Technical Assistance n tasked to support, regulate, and enhance the Commonwealth’s agricultural community. Through its strong partnerships with municipal and federal entities, farmers, and farming associations, the DAR’s services provide support for continued successful cultivation of a thriving and diversified agricultural industry, economically and environmentally sound food safety and animal health measures, and fulfilling agriculture’s role in energy conservation and production.The rabies awareness effort is co-sponsored by the DAR, the coalition and the state Department of Public Health, in cooperation with the Animal Rescue League of Boston, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, and the Cape Cod Veterinary Association.For more information, contact the DAR at 617-626-1700.