Free Rabies Clinic Set For Brookhaven Animal Shelter On Saturday

BROOKHAVEN, NY — The Suffolk County Department of Health Services is joining Brookhaven Town to offer free rabies vaccinations for dogs, cats, and ferrets on Saturday at the Animal Shelter and Adoption Center.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Although the clinic is available to all county residents, quantity is limited, and vaccines are available while supplies last.

No appointment is needed.

All dogs must be on a leash, and all cats and ferrets must be in carriers.

Rabies, a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system, is most often seen among wild animals such as raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes, but any mammal can be infected with rabies.

Pets and livestock can get rabies if they are not vaccinated to protect them against infection.

New York State and Suffolk County laws require that all dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated against rabies. Vaccinating pets not only provides protection for the animals but also acts as a barrier to keep the rabies virus from spreading between wild animals and people.

Three to six percent of bats tested annually are positive for rabies.

Suffolk's Department of Health Services recommends the following precautions to protect pets and families from possible exposure to rabies:

• Do not feed, touch, or approach wild animals, or stray dogs or cats.
• Be sure your pet dogs, cats, and ferrets as well as horses and other livestock animals are up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
• Pets too young to be vaccinated should be kept indoors and allowed outside only under direct observation.
• Keep family pets indoors at night. Do not leave them outside unattended or let them roam free.
• Do not attract wild animals to your home or yard. Keep your property free of stored bird seed or other foods that may attract wild animals. Feed pets indoors. Tightly cover or put away garbage cans. Board up any openings to your attic, basement, porch or garage. Cap your chimney with screens.
• Do not transport or relocate any wild animals.
• Teach children not to touch any animal they do not know and to tell an adult immediately if they are bitten by any animal.

Techniques to keep bats from getting into buildings include:

• Not leaving unscreened doors or windows open to the outside
• Making sure windows have screens, chimneys are capped, and electrical and plumbing openings are plugged
• Sealing openings larger than 1/2 inch
• Using materials such as expanding spray-on foam, caulk, wire mesh, wood that fits tightly, steel wool (around pipes that enter buildings), or polypropylene bird netting, to seal or cover gaps and holes

Report all animal bites or contact with wild animals to the Department of Health at 631-854-0333 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 631-852-4820 outside business hours. If possible, try to contain the animal so that it can be tested.