Rabies

Free Rabies Clinic By Appointment
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For the convenience of local pet owners, Washington County Public Health continues to hold free rabies clinics that routinely are held from March through November annually. There is no charge for the vaccination, however donations are accepted.

Clinics are By Appointment ONLY and Registration is Required prior to the clinic. (Registration dates will be listed on the schedule.)

2023 Rabies Schedule

Click Button Below to Register Pets for Clinic:

Keep the following in mind if you attend the Rabies Clinics:

Clinics are By Appointment ONLY and Registration is Required prior to the clinic. (Registration dates will be listed on the schedule.)
You will get confirmation of appointment time, date and location in your email at the end of registration. You will get an e-mail reminder 24 hours before to the Clinic date.
Do not arrive earlier than 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time.
Pregnant female cats will not be vaccinated.
All Dogs and Cats should be vaccinated against rabies at 3 months of age and re-vaccinated 1 year later, then every 3 years thereafter.
Ferrets should be vaccinated against rabies at 3 months of age and re-vaccinated yearly thereafter.
All pets must be on a leash or in a carrier.
Owners and pets must stay in your vehicle until instructed otherwise. This is a drive through clinic.
Have pets relieve themselves before arriving to clinic. Pets/Owners are not allowed to walk around the clinic site.
Proof of their previous vaccination will need to be provided prior to clinic to get a 3-year certificate. Proof should be submitted by the Wednesday before the Saturday Clinic date. (Tags do not count as proof of vaccination, you need the paperwork to get a 3-year certificate.)
Note: You can still register if you don't have the paperwork, however, the vaccination will be marked as a 1 year vaccination until you send proof of the previous vaccination. Once proof of previous vaccination is provided, the vaccination will be changed to a 3-year vaccination. PDF of Directions to Change Certificate
All Clinics are Free and open to the public. (Donations are accepted.)

Did You Know:

Rabies virus is spread through saliva, most commonly from the bite or scratch of infected animal.

Be aware of the risk of rabies from wildlife, especially bats. During 1960-2018, among 89 US acquired human rabies cases, 62 (70%) were attributed to bats.

International travel? Since 1960, 36 (28%) US residents have died of rabies from bites from infected dogs while traveling abroad.

Since 2015, three dog rabies cases have been brought into the United States in rescue dogs adopted from countries with high risk for rabies.

Human Rabies is 99% Fatal... However, Human Rabies IS 100% Preventable:

Vaccinate pets against rabies
Avoid contact with wildlife and unknown animals
Seek medical care ASAP after being bitten or scratched by an animal
If a bat can be safely collected and tested, this can inform the need for postexposure prophylaxis
Contact with bat includes bites and scratches, which are often small and can be over looked
Timely administration of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP)

Although human rabies is considered a rare disease, it remains one with extremely high consequences.

Questions: Contact your local Public Health Department.

Resource: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MMWR Vol. 68 June 12, 2019

Rabies Vaccine For Pets

Pet owners need to know that New York State law requires all dogs, cats, and domesticated ferrets to be vaccinated against rabies. If an unvaccinated pet or 1 that’s overdue on its vaccination comes in contact with a rabid or suspected rabid animal, the pet must be destroyed or strictly quarantined for 6 months.

Booster Vaccine

It is essential that pet owners make sure that their animals are immunized against rabies, and, that their vaccinations are kept up-to-date. Vaccinated animals that come in contact with wild animals that test positive for rabies, are required to have a booster vaccination, which must be given within 5 days of exposure.

Bat Rabies

Bat rabies continues to be of particular concern. In the past decade, 2 people have died in New York State from bat-associated rabies. In each case, family members recalled a bat in the home, but the possibility of exposure did not occur to them at the time of the incidents. Since 1990, 34 of 37 human rabies deaths among people who acquired the disease in the United States were as a result of bat rabies. While approximately 97% of all bats tested by the New York State Health Department are negative for rabies, New Yorkers must remain aware of the risk for rabies from any contact with a bat.

Note: If you find a bat in your home, catch it! Do not release or discard it, immediately contact Washington County Public Health at 518-746-2400.

How to Catch a Bat

To view a video on how to safely catch a bat in your home, you can watch the video below or visit the New York Department of Health Rabies page for your video options.

Steps to Avoid Rabies Exposure

Washington County Public Health urges all residents to take these common sense steps to avoid exposure to rabies:

If you are bitten, scratched, or have contact with an animal you believe to be rabid, immediately wash the wound with soap and water, seek medical attention and report the incident to Washington County Public Health.
To avoid unnecessary rabies treatments, all potentially rabid animals that may have exposed someone should be confined and observed or tested for rabies. Contact Washington County Public Health for more information.
Although a bite from a rabid animal is the primary way for rabies to be transmitted, contact the Washington County Public Health Department regarding any contact with an animal that may be rabid.
Avoid contact with any wild animal. Be suspicious of wild animals that are unusually tame or aggressive, especially those that attack your pets. Do not attract raccoons or skunks to your yard by feeding them.
Avoid contact with any stray animals, especially cats.
Do not handle pets with bare hands for several hours after any involvement with a suspected rabid wild animal. Pet owners should keep a pair of thick gloves handy for just such situations, and should bathe pets after wildlife encounters whenever possible.
Do not handle dead or injured wild animals or domestic pets. If you must handle it, wear protective clothing, work gloves, and/or use a shovel to avoid skin contact.
Avoid contact with the saliva of any animal that may be rabid.
Do not release bats found in homes or cabins. Catch the bat and seek advice from Washington County Public Health about what to do with the bat. Immediately report any possible contact with bats, and such situations as bats in rooms or camp cabins with sleeping persons, unattended children, or individuals with mental impairment. Postexposure prophylaxis/treatment can be considered for people who were in the same room as a bat and who might be unaware that a bite or direct contact had occurred (e.g., a sleeping person awakens to find a bat in the room or an adult witnesses a bat in the room with a previously unattended child, mentally disabled person, or intoxicated person) and rabies cannot be ruled out by testing the bat.
Visit NYSDOH Page: What Can People Do to Protect Themselves Against Rabies Opens a New Window.
Visit the CDC's page: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/exposure/animals/bats.html

Reporting ALL Bites AND Exposures

If you have been bitten, scratched or have had contact with the saliva of an animal that you believe is rabid, wash the wound immediately and seek medical care.

All animal bites and exposures should be reported to Public Health.

Exposures are:

Bites
Non-Bite Exposure (Scratch or Abrasion)
Contact with saliva

Washington County Residents call Public Health at 518-746-2400. To find other County Contacts, visit: Rabies information County Contacts Opens a New Window.

For the Specific Sanitary Code, visit: State Sanitary Code- Rabies Opens a New Window.

Pets & Smoking

Smoking is not just harmful to people; it's harmful to your pets too!

Secondhand and thirdhand smoke hurts pets. Secondhand smoke is exhaled tobacco and the smoke from the lit product itself. Thirdhand smoke is the smoke residues that get on skin, clothes, furniture, carpets, pets and other things in the smoker's environment,

Learn more here: FDA Pets and Smoking Info:

Clear the Air Southern Adirondacks (CASA) is a tobacco-free communities partnership through Adirondack Health Institute (AHI).

CASA has launched a Healthy Animal Campaign to highlight the negative impacts of smoking and tobacco litter can have on animals.

Smoke-free outdoors and smoke-free housing policies significantly reduce the risk of exposure to both secondhand smoke and tobacco litter to animals.

Smoke-free homes prevent nicotine poisoning, which can result from both inhaling secondhand and thirdhand smoke, and from ingesting thirdhand smoke particls that fall into pets' coats, particularly those who frequently self-groom like cats and birds.

CASA's efforts aim to support smoke-free policies to protect the health of animals. Check out their website for information about their efforts. https://ahihealth.org/casa/

Rabies