Rabies
By Susan Tart

The Orange County Animal Shelter will have a rabies vaccination clinic this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. Pets visiting the clinic need to be on a leash or in a carrier. The cost is five dollars, and pet owners should bring their pet’s latest vaccination certificate.

Officials are holding the clinic in response to the discovery of a dead raccoon, which was carrying the virus. It showed up one morning last week in an Orange County resident’s driveway. The resident’s two dogs were up-to-date on their vaccinations, but have received booster shots in accordance with North Carolina state law.

Orange County Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said this is the eleventh case of rabies found this year, nine of which have involved raccoons. The other two cases involved a skunk and a bat.

“Rabies is a deadly disease,” Marotto said. “It’s a prime public health concern. We know that we have rabies in the raccoon population and the bat population in our area, and so we want to be very vigilant, [in order to] ensure the public is healthy and that our companion animals are protected.”

The Orange County Animal Shelter is located at 1081 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (Municipal Drive), Chapel Hill.

On June 10, there’ll be another rabies vaccination clinic from 9 to 11 a.m. at Fairview Park, 505 Rainey Ave., Hillsborough.